Life Goes On
People have to eat, and people with food need to sell it, so our local farmers market keeps going.
The way things play out could be too much for some delicate souls who can’t manage the slightest chaos, but most people shrug off without a problem. For instance, a dairy regularly sets up shop to sell its cheese and milk from grass fed cows in front of a Mexican restaurant which also offers Halal food for whatever reason.
There are a lot of places which offer hot food, and you see a lot of propane stoves and cooking tops powered by generators.
And a big draw of the farmers market is an empty space that’s been set up as a commons. People come to eat something they bought, or just to hang out.
There are “tables” scattered around the commons that are old cable spools. A few water troughs are used as planters
You can see in the background a metal statue of a woman.
And up close you can see a sign reminding parents to keep an eye on their kids during the market hours.
It’s not fancy, and it’s never going to make people think of an Italian piazza, but it works.
It’s piazza enough for me.
I’ll bet if you get out of the traditional Italian city centers and into the places where the Libyans and Albanians live, the markets are more like this.
There are places in Calabria, Abruzzi, and Bari where Italians live that look pretty much like this too.
I went to 2 great farmers markets last week. One at Diamond Head that had so much great food & the one in Hilo that has $1 papayas & lots of amazing local made crafts. My daughter was so happy to find tofu musubis too.
I’d pay twice that right now for a ripe mango.
I think I can explain that. Burrito places and Mexican food restaurants are very popular among SE Asians (Pakistani and Indians) where I live.
I think it is because they have a lot of veggie and chicken or fish options for those who want to eat foreigner food (unlike McDs for example) and not break any religious rules. Also some of the food looks familiar (tortillas are similar to Roti) to them.
I didn’t know that, but it makes sense.