Thursday at Farmer's Markets

We started out our day by trying out our cooking skills! Emelia taught the group how to make  Finnish pancakes. The pancakes turned out great and we were all able to add some delicious toppings, like strawberries, cherries, and jam.

We then braved the rain to head to the Boston Public Market. Some members of our group had visited the market earlier in the week, but it was the first time that our whole group got to look around the market together. We got the chance to learn about some interesting businesses, like Nella Pasta. There, we met Avery, a pasta connoisseur who explained how Nella was unique because it made fresh-made pasta.

Nella buys their ingredients from local farms, like CornerStock, which actually had a stall at the public market as well. Avery showed us some unique pastas they had right at the stall, like Roasted Beet pasta and Herb de Provence pasta. The Beet pasta gets its name and beautiful magenta color from the beets that are pureed and added to the pasta dough. We got the chance to sample some of the pasta and it was so delicious that several of our group members bought some of the pasta to take back home!

We also got the chance to learn more about Nella’s suppliers, like CornerStock. Connie Cooney, one of the owners of CornerStock, explained how she uses a hydroponic system to grow plants. CornerStock uses 4 freight containers with 150 towers in each container. This system is unique because plants can be grown regardless of the environment outside the containers. Water is combined with nutrients and filters into the plants in the towers. Solar-powered red and blue LED lights provide a substitute for sunlight. Learning about CornerStock definitely gave us a new perspective on the idea of sustainable farming.

We then headed to an outdoor farmer’s market, where we saw a variety of stands. Dan, one of the owners of a produce stand, explained to us how he sells solely at farmer’s markets. We also learned about some of Dan’s practices, like not tilling soil.

When we arrived back at Church on the Hill, we watched Food Chains, a movie about the plight of migrant farm workers. This movie gave us a better understanding of the physical and economic abuse that farm workers face. It showed us the different coalitions that tomato workers have formed to fight these injustices. In addition, we learned about the power that supermarkets have in the system and how certain supermarkets have refused to meet demands for fair wages and conditions for farm workers. This film gave made us think more about the choices we can make with our money when we buy produce.

We topped the night off by learning how to make our own pizza. We all split up into 3 teams and we learned how to make pizza dough and ricotta. We then added fresh vegetables and cheese for toppings. We even made a dessert pizza with apples and cinnamon! It was a great end to the day.