The purpose of this project is to enrich people on farmer’s markets as they are very common throughout the country and world. The truth about markets is much bigger than the world and holds solutions on the Earth’s future. Using my American Studies skills, I was able to delve into the history and determine America’s role in markets through the bigger picture of society, war, and economics.

My first Farmer’s Market experience was in Hawaii. This experience created a big stage for markets to come. My expectations were high after I walked around an entire stadium filled with local vendor selling vintage Hawaiian clothing, jewelry, produce, pineapples on a stick. Following my experience in Hawaii, I went to San Diego for four weeks. The Farmer’s Markets here were not physically as large as the Aloha Stadium Swap and Exchange in Hawaii, however there were just as many people squeezing past each other on narrow streets. The Little Italy Mercato in San Diego is one of the most popular farmer’s markets in the United States. There are almost one hundred vendors spanning across blocks on San Diego. The beach is within view which is the perfect experience for shoppers. After my weekends there, I would walk to the beach and carb up on my $7 black pepper and parmesan bread I would buy every Saturday. The Little Italy Mercato was very similar to the Hawaii Market in the aspects that there was a variety of vendors selling the craziest things and the people were so welcoming.

After my time in San Diego, I went back home to Virginia. Ironically, my hometown, Chesapeake, had just opened a farmer’s market in the heart of the city. The municipal center was always filled with visitors taking pictures with the Love Virginia sign or visiting the planetarium so it was the perfect place for a farmer’s market! I was shocked by the ghost town of a market that Chesapeake held. There was no variety of anything. The majority of vendors were ladies selling wreaths, and in a city like Chesapeake, families go nuts for wreaths. There was one produce station. The rest of the vendors were selling handmade decorations. I was so lucky to have gone to the Little Italy Mercato and then I come home to this! My boyfriend told me that I was a snob for markets and that I needed to give it time to build up, yeah whatever. I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t just me being a market snob, so I went to the farmer’s market in Virginia Beach called Old Beach. I grew up going to this market but the experience being an adult is so much different as I can buy whatever I wanted to. The vendors were endless: kombucha to the right, cupcakes to the left, bread straight ahead, and flowers behind. Nothing was the same. Similar to Little Italy, Old Beach was just a walk from the ocean and had waves of people with their bathing suits on, smelling of sunscreen. This experience made me realize the diversity in Virginia. Going to these market’s has made me realize how much control society really has over what is popular and what is not. I have also began to understand the consequences of society and how markets can, little by little, change the environment and Earth for the better.