Now that spring is here, aren't you beginning to get anxious to eat some good, fresh, locally grown vegetables? Oh, how good a fresh, red, juicy, vine-ripe tomato would taste. Fresh cabbage, onions, potatoes, and squash cooked with a big chunk of ham would be more delicious than the fanciest meal ever prepared by a gourmet chef.

If you are like me, you are getting pretty tired of eating frozen or canned vegetables from the grocery store. Even those vegetables from our freezers that tasted so good when they were first frozen seem to have lost their appeal by now.

Very few of us still plant gardens for our own source of fresh vegetables. Most of us do not have the time or space to plant a garden, and those who do, often do it more for the fun and exercise than for the vegetables grown.

This does not matter. We can still get all the fresh vegetables we can eat by simply going to one of the local farmers markets or visiting one of the many small farmers who provide fresh fruits and vegetables right on the farm.

We are very fortunate in Robeson County, because we have small farmers markets operating in several of our towns; there are a lot of farmers throughout the county who sell fresh fruits and vegetables right from their farms; and we now have the brand new NCDA Farmers Market on US 74, just south of Lumberton.

Unfortunately, there has recently been some negative publicity about the new farmers market in our area. Thankfully, most of the criticism has come from people from outside our area. I don't think those who are criticizing really realize the potential that this facility has to provide our farmers the opportunity to diversify their farm operations while having a ready-made market for their products. I don't think they fully understand or are willing to admit that any new business needs time and a lot of work and effort to reach its potential. I also think there may be some envy that our elected officials went to bat for us to make sure a much-needed opportunity for economic development was finally made available to the citizens of southeastern North Carolina. It is disturbing to me when I hear some of our local citizens question this facility and the staff who is working so hard to make it a premier multipurpose complex for the entire southeastern part of North Carolina.

There is no question that the meeting facility is a much- needed addition to our area. I would be very surprised if just one of the thousands of people who have already used this facility have expressed dismay that they were only charged a small fee to help offset expenses instead of a much higher fee that would be expected from a for-profit business. Because it is a local and state government-supported facility, there is no reason for any of us to expect it to always be profitable, especially from the very beginning.

Just as with our roads, schools, community colleges, and many other services provided by governments, we expect to help pay for them being there when and if we use them, but we expect them to be there for us at a reasonable price whether they are profitable or not. I think most taxpayers consider services and facilities like this a cost of government services that should be supported.

Now for the farmers market side of this facility--It does not matter if you are a fruit and vegetable farmer or if you just eat fruits and vegetables. If you are not using this facility on a regular basis, you will need to accept some of the blame if this facility fails to reach its potential during the first five years of operation.

This facility offers a great potential for farmers, but they must accept some responsibility in making it successful. They must be willing to use this facility to sell their products on a regular basis, not just when they have some surplus to dump. People searching for high-quality fresh fruits and vegetables will never accept this facility if they can never find what they want when they visit. Business may be slow at first, but with support and perseverance, this facility can easily become the premier farmers market in the state.

This facility also offers a great potential for everyone in the region, not just Robeson County, because all of us eat fruits and vegetables virtually every day of our lives. As consumers, we must be willing to visit this facility often and purchase from those vendors who are present as often as possible. Farmers with produce to sell will never accept this facility if there are very few customers to purchase their products.

I challenge everyone reading this column to make a commitment to visit the new farmers market at least once a week and to purchase at least one item every time you visit. I challenge every vegetable farmer to use this market at least once a week to sell your highest quality produce. If you take my challenge, I will be willing to bet that by the end of next year we all will be proud that this facility is located in our backyard.

E-mail address: Everett_Davis@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 09/11/01