Today's field trip took us to the Downtown Farmers Market at Pioneer Park. This location marks the site of the first pioneer campsite in Salt Lake City & the site of the first pioneer fort. It bustles with over 250 vendors, each Saturday & Tuesday night of the summer, selling produce, cheese, meat, pastries, bread, prepared foods, crafts & art from across the state of Utah. It is so easy to spend money there! However, compared to the quality & quantity of produce, in particular, it's worth the trip every week or so.
Kalea is a people watcher these days. Gone are the times when you'd stick her in the stroller & she'd be asleep in 2 minutes flat. She coos, smiles & flirts from the front seat of the stroller. Along with flirting, I caught her pointing to some berries at one of the stands we stopped at. Clearly solids are agreeing with her - look at those chubby cheeks!
Cassidy loves tasting the samples just about as much as her sister. I think I heard "want cherries mama!" about a hundred times in the few hours we were there! The other part of the farmers market that she loves is the playground. I swear she's part monkey the way she climbs, swings, jumps & squeals. Fortunately for us, she isn't completely fearless yet & loves help (& attention!) from whoever will give it to her.
My favorite part of the farmers market is the ridiculous amount of produce we bring home & meal planning for the week. (Yes, I fully embrace the nerdiness of that statement!) While surfing the web researching recipes recently I stumbled upon the Eat Local Challenge. The concept isn't foreign to me, in fact it was an item on my summertime bucket list. According to the U's Continuing Education website, which advertises an Eating Local class on Wednesday of this week, "Eating locally is more than a trend--it's a re-discovery of regional identity, a direct way to support the local economy, and a way to help reduce our nation's dependence on oil by eliminating costly transport." I'm not completely sure our family is ready to make the leap to being complete locavores but I'm willing to start being more conscience of what food my family eats, where it comes from & how it is processed. That can't be a bad thing, can it?
Why one eat locally? Check out 10 Reasons to Eat Local at Life Begins at 30.
