When people drive through Macon, I'm sure their first thought is that this place loves road construction, a box store, and fully believes in urban sprawl with its whole, communal heart. However, if you look a little more closely, Macon has many options for those who want to buy and sell local. Macon is the home to several farmer's markets and plenty of fresh food; especially this time of year. One of our favorite things to do is visit The Mulberry Street Market. We love going because not only can you purchase a lot of very neat items, it is also a fun atmosphere, and can at times feel as close as we'll get to maybe what it would have been like to shop for food back when you knew everything about the food you ate. I find it very interesting that for a country that loves to eat so much, we know so little about where our food comes from, how it gets to our tables, and even more simply how it grows or how it is raised. I believe that if most people knew more about even just a little of the previous sentence, then most everything about food production in the US would change.
Out of the several options we have for farmer's markets, we love going to The Mulberry Street Market the best. They have a great selection of food items ranging from fresh vegetables, to homemade baked goods, to grass-fed beef and other livestock options. Mel and I love looking at each booth and seeing what they have to offer. You can pay with cash, but it is more fun to use the very convenient and nifty system of paying for wooden tokens with your debit card. We have done both, but the tokens are more fun, but that just may be me. It was like getting those tokens at Chucky Cheese, but instead of getting to buy a plastic spider, you get to buy a loaf of fresh baked bread or a cup of homemade peach ice cream. It is also a very different and much more satisfying experience to purchase something from someone who worked for and cared for the product they are selling to you. It feels more like adoption than consuming.
This summer, we took Ford to the market. I know he is too young to get much out of the visit, but I am going to say he liked it. He looked around and seemed interested in the sights and sounds at each booth. He was also proud of getting to wear his overalls and look like he belonged. We had a great trip and only spent $15 and one of the items we bought is growing in our yard and gives us food. Here are some photos of our little trip. Hope you enjoy and then head to the market. The market is held every Wednesday in the same spot on Mulberry Street in downtown Macon. The hours change depending on the time of year, but the vendors are always great and seem to always be added to. The first time we went, there were about 10 vendors and during our trip this summer, they had about 20 vendors. And it is free to attend and you can't beat that.
The pic I stole from their Facebook page.
The money tent where you slide your debit card and get some pretty awesome wooden tokens.
The very useful and helpful 4H table. We got pamphlets about recycling and composting and have started doing both since reading them.
Several chalk signs and people perusing their options.
One of the many booths where you can purchase everything from pork chops to organic wheat flour.
Ford and his mom trying to decide whether to get a watermelon or peach ice cream.
A very cool mill that was featured in one of the booths. As they were selling their goods, they were adding sunflowers to the mill and it was grinding them and turning them into sunflower flour. Very cool.
A booth where you could purchase fresh, cold watermelons and real lemonade.
Ford and me standing by a booth after buying some fresh baked Italian herb bread for paninis.
The day we went to the market, it was very hot. 104 degree kind of hot. We tired out pretty quickly. We sweated a lot. We needed an ice cream and a cool seat. We did something we'd never done before...we ate peach ice cream on the steps of 100+ year old church. We had a great time.
Our prized purchases: fresh flowers, Italian Herb bread, and the crazy Egyptian crawling onion, which truly is a gift that keeps giving!
Happy eating, happy reading, and get to a farmer's market,
David
