|
Clodagh McKenna
Clodagh McKenna is a chef presenter on the UK Food Network and is the Editor of the ‘Slow Food Ireland Guide to Producers’. She runs farmers’ markets at Farmleigh and has a commercial kitchen in West Cork where she produces her own line of products.
There are many who consider farmer’s markets to be in something of a pivotal phase. We are in the midst of an Irish culinary revolution. Over the last three years there has been a huge emergence of farmer’s markets throughout Ireland. But the balance is a delicate one. The public need producers as much as producers need the public. Turning up occasionally, or seeing the markets as an area of discretionary spend only serves to reinforce a view that they are somehow not mainstream, not a normal way to shop.
| Farmers’ markets may be in their infancy but they are the way to the future enthusiast, participant and advocate of this relatively new and fascinating way of retailing food. |
The reason why I have become involved in farmers’ markets and why I feel so passionate about them, is because I want to bring good food to everyone, not just a few foodies. It seemed to me that the Irish food culture was very alive, but very small, and if it didn’t grow, it was going to disappear.
It makes no sense to me that most of the vegetables we were buying seemed to be coming in from Holland on one ship, while what we were growing was going out on another. The idea of encouraging farmers to sell locally was really challenging and in my mind the only way forward economically and ecologically.
Among the many benefits that farmers’ markets provide for their community, here are just a couple:
- Farmers Markets have rekindled the relationship between the producer and consumer. In an age when too much food travels too far it is a pleasure to buy something from someone who has had a hand in producing it.
- Producers are enjoying a tangible demand for their goods in contrast to producing a commodity which disappears into an invisible market.
- Consumers are being offered a previously inconceivable range of produce over which they can voice opinions.
- Farmers Markets also help in revitalising local rural economies by providing employment and keeping the money within the community.
The most encouraging aspect to farmers’ markets is that lots of young people are getting involved, taking a new look at the old traditions and thinking ‘what could we do? Having fun at the markets and revitalising small farms that may have been in the family for generations, but were struggling to keep going, is a wonderful example of bringing the past and the future together. This not only keeps our economy alive but it fires our history, culture, and tourism
|
