Comments on: Does the Farmer's Market Value Education and Inspiration? http://whatscookingwithkids.com/2010/02/12/does-the-farmers-market-value-education-and-inspiration/ Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:48:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: Michelle Stern http://whatscookingwithkids.com/2010/02/12/does-the-farmers-market-value-education-and-inspiration/#comment-25957 Michelle Stern Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:45:11 +0000 http://whatscookingblog.com/?p=1939#comment-25957 Hi Bridgitte - I have looked for you at the market for 2 weeks. Maybe tomorrow will be the charm :-) Can't wait to talk with you about any productive role I can play in the market. Hi Bridgitte – I have looked for you at the market for 2 weeks. Maybe tomorrow will be the charm :-) Can’t wait to talk with you about any productive role I can play in the market.

]]> By: Eco Beeps ~ Charles Parker http://whatscookingwithkids.com/2010/02/12/does-the-farmers-market-value-education-and-inspiration/#comment-25954 Eco Beeps ~ Charles Parker Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:19:49 +0000 http://whatscookingblog.com/?p=1939#comment-25954 Oh, forgot to add, we are @EcoBeeps on Twitter. Oh, forgot to add, we are @EcoBeeps on Twitter.

]]> By: Eco Beeps ~ Charles Parker http://whatscookingwithkids.com/2010/02/12/does-the-farmers-market-value-education-and-inspiration/#comment-25953 Eco Beeps ~ Charles Parker Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:00:30 +0000 http://whatscookingblog.com/?p=1939#comment-25953 Michelle- got your email. Thanks. I'll be in touch as we get closer to a filming schedule. It looks like a happy ending for your Farmer's Market dilemma. It pays to speak up! Good for you. Michelle- got your email. Thanks. I’ll be in touch as we get closer to a filming schedule.

It looks like a happy ending for your Farmer’s Market dilemma. It pays to speak up! Good for you.

]]> By: molly watson http://whatscookingwithkids.com/2010/02/12/does-the-farmers-market-value-education-and-inspiration/#comment-25952 molly watson Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:40:51 +0000 http://whatscookingblog.com/?p=1939#comment-25952 Sounds like this all got sorted out, but perhaps you could where a clown outfit *while* you taught the classes? Makes salads *in* in the jumpy castle? Stir soup *as* you tap dance? Sounds like this all got sorted out, but perhaps you could where a clown outfit *while* you taught the classes? Makes salads *in* in the jumpy castle? Stir soup *as* you tap dance?

]]> By: Michelle Stern http://whatscookingwithkids.com/2010/02/12/does-the-farmers-market-value-education-and-inspiration/#comment-25951 Michelle Stern Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:30:24 +0000 http://whatscookingblog.com/?p=1939#comment-25951 Thank you Brigitte! I'll be at the market tomorrow. I am excited because my kids don't have school, and I really want to introduce my daughter to Pat, the man who we buy our fish from. He is fantastic and has offered to show her how to clean some fish! I'll be sure to come by and see you - and we can see if we can come up with some fun plans to integrate my experience and passion into the market :-) Thank you Brigitte! I’ll be at the market tomorrow. I am excited because my kids don’t have school, and I really want to introduce my daughter to Pat, the man who we buy our fish from. He is fantastic and has offered to show her how to clean some fish!
I’ll be sure to come by and see you – and we can see if we can come up with some fun plans to integrate my experience and passion into the market :-)

]]> By: Brigitte http://whatscookingwithkids.com/2010/02/12/does-the-farmers-market-value-education-and-inspiration/#comment-25950 Brigitte Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:54:25 +0000 http://whatscookingblog.com/?p=1939#comment-25950 Hi All, What great discussion. I can feel your passion for our farmers and our markets and that feels great. I'm with the Marin Agricultural Institute that runs 9 markets in the bay area including the Civic Center ones and from what I've read here I think what you offer is a perfect fit for us Michelle. I don't know what happened in the process, I had the staff look for your application but can't find it anywhere. We do over 90 tours a year for schools, we do scavenger hunts, chefs demos, we do farm tours, we go to the schools and talk about California Ag, we pride ourselves on building our education programs. But there are miles to go and we would love the help. I don't know what happened in the process but, Let's start over and see what we can make happen. I'd love to see kids learning to cook at the market. I'll be at the market tomorrow, ask at the information and we can talk further. Thanks for supporting local farmers! Hi All,
What great discussion. I can feel your passion for our farmers and our markets and that feels great. I’m with the Marin Agricultural Institute that runs 9 markets in the bay area including the Civic Center ones and from what I’ve read here I think what you offer is a perfect fit for us Michelle. I don’t know what happened in the process, I had the staff look for your application but can’t find it anywhere. We do over 90 tours a year for schools, we do scavenger hunts, chefs demos, we do farm tours, we go to the schools and talk about California Ag, we pride ourselves on building our education programs. But there are miles to go and we would love the help. I don’t know what happened in the process but, Let’s start over and see what we can make happen. I’d love to see kids learning to cook at the market. I’ll be at the market tomorrow, ask at the information and we can talk further. Thanks for supporting local farmers!

]]> By: colleen @ foodietots http://whatscookingwithkids.com/2010/02/12/does-the-farmers-market-value-education-and-inspiration/#comment-25949 colleen @ foodietots Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:40:17 +0000 http://whatscookingblog.com/?p=1939#comment-25949 Assuming that their main concern is that you're not a non-profit and just a business who'd get free publicity, what if you instead proposed a "kids at market" series. You could sketch out an outline where each week/month there was a different activity, all connected to food -- storytime, cooking lesson, potting plants, etc. -- and you would just be one of several sponsors/presenters. Awesome idea, Colleen! It will be interesting to see if anyone at the market knows about this conversation when I go there tomorrow morning. Maybe it will open things up for a discussion, at least. At this point, it's the principle of the thing...and how to prioritize education. Assuming that their main concern is that you’re not a non-profit and just a business who’d get free publicity, what if you instead proposed a “kids at market” series. You could sketch out an outline where each week/month there was a different activity, all connected to food — storytime, cooking lesson, potting plants, etc. — and you would just be one of several sponsors/presenters.

Awesome idea, Colleen! It will be interesting to see if anyone at the market knows about this conversation when I go there tomorrow morning. Maybe it will open things up for a discussion, at least. At this point, it’s the principle of the thing…and how to prioritize education.

]]> By: Michelle Stern http://whatscookingwithkids.com/2010/02/12/does-the-farmers-market-value-education-and-inspiration/#comment-25948 Michelle Stern Wed, 17 Feb 2010 06:01:34 +0000 http://whatscookingblog.com/?p=1939#comment-25948 KitchenMage: great ideas - but no, having a product would actually make it harder. They really want vendors to either grow or make their own products, which I can really respect. But education is a little more vague than that, since it can't be "made or grown." But it is certainly valuable and worthy of sharing, especially in that type of venue, where people already want to do the right thing but might not know how. Charles: How awesome! I would love to do a segment teaching your puppets how to cook. The idea reminds me of a recent episode of Sesame Street where Michelle Obama teaches them how to grow vegetables! Anonymous: Thanks for the thought provoking questions. I appreciate being challenged - sometimes I think my blog must not be interesting enough to invoke discussion like this! I think that if parents knew that there were educational opportunities for their children at the market, they might participate. Maybe even if they could drop by a booth and pick up a scavenger hunt to do together, they would be inclined to bring their child into the market (to taste the produce and talk to the vendors) instead of staying on the periphery where the entertainment is located. There is a wealth of amazing talent here, in Marin, who would probably all love to have the opportunity to help parents know how to use the produce or offer them fresh ideas. I am just one of many educators who would enjoy this opportunity. I would also love the chance to let kids use a variety of cooking tools on the produce that the vendors might otherwise discard. Playing with food is a fantastic way for kids to get excited and enthusiastic about cooking at home. In response to your question about how I would get families to eat better (even though others are trying to do the same thing) - I would engage them. There is nothing quite like a personal connection to get you thinking. I have fun with kids. I make them laugh. I encourage them to play, taste, cook, learn...It's a far cry from a face-less campaign of "Eat Better." KitchenMage: great ideas – but no, having a product would actually make it harder. They really want vendors to either grow or make their own products, which I can really respect. But education is a little more vague than that, since it can’t be “made or grown.” But it is certainly valuable and worthy of sharing, especially in that type of venue, where people already want to do the right thing but might not know how.

Charles: How awesome! I would love to do a segment teaching your puppets how to cook. The idea reminds me of a recent episode of Sesame Street where Michelle Obama teaches them how to grow vegetables!

Anonymous: Thanks for the thought provoking questions. I appreciate being challenged – sometimes I think my blog must not be interesting enough to invoke discussion like this! I think that if parents knew that there were educational opportunities for their children at the market, they might participate. Maybe even if they could drop by a booth and pick up a scavenger hunt to do together, they would be inclined to bring their child into the market (to taste the produce and talk to the vendors) instead of staying on the periphery where the entertainment is located. There is a wealth of amazing talent here, in Marin, who would probably all love to have the opportunity to help parents know how to use the produce or offer them fresh ideas. I am just one of many educators who would enjoy this opportunity. I would also love the chance to let kids use a variety of cooking tools on the produce that the vendors might otherwise discard. Playing with food is a fantastic way for kids to get excited and enthusiastic about cooking at home. In response to your question about how I would get families to eat better (even though others are trying to do the same thing) – I would engage them. There is nothing quite like a personal connection to get you thinking. I have fun with kids. I make them laugh. I encourage them to play, taste, cook, learn…It’s a far cry from a face-less campaign of “Eat Better.”

]]> By: Eco Beeps ~ Charles Parker http://whatscookingwithkids.com/2010/02/12/does-the-farmers-market-value-education-and-inspiration/#comment-25947 Eco Beeps ~ Charles Parker Wed, 17 Feb 2010 03:27:48 +0000 http://whatscookingblog.com/?p=1939#comment-25947 Try the nearby Petaluma Farmer's Market. Not as big as Marin. What you do is so interesting and needed. Half the battle is buying the fresh & healthy produce & proteins which is getting easier to do all the time; the other half is where most of us lose it...what to do with it once you get it home! We are filming an Eco Beeps episode at a nearby Farmer's Market- not sure which one yet- but perhaps you could stop by and give our Eco Beeps...p u p p e t s... a cooking lesson when we film. Hi to Diane Fischler! Try the nearby Petaluma Farmer’s Market. Not as big as Marin. What you do is so interesting and needed. Half the battle is buying the fresh & healthy produce & proteins which is getting easier to do all the time; the other half is where most of us lose it…what to do with it once you get it home!

We are filming an Eco Beeps episode at a nearby Farmer’s Market- not sure which one yet- but perhaps you could stop by and give our Eco Beeps…p u p p e t s… a cooking lesson when we film. Hi to Diane Fischler!

]]> By: kitchenMage http://whatscookingwithkids.com/2010/02/12/does-the-farmers-market-value-education-and-inspiration/#comment-25946 kitchenMage Wed, 17 Feb 2010 03:10:30 +0000 http://whatscookingblog.com/?p=1939#comment-25946 Would this be easier if you did education but also had a product? Could you technically be a product vendor of t-shirts, aprons, or kid-sized market baskets...but also/mostly do education. Would this be easier if you did education but also had a product? Could you technically be a product vendor of t-shirts, aprons, or kid-sized market baskets…but also/mostly do education.

]]>