My Trip To The Local Farmer's Market

Learning Goals

Since the beginning of my post undergraduate degree in 2019, I have been looking forward to enrolling in SUSTAIN 1S03. In what is now my final year, and with the fortune of having the first course-enrollment time slot, I am finally able to take part in learning how sustainability can and should be at the core of all degrees of life. As I progress through this learning experience, I have developed learning goals I hope to use as a pillar throughout the remainder of my life. I hope to walk away looking through a more critical and analytical lens of daily decision-making; I hope to (1) consider sustainability in my methods of food and retail consumption, transportation, and career decisions. I aim to (2) grasp a better understanding of core sustainability frameworks, how they may be applied to limiting my personal carbon footprint, and how they may help me determine where to contribute my efforts. Alongside my brother, I led a non-profit organization, The Backyard Movement, to incentivize our immediate network to take part in community-based volunteering, which included organizing various garbage clean-up events in Hamilton. I hope, from this course, to further (3) cultivate leadership in sustainability initiatives and drive more communal change among myself and my peers.

Reflection

I frequent hiking trails with my friends as it happens to be a hobby of mine. This project initially seemed like a no-brainer decision; I had the opportunity to use one of these experiences as the basis of this reflection. Reflecting on my learning goals, however, I realized it was best to step out of my routine and try something new. There are two things I should preface before I reflect on my experience. First, I live in the heart of Westdale, approximately 30 seconds away from the Westdale Farmer’s Market. Second, every Tuesday, I would walk past this Farmer’s Market for an extra 5 minutes to go grocery shopping at the Food Basics down the road to take advantage of their student discount. To spoil the ending, this experience was quite the eye-opener for me. 

On Tuesday, October 1st, 2024, I finished my classes, and headed to the McMaster Gym at around 3:00 pm. My roommate Caroline, a graduate student at McMaster and someone I frequently hike with, usually ends up finishing her work on campus at around 4:30pm. With more flexibility in my daily schedule, I sometimes time my routine to line up with hers when we decide to hike. On this day, she messaged me the usual “Would you like to go on a hike today?”. I explained my desire to finally stop by the Westdale Farmers Market, as I wanted to experience something new to use for my Experiential Learning Project. She happily agreed to join me and at around 5pm, when we congregated at the edge of campus, we walked over to King Street. 

Once we arrived, we walked around the various vendors to find some spectacularly sourced goods. Initially, we walked over to a produce stand in the middle of the parking lot that caught my eye; the vendor had set up various little baskets of randomly assorted vegetables. Alongside it stood a stack of flyers detailing what is called Project Harvest, an initiative to support the rural communities of Guatemala who live according to subsistence farming. I spoke briefly with the vendor of the project, but I knew I would be coming back to this stand after visiting the others. Throughout the market, we came across another produce stand, a vendor with delicious-looking cured meats, and a small jewelry stand. I spoke briefly with each vendor. A notable finding was that the other produce stand, Murphy’s Country Produce, had fresh apples and provided a menu-style sheet to pre-pick/pre-order produce which I found to be a great tactic for promoting recurring sales and loyal frequenters. The vendors were kindly giving out free cupcakes, and who could say no to that. Exploring further, and as a big fan of rings, I spoke with the jewelry vendor and inquired about if her goods were handmade. We shared a laugh about how if they were, they would be at a much higher price. 

After making my rounds, I remembered I needed to document my experience. After expressing my shyness of taking selfies in public, Caroline had offered to take a picture of me just a little ways in front of the Market. I previously mentioned that I wanted to stop by the first produce vendor again; I was looking to buy some vegetables and learn a little more about the cause. While I had been impressed with each vendor, this one stood out to me. I walked back over to the stand, and the vendor immediately said “You’re enrolled in a course - Sustainability”. 

I laughed. 

“Do you know how I know?”, he continued.

“... It was the picture, wasn't it?” I bashfully confessed.

We chuckled together at this, but in that moment I had a bout of self-reflection. I recall saying to my friends during past conversations that I would love to visit a Farmer’s Market, but I never made the time to follow through with it. ‘Why did it take a mandatory reflection for me to act on this?’ I remember thinking. It was a humbling moment in which I learned that as important as I agree sustainable living is, how truly do I exemplify it in my life? It felt performative on my part, and just that one moment of this excursion made me rethink some of my consumption-based decisions. 

Our conversation continued, and the vendor explained to me that each basket of vegetables was $2, and that all the proceeds went towards Project Harvest. What I found exemplary about him was that he grew a lot of the produce himself and kept none of the profits for himself. Another detail that stood out to me was that while the produce was displayed in little plastic containers, upon purchase he transferred the vegetables to a paper bag. It revealed to me that every part of the process was a sustainable practice on his part; he eliminated unnecessary plastic waste by solely using the bins for display. I had a $10 bill on me, and while he prepared my $8 in change, it occurred to me that I likely would have spent the full bill (or more) at Food Basics for the same amount of produce. I rejected the change, and asked for him to put it in the donation box. At least this time when I spent the $10, I knew it went towards an important cause. I took one of the Project Harvest flyers and walked home with Caroline.

I had never heard of subsistence farming; I was intrigued by Project Harvest. I read the flyer and visited their website to learn more about their mission. To summarize my findings, Project Harvest operates on three pillars [1]. The mission works to promote food justice for underprivileged rural communities in Guatemala by helping them establish food security and diversify their crop growth to maintain healthy and sustained living. Additionally, Project Harvest aims to enhance community resilience by harvesting rainwater to support their farming practices through building rainwater catchment systems. Finally, Project Harvest pushes for women empowerment by fighting for equal rights, education and support throughout their challenging current political environment. 

Learning about the state of rural communities in the wake of Guatemalan political injustices was another humbling moment. I’m extremely grateful that, throughout my life, food insecurity has never been a major concern. I learned in my research that “Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no surplus” [2]. This concept immediately connected me to the concept of Carrying Capacity. In a society currently plagued with overconsumption, we fail to internalize how some communities do not have enough to go by. Specifically within the realm of food consumption, I recall all the times we experience food wastage on our side of the world. While, now, the cost of living is slowing this down to some extent, many of us consume more than we need. I think of the possibility of our overshoot reaching the point of no return and we have no choice but to learn the ways of such Guatemalan communities, in which we have to live off of subsistence agriculture. 

The current state of our food consumption is a result of farming practices, the politics of importing and exporting goods, corporate greed, and personal lifestyles, which makes this issue a deeply layered one. My reflection will likely barely scratch the surface. However, in the wake of this cost-of-living crisis we experience, I have noticed a predominant segregation of social class. Specifically, I have noticed that access to food has become a method of displaying social status. For the sake of brevity, I will explain this through a specific example. Through my access to social media, I have witnessed polarizing lifestyles across North America alone. I have learned of a grocery chain in California, USA, by the name of Erewhon that, for instance, sells smoothies for up to $22 dollars [3], and bags of spherical-shaped ice for up to $40 [4]. At Erewhon, everyday items are marked up to staggering prices. At first thought, it is obvious that people can simply opt out of shopping here. However, this grocery store rose to popularity by higher-income, often social media influential, people who frequently document their shopping experiences and spending practices there. Simultaneously, just a few scrolls down, I see multi-income, middle-class households who are struggling to feed their families even when choosing to shop at common grocery establishments. This situation has shown me that access to food is becoming increasingly concerning. The spectrum highlights that there exists both communities who have no access to food whatsoever, and communities who flaunt their wealth through unnecessary food consumption.

The solution to this problem is far bigger than what I can accomplish as an individual, but it has made me think deeper about how I can be more sustainable in my personal life. While my community is privileged enough not to have to rely on subsistence farming, we are experiencing the effects of an increased cost-to-live. With both of these in mind, I hope to better manage my sourcing and consumption of food. I was able to make multiple meals with the $2 of vegetables I purchased from the Westdale Farmer’s Market. My purchase there did not include a bulk of any one item, so I am happy to say none of it went to waste. Keeping in mind the lifecycle of produce, and how many times in the past produce has gone bad in many of our refrigerators, I take from this experience the goal to purchase only what I need and what I know I can manage to consume. While this decision may not solve the world’s societal and economic problems, achieving my goal will, at the very minimum, enable me not to add to them.

Works Cited

1. Project Harvest - Guatemala. (n.d.). https://www.projectharvest.org/ 

2. Subsistence farming. Canada Commons. (n.d.). https://canadacommons.ca/topics/subsistence-farming/#:~:text=Subsistence%20agriculture%20occurs%20when%20farmers,with%20little%20or%20no%20surplus. 

3. Erewhon - Smoothie Menu. Erewhon. (n.d.). https://erewhon.com/search?q=smoothies 

4. Makalintal, B. (2024, April 29). Why does this ice cost $32?. Eater. https://www.eater.com/24144307/erewhon-penny-pound-ice-tiktok-explained