Schlafly stopped sponsoring the farmers market previously held on its lot in Maplewood in February last year, so now it has become vendor-owned and renamed S.O.L. Food Farmers Market. S.O.L., standing for Sustainable, Organic, Local.
Its new spot is at 2808-2810 Sutton Boulevard (Living Room and Bolyard’s Meat & Provisions parking lot).
Its opening day is Wednesday April 28, to be held weekly through October on Wednesdays, 3:30-6:30 p.m.
SOLE, standing for Sustainable, Organic, Local, Expensive.
Purchasing locally provides so many great benefits including knowing where your food comes from and supporting local economy.
There are HUGE cost to buying cheaper, mass produced commodity food. The Farm Bill is supported by taxpayers — subsidizing the overproduction of corn and soy to the largest famers. The environmental impact being felt by our neighbors in northern Missouri as demonstrated by the lagoon breaches at a CAFO and the lack of oversight. And then there is the issue of paying staff living wages.
I absolutely understand that there is a large segment of the population for which the bottom line expense for their groceries is the most important aspect. And there are systematic changes that will hopefully continue to happen to address this inequalities.
I am grateful to be in a position where I can choose to invest more of my resources to support our local farmers.
I agree, my dad kept bees, it was a ton of work and we loved doing it, there was no way he could keep pace with grocery store prices. And I agree, for many families paying a little more for a product is out of their price range, I respect that. There is nothing like apple blossom, or buckwheat honey. Spring wildflower honey is so light and fruity. My dad would move his hives from time to time, on a flat bed truck. He would cover them and move them at night, all the farmers loved to see him come. This was his HOBBY! Some times its worth it, to pay a little more to support a farmer and their family. I am willing to pay extra for a homegrown tomato, because there is nothing in the store that tastes like it, and a workman is worthy of their hire!
Hoping this will create less of a parking, driving problem. Getting down Southwest could be a challenge, lots of people having a great time but not always looking when stepping into traffic, and it could be difficult to find parking when it was at Schlafly. Still they were great to host for so long. This is such a fun neighborhood event.
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