The place to be: Farmers Markets on Saturday mornings.
Amelia and Sophie Koch check out the fruits and vegetables on offer at the Forest Lakes market.
n the opening day of the Forest Lakes Farmers Market near Charlottesville, this spring, George Cason was selling jars of honey in various shades of amber that gleamed in the sun. Over the course of the growing season, he will bring to the market the full spectrum of local vegetables and fruits — from the first ripe strawberries to late fall apples.
Cason is known as the grandfather of farmers markets in the Charlottesville area, because in 1973 he started the downtown City Market. He says the inspiration for that market —still going strong 36 years later — was to create opportunities for farmers who grew an abundance of food but needed ways to get it to the people. He also wanted to create “a place where people can meet and enjoy seeing each other — connecting, you know.”
Last year, Scott Elliff, a resident of Forest Lakes, and Dawn Story, of the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC), followed in Cason’s footsteps as they launched a new farmers market in this residential development of 1,400 new homes just north of Charlottesville. Because the market is located within a residential neighborhood, Elliff says, it may be especially good at nurturing “old-fashioned community.”
As the market kicked off its second year, on an 80-degree afternoon in late April, parents pushing strollers stopped to chat with other families, among the offerings of seedling plants, salad greens, asparagus, morels, eggs, meat, baked goods, crafts, and more. Children gathered in excited crowds to watch a magician and a butterfly release. Since the market is close to home, many people biked over or swung by as they walked their dogs. Others pulled in on their way home from work.
Forest Lakes resident Sue Fanning says she values the market for the quality of the food she can buy for her family and also for the opportunity to connect with people. “It gives everybody a chance to get out and see each other when they haven’t seen each other in a while.”
The youngest entrepreneurs in the market are Colin and Jack Brocado, who (with help from their mother, Mary Barrick) run Colin and Jack’s Snack Shack. The boys, ages nine and six, sell baked goods, lemonade, limeade, and homemade pet toys. Half of their earnings go toward college and the other half to a charity of their choice. Last year, they decided to donate the funds to Camp Holiday Trails, where, Jack explains, kids can play even though they’re sick.
To run the business, Colin says, “You have to know how to do math, so if a person gives you a $20 bill and it costs $3.50, then you know how to subtract that.”
“We’ve also learned how to be good neighbors,” adds his mother. “We’ve learned how to be in a community.” A friendship emerged between their family and another vendor, who sold produce. She would introduce Colin and Jack to new fruits and vegetables, telling the boys how they’re grown and the best ways to eat them.
