Let us know why you go to the Duke Farmers Market by emailing us at hr@duke.edu.
Are you having a hard time finding fresh vegetables? Tired of finding bruised fruits and long lines at your local grocer? Visit the LIVE FOR LIFE Farmers
Market and get the freshest, best tasting fruits and vegetables available!
— by Mary Carey, Staff Assistant, Human Resources Communications
The opening day of the Duke Farmer's Market on Friday, April 11, offered an opportunity for me. My husband and I were having guests for dinner on Saturday, and I wanted to have some
fresh vegetables. "Store bought" tomatoes have been so expensive; we have not had any for our salads or our burgers.
I also like to multi-task. The market was close to the Medical Center Parking Office, and my department needed more parking passes, so I devised a plan to do both to be sustainable. I also
decided to ride the H-5 "short" bus over to the Searle Center.
Sharon Craft, who works in the HR Information Center, was asking me questions about the Duke Farmer's Market, where it is located, where to park etc., so I invited her to join me. The next thing
I know, Peggy Boone, one of Sharon's co-workers, wanted to go with us, too. As we were leaving to catch the bus, Missy Baxter, a writer in our department, asked where we were headed. When we
told her we were taking the bus to the Duke Farmer's Market, she too wanted to join us. Missy was headed over to campus for a story she was writing and thought the trip would be interesting.
At the bus stop, the regular driver was being relieved for lunch by another driver. We soon found the reason for seat belts on the bus. This driver put the pedal to metal, and we were off.
When we arrived at Duke North, I remarked to my co-workers that I expected to see the driver on Sunday at NASCAR.
We quickly found our way to the farmer's market where I picked up my "Green Devil" shopping bag for completing a survey online about the farmer's market. The ecological bag is reusable and
replaces plastic ones that are not eco-friendly. My companions filled out a survey onsite, so I bid them "have fun" and I began to shop. I found lovely tomatoes at a reasonable price and spotted
gorgeous onions, which I added to my bag. I purchased the last six ears of corn for our weekend guests. When I shucked them on Saturday, I was delightfully surprised; it was sweet, white corn.
I looked at some of the herbs but was pleased to find I had everything in my herb garden already. I checked out the jellies and syrups but did not purchase any as I thought the prices were too
high. There were cut flowers, but I didn't find any baskets to purchase; maybe later in the season.
I found my fellow travelers and ensured they had a bus schedule and let them know I would be walking down to the parking office to purchase the passes. I told them to have a good time,
and I would see them back at the office.
The parking office was a busy place, but I was soon able to make my purchases and head on back to the market. I strolled around once more and greeted various people I knew. I found
Elizabeth Michalka, another writer in our department who was there with her friend, Shelley, taking pictures and absorbing material for an article she would be writing.
Not seeing my fellow travelers, I headed back to the bus stop, and lo and behold, there they were, waiting for the bus with their take-out lunches in hand. They had stopped at the cafeteria
because the food vendors had sold out at the market.
Fortunately, the driver of the bus had changed, so our trip back to Broad Street was uneventful. We all agreed we had a great time and vowed to return to the Duke Farmer's Market again
soon.
|
