Every year, among many other things, Catherine Porter, organizes generous community volunteers to cook dinner for the farmers and their helpers at the East Lynn Farmers Market. She sent along this note of thanks.
The last farmers’ market this year was cold and damp. The farmers had dwindled down to 14, selling apples and honey and what’s left of the broccoli and lamb. But, at 5:15 p.m. they shovelled in warm bangers and mash and were, as usual, very grateful. I handed a steaming plate to a new farmer, who arrived to the market for the first time with Ruth’s cheese. He was bewildered.
“What is this?” he said. “Our community is grateful you are here. So, we feed you every Thursday so you leave with big, warm bellies,” I answered.
He beamed at me.
It was another great moment of many this summer.
Every Thursday — rain or shine — when you are rushing home, someone is rushing out to the farmers’ market not to pick up supplies (although, maybe that too), but to bring each of them a homemade meal.
Some people cooked once, which was fabulous. Others cooked twice and three times, which was mind-boggling. And every Thursday, the farmers said how grateful they were for the generosity and kindness.
As I’ve said many times here before, the farmers feed us, and we feed the farmers. They have helped make our little pocket of the city more of a community, and we in turn, want to include them in that feeling.
It’s a lot of work, for very little pay. But it was very much appreciated.
So, please, thank with me the following cooks, who arrived on a Thursday with every thing from Morroccan chicken curry to lasagna:
Susan Spratley, Nicola St. John, Susan Cox, Susi Tarleton, Pat Chartier, Kirsten Hurd, Shelley Pogue, Mary Egan, Sara Heinonen, Nicola Yap, Robin Forbes, Susan Crofts, Frances Bartlett, Tanya Geisler, Jessi Schmiedchen, Laurie Smith, Catherine Dorton, Ruth Heathcote, Lorraine Cheng, Alisha Austin, Wayne Chee, Melissa Peritti, and Alison McMurray.
If you want to join us and cook one night — or many — next summer, please let me know: catherine_porter@rogers.com