Hello there and welcome to my little corner of the East Nashville Farmers Market blog! My name is Carolyn and I moved to Nashville with my husband a year ago, the day before the flood in fact, and through one little connection after another, I now find myself here, writing to you about various local food related topics that interest me, and hopefully interest you as well.
I’ve been a longtime proponent of eating and shopping local, of putting my dollars right back into the community, supporting farmers and artisans by handing my money directly to them, doing what I can to reduce my footprint on this earth. To me, it’s as much about the personal connections as it is about what you’re buying and where you’re buying it.
As I’ve watched the local food movement grow in the various cities I’ve lived in over the years, it always bothers me a little bit when I see guilt used as a way to market the message of sustainability. That sort of “shame on you for not remembering to bring your own bag” type of attitude. While in the short term, that approach may get a few more people to rethink using plastic bags, but what it lacks is any real foundation.
When I moved to Nashville I was surprised by how close-knit the community of farmers, artisans, chefs and local business owners were and how as a consumer, that connection made it so much easier to eat local and support local businesses along the way. Say you go to the farmers market one afternoon and buy some goat cheese from Dustin at Noble Springs Farm, you ask him a couple questions about his goats, taste the various cheeses, hand him your money and take some home with you (Have you tried the garlic and herb, by the way? It’s incredible). Then maybe a few days later you go have dinner at the Village Pub and see that same cheese right there on their menu, or on the menu at The Silly Goose or in the cheese section at the Turnip Truck, and then without it even seeming like that big of a deal, you realize, “I know that goat cheese guy, I met him just the other day.”
It’s no small thing, that connection. And in all honesty, that direct contact is the main reason why I try to support my local community as much as possible. Of course I want to do my part for the earth, that goes without saying, but what gives me the most satisfaction, what makes me feel the best inside, is knowing that my dollars are directly supporting some of the coolest people I’ve met. Those farmers, artisans, cheese makers, small business owners - they are doing incredible things to make sure our neighborhoods and communities are thriving. And by supporting them, they support each other and the result is a neighborhood where it’s almost difficult not to support a local business because they’re everywhere. And that, I must say, is a pretty sweet return on a rather small investment.
So come on down to the East Nashville Farmers Market every Wednesday from 3:30 to 6:30 at the corner of 10th and Russell, a block behind the Turnip Truck and a stone’s throw from 5 points. We’ll be there rain or shine and look forward to seeing you!
- Article & photographs by Carolyn Manney (I will be posting articles, recipes, vendor profiles and whatever else catches my fancy right here, about twice a month. So please check back).
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