On October 29th, women in the Soul Food Project took a trip to the Bayview Hunter’s Point Farmer’s Market.
Some Soul Food Participants
The Market Walk was all about moving our bodies, getting some fresh air, meeting our local farmers and trying new foods! Our arrival to the farmer’s market was greeted by live beats from the band: Here’s Rusty. Children were dancing with their teachers in front of produce stands…..”this is so different!” the ladies described.
After walking a mile to get there (thanks to our pedometers, we clocked it!) We perused the beautiful varieties of fresh squash, potatoes, and grapes of all colors. In answering how the farmer’s market is different from a supermarket, they jotted down phrases like, “smells earthy”, “its smaller”, and “the produce looks fresher”. Other differences included the presence of “nicer people” and “shockingly low prices!”.
The Soul Food participants were asked to interview a farmer of their choice. The goal was to learn about a particular food item they were selling. Check out what they learned:
- Rosemary takes 1 year to grow
- Grows in any season, but prefers cold to grow fully
- Pumpkins take 3 months or more and require lots of sunshine and water
- According to the youth from Sunol Agriculture Park who grew the pumpkins, the best way to enjoy them is in pumpkin soup with cumin, salt, pepper, garlic and a little milk – Yum!
Then it was time to shop. For $10 the women purchased 1 watermelon, 4 plums, 4 pears, 2 pounds of grapes, 2 bunches of collard greens, 1 pound zucchini, 1 red cabbage, 1 sweet potato, an apple, chili and bell pepper, and 1 bag of almonds (unshelled). “I am blown away”, one participant said, “I am shopping at the farmers market from now on….”
The food traveled no farther than 1 hour to get to the farmer’s market, and came from as close as a block and half from the market, from Willie Brown Academy.
Before we left, mobile chef Gregory Mann taught visitors how to cook Butternut Squash Fritters with Apple Chutney. “This is hitting the spot!” We were so impressed, we decided make it in our cooking class the next day! Check out the recipe here
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