Seeing the Market as a Village

When raising children, you’ll often hear that “it takes a village.” The adage refers to two separate things as one: your children need more lessons than you alone can teach them, and you will need community that you can rely on. Today we are looking at how a local farmers market can be a part of that community for parents AND children, supplying lessons and connection, and becoming an important part of a family’s village.

Bringing your baby or small child to the farmers market is obviously a popular idea. Hillsdale is filled with strollers, wagons, toddlers, and front packs, from opening to close. When your child is very young, the farmers market offers an arena for imagination and exploration. As an infant, the market is chance to be amongst a lot of people, desensitizing babies to loud noises or crowded spaces. Introducing solids can be a fun experiment when there are so many varieties of fresh and nutritious fruit to choose from, warm from the sun. As your child grows into a toddler, the market is full of colors to see and discuss. The vendors display produce ripe for counting or practicing the alphabet.

Once those 123s and ABCs are mastered, the market can become a place of more nuance. Food bought directly from a farmer may look, taste, or feel different than what your child is used to from the grocery store. The wide varieties of produce available at a farmers market offers a chance to explore your food in new ways: trying four different types of blueberries and discussing the differences, noticing the texture change between a raw beet and a pickled one, learning about which types of food thrive in our pacific northwest climate, and why. The market also offers a chance to practice a wide range of social interaction. Hillsdale Farmers Market has shoppers of every age, speakers of many languages, and a wide variety of personalities. Elementary school age kids can begin to interact with vendors on their own, flexing both their math and social skills as they figure out how to purchase their favorite type of cherry by the pound.

As your kids age, the opportunities the market provides age right along with them. Teenagers attending the market with their family can take part in meal planning, an essential skill for adulthood. They can assess the value of different items, comparing prices between the market and a traditional grocery store. Taking your teen to the farmers market can also help them begin to think about their meals as a sum of many parts – pesto pasta requires basil, a good salsa needs that perfect pepper.

Additionally, Hillsdale provides a unique exercise in responsibility, through the volunteer program. Teenagers older than fourteen can volunteer for the market on their own, without parental supervision. This means that they are forming their own relationships within the community, making friends with volunteers of all ages, learning to be a part of a group with a shared goal. Unlike a sports team, volunteering at a farmers market asks a teen to work with a wide variety of people, not just a segment of their own population. Teens can help load or unload the truck, answer questions at the info booth, count customers, or assist the smaller shoppers with the kids’ activity of the week.

For parents, the farmers market can be a space to connect. Many vendors work the market with their children right beside them, making it clear kids of all ages are welcome in this venue. Market shoppers tend to be locals as well, which increases the chance of befriending a neighbor. Attending the farmers market is an outing that teaches and embraces your child, accomplishes the essential family task of food shopping, and offers the chance to meet other parents in the community. As we emerge from a season of intense isolation, the setting of a farmers market offers families the chance to lean in, learn, and develop their very own village.