Parents will recognize this experience … you look at your Little Person, whom you have seen on a nearly daily basis since birth, and you suddenly realize that s/he grew about a foot since the last time you looked.
There are boney little ankles sticking out of the bottoms of pant legs and sleeves are offering atomic wedgies to the little critter stuffed inside You ask yourself, “How the heck did that happen?” and then you begin a Plan B that you didn’t even realize you needed until that moment.
Members of the Presque Isle Farmers’ Market discover a similar phenomenon when they get ready to pack up and go home at the end of a Saturday market. The scene resembles the Grinch on his sleigh returning Christmas to Whoville. All of the boxes, bags, bushels, tables, chairs, signs, stands, supplies, etc. that came out of the truck, car, van or trailer that morning need to go back in. The stuff apparently expanded. Sometimes, on the days when it is cold and rainy and only the most stalwart of customers make the trip and the sales are low, the expansion seems to be exponential. Packing up feels hopeless.
As a result, Plan B for members includes generous donations to food pantries and homeless shelters, passing along the largess to other members (which only sort of works since we are all well versed in barter and consequently want to give something back), or overstuffing bags with freebies for the wonderful customers that support us even in a cold rain. It is good to know one can barter good will as well.
Of course, the best is when we send away a number of contented customers excited about their prospective meal plans and delighted to support local farmers. We hope that you will stop by the parking lot of the Aroostook Centre Mall between 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. some Saturday very soon!
The Presque Isle Farmers’ Market contact person is Gail Maynard, who operates Orchard Hill Farm in Woodland with her husband, Stan. Their phone number is 498-8541 and their email is orchhill@gmail.com.
