The Weblog
The local foods movement is alive and well in Champaign County! Here are some updates on other projects while we finalize our virtual market:
Local Producers Map:
Our local producers map is ready for publication and you will soon be able to find it on gochampaign.com. Copies will be distributed around the community, in the local telephone book, and other “hangouts”. The guide lists the location and contact information for nearly 50 local producers within our county. The map was a project of the Local Food Council and printed with the help of some local sponsors including the Monument Square District, Champaign Bank, the Community Improvement Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce, the Farm Bureau and others. It is a great start to finding a local source for Champaign County’s finest!
The Weight
Catch a cannon ball now to take me down the line
My bag is sinkin’ low and I do believe it’s time
To get back to Miss Fanny, you know she’s the only one
Who sent me here with her regards for everyone…
(The Weight-The Band)
Always this song, always when I need to be swayed back to steadiness, peacefulness, calmness…
I think we all have a constant in our lives that calms us, grounds us, steadies us.
This song takes me back to old times with old pals in old places like the West End. It reminds me of taking off on carefree summer days. Loads of us all packed into cars, following each other, to destinations unplanned, unknown. The woods, parks, hiking trails…we were all a band of explorers looking for the same peace, the same calm, the same kind of steady.
Today, this past week, so much. So much business and craziness in that business life. It’s all a good crazy but even a good crazy needs to calm it’s head, at times.
Tonight, as I worked the market, I felt the same instant calm that I used to feel with my travelling band of pals. Customers greeted me, asked about my day, asked about my load, wanted to make sure I was good, that I would get some rest, that it was good to see me. Greeting the vendors was like greeting favorite family members.
In my life, I need these moments to connect with these people. My fellow vendors, my beloved customers, this lovely little market.
This little local market of love never disappoints…it’s so important in so many ways. The food, the local source, the community, the network…but, what it really does is it takes a bit of the weight, and lifts it, giving us each a bit of sunshine, weaves us all into this local fabric to help steady us all…
Go ahead…this week, place your orders, feel good about this whole local scene, and feel how steady and calm you feel once the ordering is over…I promise you that it will all be good. Right when you feel your bag is sinking low, it will pick you right back up…
Peace, Love, Grooviness…
Cosmic Pam