I had an opportunity to visit the folks at Berea Farmers Market a few weeks ago for their Live Large! Live Local! festival. They had an amazing farm-to-table lunch that was out of this world. (Trust me, this line of work leads to eating a lot of farm-to-table meals, but this one was an incredible value for the money!)
I feel like I should confess that I am already biased towards this market, because I love Berea. It is probably in my top five places I would like to live in Kentucky. With this mind, I was very impressed with the market because while relatively small in number of vendors, it had a great level of diversity in product offerings.
Some of the vendors include:
(And I just got word that my new friends at Heavenly Homestead Cheese are now selling raw milk cheese there, too!)
I think too many times we see local food as this big battle that we are fighting—and mostly losing—at policy level. While that may be true on the highest levels of government and politics, the fact is that in places like Berea Farmers Market, we are winning. This is where real change occurs at the smallest level. This is where farmers can make a decent living (we hope) and consumers can gain access to whole, healthy food that is good for the environment and their health.
I don’t think I can reiterate this point enough: it is the small choices that will change the world. Every community deserves to have a market like this one. Every farmer deserves the chance to nourish his community and still be able to provide for his family. The only way this is going to happen is if each of us make the choice to buy local as often as we can.
The Berea Farmers Market would make an amazing day trip for anyone in Kentucky. Hit the market on Saturday morning, enjoy a delicious local foods lunch at the Black Feather, then meander through the array of arts, crafts, and antique shops situated throughout the city. There’s pretty much always something going on around town, so check the Berea calendar of events for a schedule.
Connect with Berea Farmers Market on Facebook for more information about this great market!
