Creating Connection for Consumers
The growing separation between producers and consumers stems, from our producers’ point of view, from the broader issue of people’s lack of connection to the food they eat. P5 felt that “food has become a commodity” and stressed that “people need to understand where their food’s coming from in a more intimate way.” He explained how “there’s a break between where it comes from and where it ends up, a large break. And closing that gap, being able to talk to people about what you’re doing, you know answer questions and all that, it’s kind of a luxury and it shouldn’t be.” P12 also referenced this “break.” He believed that, “at some point back in the early 1900’s, we lost sight of the connection to the land and started various refined stuff. Not only petroleum with food, but it was able to give us these synthetic fertilizers that could grow stuff like crazy that wasn’t very good.” P12 went on to say, “I like promoting so people understand. It’s important to me that people understand that meat doesn’t come from a package and milk doesn’t come from a carton.” Through these comments P12 really highlights the gap and resulting disconnect created by our modern system of industrialized agriculture, a gap that he is actively working to close.
Educating consumers and working to help them connect to the food they eat is important for our producers because they feel that fostering this connection really makes a difference in consumers’ lives. P5 said that “being able to connect the production of the food with the consumption of the food” was more “nourishing” for consumers. He believed that people who had made this connection, like the clientele at the farmers market, were “really healthy and happy” and even “kind of glowing.” “I think it’s because of the connection,” he said. P14 mentioned that these days, “the number of people that have had the experience of pulling a carrot out of the ground and tasting what total freshness is,” is much smaller than in past generations, and she hopes to change this by bringing people closer than just the grocery store aisle to the production of their food. “I love farming because I’m doing it to educate people to live,” she said.
Educating consumers and working to help them connect to the food they eat is important for our producers because they feel that fostering this connection really makes a difference in consumers’ lives. P5 said that “being able to connect the production of the food with the consumption of the food” was more “nourishing” for consumers. He believed that people who had made this connection, like the clientele at the farmers market, were “really healthy and happy” and even “kind of glowing.” “I think it’s because of the connection,” he said. P14 mentioned that these days, “the number of people that have had the experience of pulling a carrot out of the ground and tasting what total freshness is,” is much smaller than in past generations, and she hopes to change this by bringing people closer than just the grocery store aisle to the production of their food. “I love farming because I’m doing it to educate people to live,” she said.