Mother Nature conspired against me riding my bike to my first volunteer shift at the OP Farmers Market.
I wish I could say that driving made it better. But it only rained harder. And that led to an unprecedented early closure of the market. Just not enough business, though the folks at Sandhill Organics looked to be doing a good bit of business.
Of course I didn’t leave without a large canvas bag full of veggies and a Red Hen loaf of sourdough bread for some sort of meal tomorrow.
I also got a chance to meet some other OPFM volunteers. My favorite discovery was that the OPFM has a fairly new program, Caring Carrots.
The idea is to take market leftovers — the bounty that goes unsold — and donate it to an organization that has the resources to distribute it to the needy. It’s similar to what the private family is doing in Portland, Ore., with Penelope’s Garden.
I’m loving that the OPFM is doing this and I hope it catches on with the participating growers.
The ’09 Caring Carrots program launches at next week’s market.
Let’s hope for sunny skies and sellout crowds. Well, maybe not completely sold out. It’d be good for the first non-profit picking up produce this season to have a decent haul.
The above image is a screen shot from an OPFM video celebrating the market’s 30th anniversary. Unfortunately the video cuts out about midway through.
Virtual Farmgirl 