Beyond Freshness at the Farmer's Market

Years ago, when I first began visiting the Crescent City farmer's market (occasional Saturday morning), my objective was usually to find something so fresh that is was just picked the day before or maybe even that morning. Or maybe it was to find something unique from a local farmer that you may not see in your neighborhood supermarket. Something so fresh that you just had to cook it that day to do it justice. Back in those days I only knew of the market on the corner of Magazine St and Girod in the warehouse district. But as my interest grew I learned that there were other locations that had markets throughout the weekdays and after Katrina, a market also emerged in the cozy neighborhood of old Gretna. In addition to that I discovered fairly recently that very early on Saturday mornings (6am-9am) the vietnamese community, located in the far reaches of desolate New Orleans East, holds their own informal farmer's market as well. Although based on location I generally like to go to the Gretna market, but this Saturday morning I decided to drag my family out of the house at the crack of dawn to first pay a visit to the vietnamese market, then swing by the warehouse district to see what they had to offer there. The vietnamese market is a simple market. By simple I mean there are about a dozen or so local farmer's (mostly women) who have blankets laid out in areas of a strip mall parking lot selling the various types of greens and produce they grow in their home gardens. Just about all of the produce here consists of ingredients you would generally find in vietnamese cooking (of course) and I would bet most of it was pulled from the ground within in a mile from where I was standing. Asian pears, cilantro, bean sprouts, lemon grass, purple basil and the list goes on. However there is a language barrier here so communication and transactions are challenging. Even though you are still in Orleans parish, you get the sense you are in a completely different country. This market is about the garden next door. On a different scale, the market in the CBD is more organized and diversified. This market has booths with about 15-20 vendors who represent not just the neighborhood, but this whole region. From produce farmers from Folsom, tamale makers from Independence, citrus gurus from Plaquemines to artisan chocolates, homemade croissants and freshly-picked flowers, the challenge here is to walk away empty handed. After visiting both markets what left the biggest impression on me was not just how great local, fresh products can be, but how interesting and diverse the people growing and developing them can also be. These people are our neighbors and local farmers and artisans who are a part of our community. All of them may not live down the street but they live close enough to make the morning commute. If I had it my way I'd get all my food from folks like these, but that's just not possible. Not yet...