Kate MacDonald
Special to the Sun

A trip to the supermarket can be like a geography lesson: apples from New Zealand, grapes from Chile, tomatoes from Mexico. It can be difficult to find fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables. Unless you are lucky enough to live in a community with a Farmer’s Market. And soon, the Kern River Valley will have its own.

“Just by talking to people, everyone was interested in having one,” he said. A meeting to determine the interest in the market on Aug. 16 showed that locals were very interested indeed. About 80 people showed up. “That told us right there,” he said. The first market was planned for the following Saturday. But further research revealed that the growers would be required by the USDA to obtain a certification number. Leon drafted a notice which she e-mailed to all the potential vendors that had signed up at the meeting.

Farmer’s Market organizers Anna Leon and Dane Lieble.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for years,” said Dane Lieble, one of the organizers of the soon-to-be Farmer’s Market. Leibel and Anna Leon, are volunteers at the Nuui Cunni Tribal Center, which will be hosting the market every Saturday, beginning Aug. 30. (“The certification process required by the Department of Agriculture must be addressed in the interest of public safety. This process is simple but will take longer than expected, so the market planned for Aug. 23 did not take place. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.”) Saturday though, the market seemed to have a life of its own, and people arrived anyway with their eggs and fruits and veggies.

“Everyone brought fruits, to share, wonderful watermelon, grapes, all kinds. The more it gets out we’re having it, the more people want to do it,” said Margaret Redman, who has 60 laying hens and looks forward to selling her eggs. “Most people don’t want pesticides, they want fresh veggies. I don’t use any chemicals on my chickens.” Redman said she has talked to over 300 people over the last couple of years “ranging in age from 18 to 80 – they were all interested in having a Farmer’s Market,” she said. She pointed out that someone needs just a little land to grow some vegetables and that there are lots of resources available for those who want information about small farming from the Farms Services Agency and UC Davis’ Small Farm program. She attended a workshop and learned about easy ways to increase the growing season.

Lieble calls Farmers Markets “community-building.”

“It becomes an economic thing too… somebody who wants to make one hundred, two hundred dollars a week should be able to do it,” he said.

Richard Rowe, a Living Green organizer who pens the KRVR website writes, “Most grocery food travels well over 1,000 miles from farm to plate, and often much farther. Eating locally and regionally sourced food can cut down those transport emissions and costs enormously while keeping farms in your area alive. Local food can be fresher too… Part of Living Green is living well within your means. Eating well too. The new Farmer’s Market will help us all to do just that and to build community at the same time.”

The number of farmers markets in the United States has increased dramatically, according to the Project for Public Spaces, from some 1,755 markets in 1994 to over 3,700 in 2004. Over three million consumers shop at these markets, where an estimated 30,000 small farmers and food entrepreneurs earn a partial or full living selling their local products. The USDA has projected roughly $1 billion in consumer spending in urban, suburban and rural communities’ farmers markets.

The health advantages to eating produce that has been organically grown and hand harvested the same day you buy it are obvious. And then – there’s the taste. The tomatoes in my own garden are stupendous. And I want to share them. That’s what a Farmer’s Market’s all about.

To sell at the Market costs only $10. You must provide you own tables and, if you wish, chairs and umbrellas.

To participate as a certified producer, the application process is simple. An inspector will visit and a $10 fee is charged. Then you receive a certification number. This insures that the shoppers will really be getting local vegetables and fruit, grown with tender loving care.

For More Information Please Contact Anna Leon (661) 978-8712 Mtn.Anna@Gmail.Com