Anne and I got there around 9:45 am, which was pretty good for us since Marion is almost an hour from Our Humble Little Cottage. We would have been there earlier, but it took us nearly a half hour once we got into town to find the place. We asked several people for directions. One started with, “It’s right across from Macado’s, only back a few streets…..sorta…..”  If Ken Heath, the market director reads this, I suggest you put a sign that says “TURN LEFT” at the appropriate spot for those of us coming in from exit 45 on I-81, who are unfamiliar with your charming little town, and are directionally challenged.

And it is a charming town with an excellent  market. The vendors we had a chance to talk to were very knowledgeable and informative about their products.  At 10 am there were still enough choice products left that we spent all our cash, and there were still things we wanted to buy.

Farmer’s Markets of one form or another have been around for over a thousand years in Europe and Asia. Here in the USA, they date back to Colonial Days. Contemporary markets are a growing trend in this country. In 1994, the first year that the US Department of Agriculture collected data, there were 1,755 active markets across the country. In 2009, the number had more than tripled to 5,274.

Markets allow producers to cut out the middleman and sell directly to consumers. For  many farmers, they are an important source of income since wholesale prices are often the same or less than the cost of production. Consumers have the opportunity to purchase high quality goods like organic vegetables, free-range meats, homestead cheeses, local honey and jams at reasonable prices. Markets also feature local art and crafts, home baked goods, and flowers and produce from home gardens.

Aimee Dickenson's "Koi Fish" cupcakes

Shelly Sells' handcrafted goat milk soap

The real highlight for me was the opportunity to meet two small producers of grassfed meats: Charlie Clark of Rich Valley Grazers, and Antoinette Goodrich of Laughing Water Farms. Charlie produces beef and pork, and Antoinette offers lamb and veal. I’ve already used products from both farms and can tell you their offerings are superior, some of the best I’ve had in a number of years. While I was a chef, my signature dish was Osso Bucco, an Italian preparation of braised veal shank. Saturday was the first time that I’ve seen veal shank offered in this area. That night I was inspired to fix Osso Bucco braised in white wine and chicken stock with a lemon gremolata, served with a wild mushroom ragout, and polenta garnished with fresh thyme and wild asparagus. Not to pat myself on the back, (which I do every chance I get) dinner was delicious.

Antoinette Goodrich offers a customer a taste of her garlic sprouts

For Sunday lunch, we had cheeseburgers made from Charlie’s ground beef.  Jimmy Buffett doesn’t have a clue what a real “Cheeseburger in Paradise” tastes like unless he’s had a “Charlie Burger” as I now call them.

Charlie Clark, cattle farmer and Chairman of the Smyth County Board of Supervisors

Time ran out before we had a chance visit with every vendor, so we plan to go back soon. This time we’ll get there early.  And bring more cash. The Marion Farmer’s Market is open every Saturday from May thru October, 8:00 am-12:00 pm. It is located at the corner of Cherry and Iron Streets in the Town Square parking lot (across from Macado’s, only back a few streets…sorta.)

Market Shots

Aimee Dickenson of "Baby Cakes" and daughter Piper

Martha Holder (left) of Lazy Bee Farm and Shelly Sells of Country Milk "N" Gifts

Seth Taylor and Larrissa Powers

Budding Artist Eleanor Goodrich

Suzanne Capone (on the left) of Omega Lane Farm

Sarcasm aside, I really do want to talk about the Healthy Foods Foundation Conference last Saturday sponsored by The Mansion at Fort Chiswell and Key Ingredients for Life.

The Mansion at Fort Chiswell

The Conference was the brainchild of Chris Disibbio, founder and president of Key Ingredients For Life, Inc. and owner of The Mansion. Key Ingredients’ website is still under construction, but if you register on The Mansion’s site, you’ll be notified when it’s up and running. Chris, like me, believes you really are what you eat. We share the same concerns that we are in danger of losing 300 years of food history in one generation because not only do a lot of younger folks not know how to cook from scratch, they don’t know how to eat. Processed and fast foods have made us one of the most obese nations on earth.

I wish we had been able to spend the whole day there, but Anne had a previous commitment and by the time she dropped me off and I was able to get back, I had missed a lot. I was very pleased with some of the networking I was able to do though. It was a real pleasure to meet Debi Anderson of Anderson Grass Fed Beef in Bland, and Suzanne Capone (276-686-5843) of Omega Lane Farm in Rural Retreat. I visited both farms earlier this week, and I highly recommend both. Debi and her husband RB, and Suzanne and her husband Bill Perry, are hard working small producers who care enough to go the extra mile.

Debi Anderson with a display of the maple syrup they also produce

Thanks to a package of the Andersons’ ground beef, I was able to enjoy a cheeseburger last night for the first time in a very long time.

Suzanne Capone

I plan to do a more in depth article about the organic produce from Omega Lane Farm a little later in the growing season, but I have to show you a couple of shots of the solar powered greenhouse (the first in the state) that Bill designed and had built, much of it using recycled materials.

Bill Perry, hard at it inside the greenhouse

Though we only had a few minutes to chat, I’m looking forward to visiting with Gary Mitchell of Grayson Natural Foods in Independence. Gary provided the ground beef for the burgers at the conference.

If you value your health and those of your loved ones, you need to listen to what these folks are preaching. This morning CNN reported a 23 state recall of romaine lettuce contaminated with e coli, sold in Virginia by Kroger’s. Please take the time to read the article on meat processing from Sustainable Table.
Your life could depend on it.