Farmers Market Musings

Mary Kelley
“There is nothing which heaven does not cover, and nothing that
earth does not sustain.”
Chuang Tzu
369-286 B.C.
Laurie Martin and Toby Daly are health practitioners who look to
the Earth as the source of good health. Their office is filled with
herbs, mushrooms, and teas that complement their acupuncture
practice at Traditional Healing Arts in Cloverdale. They also
prescribe fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables for optimal
health.
Now, when they advise their patients to go to the source, as
close as possible to the Earth, to find the food that will boost
their immune systems, they will put a Market Token in the hands of
their patients. It is a prescription to the Healdsburg Farmers’
Market. A Veggie Rx.
Laurie and Toby purchased Market Tokens from the Healdsburg
Farmers’ Market, and their patients will be ready to spend the
Tokens at the Saturday market, when it opens on May 7, and at the
Tuesday Market, when it opens on June 7th. Laurie and Toby are not
only guiding their patients toward healthy food, but they are also
supporting local agriculture.
Each Market Token is worth $5. All the vendors at the market
will accept them, so there are still choices for the consumer to
make. Should one purchase a bar of soap, or instead, invest in
health by purchasing carrots, beets, kale, and onions for a
nourishing stew that will last many days? Should one purchase
coffee, or good quality butter to enhance the taste of chard and
broccoli? Laurie and Toby are empowering their patients to take
personal responsibility for their health.
At the end of the day, the vendors will redeem the tokens from
the pool of cash that Toby and Laurie paid to the Market for the
purchase of the tokens.
Laurie and Toby suggest that their patients ask the farmers how
to prepare meals using healthful ingredients, and they remind them
that they can also learn from Donna Del Rey during her cooking
demonstrations on the second Saturday of each month. They also
suggest looking for foods that are in season, and making meals from
a rainbow of colors: green (kale), red (beets), or orange
(carrots), etc.
If you are a nurse, doctor, dentist, nutritionist, or other
health care practitioner, and you would like to purchase Market
Tokens for your patients, please contact the Farmers’ Market at the
e-mail address below.
An individual or business that might like to give the tokens as
a gift to friends, colleagues, employees, or even visitors to
Healdsburg can also purchase the Market Tokens.
Mary Kelley is the Manager of the Healdsburg Certified Farmers’
Market. She can be reached at Ma**@He*********************.org