Protect our Farmers Market Title, VOTE NOW!
The human desire for acceptance and belonging, probably rooted in our genetic code from millions of years of tribal life, can be expressed is some awfully ridiculous rivalries. Some people flock to the logo of a sports team and others to the flag of a state; joining in the desperate desire to feel part of something bigger, to find their place in this big world.
I rarely feel attracted to these granfalloons, but the rivalry that is sure to erupt between Rochester, NY and Davis, CA over whose Farmers’ Market is America’s Favorite has caught my attention. Now, I don’t believe that the Davis FM is the best just because I get my fresh bread (Upper Crust’s sourdough flax) and eggs there every week or because I live a block away from it. I think that it is the best because of the amazing array of products, services and community benefits that continue to expand after all of these years. I’m voting for the Davis Farmers’ Market because it is the heart and soul of this community, a place where local news and information is passed on from one trusted face to another.
The Davis FM deserves your vote, and your partner’s vote, and the vote of your children, and the vote of any out of town friend that you’ve taken to visit there because of it’s positive energy, welcoming bounty and the plethora of causes and events that it regularly initiates and supports.
Our Farmers’ Market is on the front lines of ensuring that school children receive the nutritious local foods… did you know that the the Davis Farm to School Connection is under the auspices of the Davis Farmers Market Foundation?
Founded in 2000, the Davis Farm to School Connection embodies a systems approach to education by supporting programs within the Davis Joint Unified School District that connect classroom studies with hands-on experiences. These experiences include garden based learning, classroom cooking, cafeteria taste-testing, local farm visits for second graders and waste management programs such as composting and recycling. School lunch based on values that support a sustainable food system is envisioned as part of the educational culture. We provide cooking schools for the Davis Unified School District school lunch staff, offering six lessons a year on seasonal and from scratch cooking.
Clucksters: the volunteer organizing force behind Tour de Cluck.
In turn, the Farm to School Connection hosts amazing events that bring our community together and further the cause of local and sustainable foods. Did you hear about the Tour de Cluck? It was a phenomenal success and was a project of the Farm to School Connection which means it couldn’t have happened without the umbrella support of the Davis Farmers’ Market.
Do the pony rides do it for you? Or maybe Pig Day? Picnic in the Park? Whatever the reason you love the Davis Farmers’ Market, and the list is endless… it’s time for you to step up, spread the word and defend our title for America’s Favorite Farmers’ Market. Currently, we’re about 2,000 votes behind. Now, Rochester is about 3.5 times the population of Davis… but since our FM is at least three times as good, we should have no trouble emailing, calling, facebooking and tweeting our way to number one before the deadline tonight, Tuesday, August 31st at midnight.
The process is simple. To vote for our market, all you have to do is:
1.) Go to www.farmland.org/vote
2.) Type in [95616]; and,
3.) Click “Vote”
That’s it. That’s all it takes to ensure that the Davis Farmers’ Market retains it’s rightful title as America’s Favorite.
So go vote and spread the word! Do it, do it now.
thank you.
I voted.
also posted it on my face book
Voting just closed… and Davis FM came in 2nd… Rochester (who didn’t even place last year) took first by a whopping 2,350 votes… Guess we’ll just have to do a better job at Getting Out The Vote next year!
A note from the Davis Farmers’ Market,
“Davis Farmers Market manager Randii MacNear said Rochester really got the vote out. “We want to congratulate the Public Market of Rochester, NY for rallying their supporters. They really took the vote count to the next level. This contest is a win/win for every farmers market that enters because American Farmland Trust keeps the focus on farmers, farmland and farmers markets.”
Davis Farmers Market won in the large category in August 2009, the first year of the contest. MacNear adds, “We’ll always be honored to have won the title of ‘America’s Favorite Farmers Market’ in the contest’s first year. I’m sure every farmers market that placed in the top 20 in their category is feeling the love of their community today.”
This year the Davis Farmers Market took first place among all the California farmers markets entered in the contest. The second through fifth place California markets were: Mountain View Farmers Market; San Francisco Farmers Market at Crocker Galleria; Brentwood Farmers Market; and San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.
The contest featured four categories of farmers markets by size: Large Markets (56+ vendors); Medium Markets (31-55 vendors); Small Markets (16-30 vendors); and Boutique Markets (15 or fewer vendors) which is a new category this year. To see a listing of the top 20 markets in each category, visit http://www.farmland.org/vote.”