I often ask myself ‘where did this food come from?’ while enjoying a meal. What scary things am I eating that I don’t know about?
The way we have industrialized food has warped food culture. A huge amount of my anxiety actually stems from what I eat, and after watching the documentary Food Inc., in my freshman year of high school, I went vegetarian, and have been focusing ever since on what I consume and where it comes from.
The Headhouse Farmers Market, located in the Philadelphia Center City neighborhood of Society Hill, has kept the practice of shopping for real food alive. With over 50 rotating vendors each Saturday, the farmers market allows consumers to shop locally and actually understand who produces their food, and where their food comes from.
Michael Pollan’s book, Omnivore’s Dilemma, sums up the complexity of 21st century food consumption and culture. The supermarket has devoured local shopping and replaced it with unlimited options of snacks and meals. However, this has created harmful effects on the environment, and the consumer. Pollan claims that “how and what we eat determines to a great extent what we make of the world – and what is to become of it.”
Unlike supermarkets, the Headhouse farmers market has seasonal produce based on Pennsylvania: sweet corn and tomatoes can be found in the summer, while produce such as kale and winter squash can be found in colder months.
During Covid, the Headhouse Farmers market was arguably busier than ever. With its outdoor location, consumers from the surrounding neighborhoods can spend mornings or afternoons perusing the tables and shopping without the fear of indoor crowds.
Each time I visit, I walk the perimeter of the market, making sure to browse each table. Some tables are filled with artisanal breads and pastries, others with fresh, seasonal produce. Local businesses also make an appearance, with products ranging from fresh soaps, homemade art and jewelry to local ciders and beers as well. Every Sunday, there are new tables to peruse.
To go back to this idea of a specific place and how it conveys the physical setting of a meal and its cultural dimensions, much of the supermarket is made up of things such as LED lights, or tiled floors and concrete slabs.
It’s a building with a rooted foundation that can’t be undone, much like the detriments of the crops and animals it exploits. Supermarket buildings and products cause irreversible damage to human’s health and the environment. However, the farmers market does just the opposite. The area that is used is converted each Saturday to a pop-up market that can be set up and broken down within an hour.
During the rest of the week, it can be used for wedding venues, outdoor seating, or even a Christmas tree shop. In other words, it is multifunctional, and parallels the way in which the food is sourced: locally.
Since everything is local, there is less energy being spent on transportation, less plastic wrapped products, and there is deeper thought that goes into what one is buying, along with a deeper connection between the consumer, the farmer, and the product. The setting of this market has a deep impact on the consumer and earth and shapes the culture in which we choose to consume food.