We Owe Thanks to Many

Yesterday we had our last outdoor version of Bounty of the Barrens Farmers’ Market for 2011, and even though we will continue to have the market on the second Saturdays of each month though the winter (at the Barren County Cooperative Extension Service office), it is time to pause and reflect on our third year of operating the market.

We have so many folks to thank. First of all, we continue to owe Debbie Livingston and the team at BB&T for allowing us to give birth to the market at their property and to continue to give us a place when other events prevent us from using the Glasgow Square. Of course, next we need to thank Judge Executive Davie Greer and the Barren County Fiscal Court for allowing us to move the market to the Barren County Courthouse lawn this year. That move was also facilitated by the approval of Mayor Rhonda Trautman and the Glasgow Police Department, and we are thankful for all of the confidence these folks have in us. I think all of us, including the local elected officials, are thrilled with the way the market has brought life back to the Square this year on Saturday mornings.

We are so lucky to have gotten so much support from the locals who made the market a required part of their Saturday mornings and for the new folks who discovered Glasgow and the Square and the unique qualities of our community through their attraction to the local food and the festive atmosphere created by Bounty of the Barrens Farmers’ Market on the Glasgow Square.

Of course, the festive atmosphere and the local food are things we owe to the farmers and craft people and local musical artists that gave of their time and talent for the twenty weeks of the outdoor market season. Their decision to employ themselves and their land in the work of feeding their neighbors is at the very core of the Sustainable Glasgow movement. Without them, we accomplish nothing.

We are still working to attract more local farmers and land holders into the local food economy that is represented by the market. We know that a sustainable local food economy begins and ends with local people willing to till the soil and work with the weather to firmly establish our region as one capable of producing food which can also be consumed by local folks. We have enough folks working the commodity crop business – we still need a lot more of them growing food that we can put on our tables right here in Glasgow such that our food system will serve us no matter what else happens in the business world outside of our region. The pursuit of this mission will continue to be at the very center of our efforts.

As this year’s outdoor market ends, the Sustainable Glasgow team begins its plans for next year, and beyond. We will be looking for ways to improve the market on the Square next year and we are always looking for more food vendors to set up shop there. Eventually, we hope our market evolves into a year-round indoor facility with a commercial kitchen and other features which will continue to move us toward a totally sustainable food economy. At the same time, we continue to lobby for improved pedestrian and cycling facilities in Glasgow as an alternative way to improve our transportation and health options in our town.

The Sustainable Glasgow movement is alive and growing and we know that is because of all of the folks who have made it a part of their life. We are thankful for all of the support we have gotten in our work and look forward to the many ways we can make our little corner of the world a better place for us all to live. Keep your eyes on our website and our Facebook page for exciting new developments, coming soon!