Passionate About Markets Part 2

So just what is it about markets that I am passionate about? Part of it is the history of people and how we’ve always used markets as a place to not only purchase food and other items, but also as a place to connect with others, a place to build and share community. In interviewing shoppers, vendors and residents in my summer research in Los Angeles, people consistently indicated how important “their” market was for building community. Even in the car “crazy” culture of Los Angeles people came to markets to connect with others and feel a sense of community.

My feeling is that markets help to build and empower the communities which they are located in. This should not be taken for granted. Creating “ownership” on the part of the customers and vendors and managers is vital to success. There is little doubt that markets help people become more connected to their communities and managers need to be mindful of this and constantly thinking about how to also connect with the larger community, through having community message boards, information about community events and newsletters at the market.

Markets, of course, are all about fresh food, the colors and smells of fruits and veggies, conceivably picked that morning, the taste of fresh salsa and baked goods, the free-range organic meats, the fish that was brought to the pier that morning. Markets are truly democratic institutions with all types of people being on equal footing. Markets are all about hearing your favorite local musicians or seeing your favorite performers. Markets are about family and meeting others, they are about tradition and passing this to the next generation, something that lasts forever. Markets offer the opportunity to learn about other cultures and to support a worthy non-profit. Markets are about education, finding a new recipe, finding out how to make the planet a better place, they are the essence of acting locally, while thinking globally.

I’m looking forward to providing my perspective and to dialoguing about the wonderful world of public markets, for that matter life.