Kids Leading the Way

This Week at our George Mason University, Prince William Campus Market
Thursday 11:30am–2:30pm
Fitness Center Parking Lot
Map

Look for us this week back at the Fitness Center parking lot. We’re still awaiting a definitive answer, but Mason staff felt pretty certain that the lot would be free of kids’ camp activities for the rest of the season. If not, we will be in the Occoquan lot for another week or so. I wish I could be more definite, but we have an early deadline for the newsletter this week.

We are building to the reopening of school in late August and are bringing in several new vendors, including new food trucks for a little more variety in the lunchtime choices. But we also have new farmers coming in and hopefully another baker or two to take care of that sweet tooth.

Our newest vendor, Virginia Crabs, is still trying to find what works best at this market, but he will have crab cakes and steamed shrimp and grilled tilapia sandwiches this week.

And Tyson Farms will have the first apples of the season — Summer Rambos and maybe Ginger Gold. Can fall be far behind?

From the Market Master

Earlier this year, a mom at one of our markets told her kids who wanted to sample some fruit at Max Tyson’s stand that they did not like blueberries. She said they should forego them and come along with her to the next stall. Max and I both were flabbergasted at that — here we had kids wanting to taste some fresh fruit, and the mom was telling them to move along.

For someone such as myself, who has watched moms and kids shopping at markets now for almost 10 years, this scenario was anathema to everything I believe about kids and farmers’ markets. Markets can serve as the perfect teaching tool for introducing children to new foods. They can sample just about anything they would like to — including hot peppers (but that’s another story!).

My favorite twins who shopped at a market in Vienna that I once managed for Fairfax County had a habit of downing an entire box of berries while their mother stood in line. I was often watching over them while they did this and would just call up to her when she reached the front of the line and tell her what to add to her purchases. So often I see kids running ahead of their parents, shouting “Look, Mom, they have peaches, strawberries, broccoli, corn” — take your pick.

I think it must be the vibrant colors, the many shapes, and the fact that they can taste something and pick it up with their own hands — making that decision by themselves. How empowering that must be for children who spend most of their grocery store outings sitting in a cart unable to touch anything.

On the other end of the spectrum from the mother who wanted to decide what her children like to eat is another mother who brings her precious son to market every Tuesday. More often than not, they have a carefully composed and illustrated shopping list like the one included with this post. Her son can also read it to me though he is not yet in school.

No wonder this little boy loves the market so much and knows all of the vendors and what they sell. No wonder he eats all of the foods on the list — and more — as easily as other children eat candy or fast food. And no wonder he is bright-eyed and happy, healthy and full of wonder at the sampling table.

I love it when the teaching tool works! And you can too when you bring your children to market with the same expectations of delight.

See you at the market!