Fresh Food, Fresh Ideas, Fresh Nation
Markets have been part of society since its earliest days. It was not in the too distant past when your grandparents or great-grandparents went to the market several times a week to buy all the food needed to keep their home kitchen stocked and bustling. The food they bought was wholesome, fresh and local.
As society became more efficient and mass production became the norm, we traded some of that wholesomeness, most of the freshness and all of that local for the convenience of one-stop shopping. Not that there is anything wrong with modern conveniences! Knowing that the supermarket will have everything that you are looking for–and several payment options– is something we have become accustomed to. And let’s be honest, the convenience of the supermarket is almost essential since our harried twenty-four- hour day seems so much shorter than the twenty-four hours that our grandparents experienced. And yet with all that, a part of us longs for that old-fashioned, in-person local market experience.
So here we are in the twenty-first century, our craving revived for wholesome, fresh and local food: that craving drives the modern Farmers’ Market movement. Across our Westchester community and across the nation, Farmers’ Markets of all different styles and sizes are dotting the landscape as we rediscover what our grandparents knew. Fresh food, simply, is the best food. Small farms are again basking in the glow of feeding their local communities. As patrons of these local Farmers’ Markets we benefit as we eat healthier, once again connect to friends and neighbors and begin to heal our environment one weekend at a time.
And yet, some of the convenience is missing…..enter Fresh Nation.
Fresh Nation is a regional organization that has the potential to enhance how we shop at our local Farmers’ Market! Their services embrace the convenience of supermarket shopping while, crucially, preserving the local experience that is the soul of Farmers’ Market shopping. What Fresh Nation is attempting to do–and we at Gossett Brothers think they have an excellent shot at achieving this goal–is to give you the consumer the ability to pre-order your favorite items from each vendor and pay for those items on the internet with your credit or debit card. Then, on market day, you simply pick up your special order and enjoy!
So think about this for a moment or two. Imagine being able to pre-order your favorite Farmers’ Market staples from your favorite vendors and having your parcels magically waiting for you on Market day! Imagine being able to pay in advance on a secure site and not having to worry about having enough cash to pay for all your goods! (Most vendors, as you probably know, aren’t yet equipped to accept credit cards.) With Fresh Nation, you still have the fun of going to your local market to see what’s new and exciting, talk to the farmers about what they are growing and connect to friends and neighbors. It’s the best of the world of technology and the best of old-fashioned community.
Our farmers are an amazing group of people. Not only do they work the land, they are also part businesspeople, part transportation company and part salespeople. They have to grow crops and take care of livestock, get up before the sunrise to transport their wares to our neighborhood, share their fresh-picked crops, go back home, do the bookkeeping (hopefully making a bit of a profit) and then do it all over again the following week. Like our business here at Gossett Nursery, our farmers’ business is a seasonal one and subject to uncertainly of weather and other variables that nature throws their way. Farming is demanding; it takes a persevering spirit to create a thriving local business.
BUT, thriving businesses–even time-honored businesses like farming– embrace change and Gossetts’ Farm Market is looking forward to exploring, along with Fresh Nation, new ways to benefit both our market patrons and our farmers. Fresh Nation is a Fresh Idea. So how do you benefit from what Fresh Nation has to offer?
- CLICK HERE to go to the Gossetts’ Farm Market Fresh Nation Page to learn more about this up-and-coming service.
- If you like what you see on the Fresh Nation page, then consider choosing to “favorite” Gossetts’ Farm Market. (By “Favoriting” us, you will receive updates both directly from our vendors and from Gossetts" Farm Market)
- Ask your favorite vendors if they are willing to explore this exciting new opportunity to partner with Fresh Nation so that their products could be available to you for pre-order.
Want to be sure that you come back home with all the fresh foods you need to create your perfect week’s menu? Then start a dialogue this Saturday with all your favorite Gossetts’ Farm Market vendors about Fresh Nation. Starting now you are invited to be part of something wonderful, a conversation that links Fresh Nation, Farmer and you. Let our Gossetts’ Farm Market vendors know that you are willing to make a commitment to their product for the convenience Fresh Nation offers.
The Fresh Nation team is not expecting our farmers and vendors to go it alone. They are behind the scenes helping them along the way until this Fresh Idea becomes the norm. It is going to take lots of work and some time, but the end result will be more of your dollars going directly to the farmer and greater convenience to you. This is a win-win situation that Fresh Nation can make a reality if we all do this together, and doing things together for the greater good is something your grandparents would have understood and what the modern American Farmer’s Market movement is all about.
-Gossett Farmers Market