“Want to go to the farmer’s market?” newly minted KL2 scholar Jessica Cooke Bailey asked. Sure, why not! Wait, where are we going?
Figure 1. North Union Farmers Market, in an area in Cleveland near you! BTW, did you know they take SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) Cards at all market locations? I learned that from our Prevention Research Center for Healthy Eating colleagues!
Figure 2. Wheatgrass for cats from Crooked Creek Farm. Can they really eat this stuff? I suppose we’ll find out…
Turns out, we weren’t going much further than our very own University Hospitals (UH). UH hosts the North Union Farmers Market (Figure 1) every Thursday during the summer. Will Bush, Jessica, and I walked over late in the morning last week to check out the fresh goods and to ponder over our lunch-time options.
Jessica is a farmers market veteran, and her trip had purpose. Her egg guy was there, and she was in need of some eggs. As for me, I was a bit of a lost wanderer eager to buy something but not quite sure what. I came across wheatgrass for cats while Jessica procured her eggs (Figure 2). Despite our household’s high cat density, we have never tried the cat grass. Well, no time’s like the present! I also bought a loaf of white bread from the Amish booth (Figure 3). Surely we can use this for something. Will was more thoughtful in his purchase and came away with fresh squash for dinner that night.
Figure 3. Countryside Home Bakery at the North Union Farmers Market. Step away from the pies!
For lunch, we were unanimous: the Pierogi Market (Figure 4)! Will and I both had the lunch plate special, which came with your choice of pierogis (we chose chicken paprikash and potato bacon cheese, respectively), cabbage with noodles, and lemonade. Jessica was more reasonable and just had a plate of the cabbage. All plates were thoroughly enjoyed (Figure 5)!
Figure 4. Pierogi Market. We had to have them hot for lunch, but you can also take bags of them frozen for your enjoyment at home.
I can see myself coming back to this farmers market both for lunch and a little shopping. There were booths that sold other household items for cleaning (soap) or cooking (artisan oils and balsamic vinegar) that I would like to eventually try. And, it’s nice to get outside and stretch the legs in the middle of the workday. There’s usually live music, making it a very pleasant experience even if you are there just for window shopping.
Figure 5. Mmmm, pierogis!
Jessica noted that last week’s farmers market was smaller than usual, with both fewer vendors and fewer shoppers. Indeed, last week was a special week in Cleveland (Figure 6). While the city and CWRU did host some guests (Figure 7), most of us either left town that week or worked from home. Lucky for those of us that stuck around, we had the farmers market to enjoy on that sunny summer day.
Figure 6. Cleveland hosted the 2016 Republican National Convention. #RNCinCLE
Figure 7. CWRU, as well as other area campuses, hosted security officers in town for the Republican National Convention.
