Beginning my internship with Ogallala Commons, I was unsure what to expect and what this experience would hold for me. During the intern retreat in Texas, I was introduced to the Ogallala Commons mission more in depth and learned about how vital rural communities are to America. With my newfound appreciation for small towns and my own home, Woodland Park, I arrived at our first farmers market with an open mind.
While helping set up and run the market throughout the day, I had the privilege of meeting many farmers and small business owners in Woodland Park. All of their stories opened my eyes to the amount of work that goes into supporting a family in a small town. Each one puts in massive amounts of time growing and harvesting their crops or making and packaging their product to share at local marekts and earn their living. Even after just the first market, I am already forming relationships with the vendors and the community. As the summer progresses, I am excited to see where they go.
As an intern with the Woodland Park farmers market, I am required to design a project based around the market. After seeing all of the unique products being sold, I have decided to set up cooking demos with recipes made from ingredients purchased within the market. Seeing the different ways to use the fresh fruits and vegetables will promote a healthy lifestyle and locally grown produce. From there I want to develop a map of our market for the customers so they will be able to find different types of food for all different types of diet restrictions. This way, our market with be easy to navigate if people are looking for gluten or dairy free foods.
First Farmers Market of the summer June 9, 2017
