An Introduction...

Hiking through McTaggart

My name is Sheri Hendsbee and I am the newest member of the Southwest Edmonton Farmers’ Market Board www.swefm.ca.

Even as the temperatures plummet and the snow flies, we are actively planning for the next Farmers’ Market outdoor season. And I am thrilled to be on “board.” Farmers’ Markets are something that I have always loved.

Raspberries, freshly picked, laid
out in a single layer on a baking tray,
placed in the freezer, and bagged
once frozen, keep their shape
all winter long, never turning
to mush or a solid mass.

There's nothing like enjoying
the sweet crunch
the very freshest beans!

I spent much of my childhood on a farm outside of Toronto helping to seed, weed, nurture, harvest, can, freeze and preserve the fruits and vegetables of our family’s garden. Living in a large city, a considerable part of me mourns the loss of that connection to the land. Though I try to replicate it to a certain extent by getting down and dirty in our backyard plot, hiking regularly through McTaggart Sanctuary and the Whitemud Creek Ravine and canning & freezing our backyard bounty… it is visiting Farmers’ Markets that bring it all back to me, and that take it to an entirely new, satisfying and enriching, invigorating and inspiring level.

• There is something incredibly meaningful and vitally important about knowing where your food comes from. 
• There is something highly valuable and intrinsically motivating about purchasing locally grown & produced foods and handicrafts and supporting the local economy in an essential way. 
• And there is something distinctly satisfying about forging connections with friends, neighbours, vendors and sponsors in a central meeting place, helping to keep a vibrant community spirit alive in our fragmented society.

I am new to blogging, and I am passionate about farmers’ markets, so come along for the ride. This blog won’t be just about our market, though that will be its focus during market season. I hope, instead, to inspire you to embrace market culture all year long. I hope that the stories and ideas I share with you here will encourage you to share your thoughts, feelings, passions and inspirations about farmers’ markets. And I hope that they will leave you feeling inspired by market culture, and encouraged enough to make it part of your life in a meaningful, regular way. 

Visit our website at http://www.swefm.ca
Like us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/swefm.ca
Contributed by Sheri Hendsbee