"This episode is for anyone who likes food! Brian Coppom and I discuss our local farmers market (BCFM), why farmers markets are such an important part of a community, and how they make buying and preparing food more intentional, much easier and truly meaningful."
Despite the snow that our area received last weekend, spring is here! One of the signs of spring that I especially love is when the farmers market opens again for the year. The opening of the market really adds to the festive, celebratory feeling of everything starting to come to life after a long winter, and luckily for me that excitement increases because my birthday always falls around the start of the season. This year I even had a birthday breakfast picnic at the market!
Whenever I travel to a new city, I make sure to stop at the local farmer's market because I find that it helps me feel more connected to the city that I am visiting. I get to meet local farmers and see what kinds of produce is in-season there, comparing their produce to what is in-season where I live. Talking to the local farmers and vendors also usually ends up giving me insider tips on what to do and see around the city while I am visiting, which I never would have found in any guide book.
Here in Boulder, we are lucky enough to have a really great farmers market (it actually won #1 farmers market in a USA Today poll!). It was established in the mid-1980's by a group of local farmers and has since grown to host 3 different market locations (Boulder, Longmont and Denver) with over 150 different vendors. The farmers and ranchers at the markets grow what they sell, and the events are zero-waste which is pretty cool.
For this episode of the podcast, I met up with the Executive Director of the Boulder County Farmers Markets, Brian Coppom, who also has a really great TEDx talk about his journey to being involved with the farmers market, and why farmers markets are so important. We met up at the Seeds Cafe which was opened by the Boulder County Farmers Markets in 2015, and had a really great conversation about a lot of things including why we shop at farmers markets, how shopping locally relates to buying food and cooking it with intention, and about some upcoming events at the local markets.
One of the upcoming events that I am most excited about is their "Make Someone's Day" project. They did this project last year and I was lucky enough to participate (pictured above in the local newspaper!). This idea is so great on a lot of different levels: It supports local farmers by buying the flowers directly from the farm, it brings joy to so many people in so many different ways, and it connects the community, just to name a few. My experience was so good and so powerful that I will definitely be participating again this year.
I am so excited to share this episode with you and I can't wait to hear what your take-aways are after listening. Also, if you are ever near Boulder, Longmont or Denver Colorado, make sure to check out one of our local farmers markets! I promise you will walk away with a smile on your face.