I recently attended the Farmers market in downtown Bloomington for the first time and was really astounded by how much I enjoyed being there. The combination of real food for sale, community intermingling, music, and being outside was really refreshing. I liked the market so much that I went back several times and even developed the habit of buying ingredients that I used to actually cook.
Visiting the market made me think about how great it would be if all food markets could exist in a similar fashion. The pleasant feeling that I get from being at the farmers market could not be any different from the feeling that I get when I walk through the fluorescent aisles of Kroger or Marsh.
When I’m in Chicago visiting my old neighborhood, my girlfriend will frequently drag me to her closest Whole Foods where she likes to study and do other work. Upon my first visit, I was surprised to see that the company has adopted a strategy of providing community space. Equally surprising to me was that the space is typically busy. The local store contains café’s, bars, large community tables, and other public spaces, which are all typically filled (Although not in this staged picture...)
While I can’t say that I entirely agree with the “organic” movement which seems to be intertwined with the Whole Foods chain, I have to admit that the company does a great job of providing a middle ground between the Krogers of the world and Bloomington’s Farmers Market. When I first saw it, I could not believe that people were actually hanging out at a bar inside Whole Foods. Such is the draw of community and the power of building social capital. Maybe this is the strange beginning of a march towards local sustainability?
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