We inturrupt the France Program for...

a scene from the former Whites Creek Farmer's Market 2007

After a little virtual discussion with a couple of my favorite Nashville Food Bloggers - Nashville Restaurants (great ethnic and hole-in-the-walls) they suggested that we both blog about the the loss of the organized Whites Creek Farmer's Market. What the situation is about the Whites Creek Farmer's Market is that it is now down to one wonderful and amazing local organic farmer: Hungry Gnome by Alicia and Bert. For more information about Hungry Gnome, email them at crackerlake@comcast.net. The rest of the local farmers and bee keeper have decided not to participate this year due to personal reasons. At anyrate, when it becomes warmer, perhaps May, Hungry Gnome will be selling local organic foods outside of the Earthman's Store on the corner of Old Hickory and Whites Creek Pike, north of town. Definitely check out Nashville Restaurants blog now because they have a good list of CSAs - consumer support agriculture farms that you can contact if you want more local organic foods. The other suggestion I have is to go to the Franklin Farmer's Market winter hours 10am - 2 pm Saturdays, and most likely 8am - 2 pm during spring and summer Saturdays.

Alicia and Bert's Hungry Gnome farm is close by Earthman's General Store, and their food is almost as local as you can get without growing food yourself. There farm is neat and sunny. Their chickens are happy and free range. The livestock and pet dogs live happily together. I have been there, and I can attest to the authenticity of their local organic food. I am thrilled they will be there to sell their tasty food.

For me, the loss of Whites Creek Farmers Market is a hard blow to my eating plan for 2008. I wanted to eat like I did last year, with every meal I made has some or all local organic foods as the base ingredients. I also wanted to cut down on my travel and shopping time. This is what I did last year. Traveling to Whites Creek, by driving up Metro Center Blvd, then cutting over a few blocks on Trinity Ln, then turn north on Whites Creek was the shortest route to Whites Creek, and I used a lot less gas than trying to drive to any other farmers market or stand. On the way back home, I took Metro Center back to the Nashville Farmer's Market where there were a few local organic meat and veggie vendors who provided me with the rest of the food I needed for the week. Yup, less than 2-3 hours total and less than 1 gallon of gas, and I had all my grocery shopping done for the week. It saved me so much time. I got to get on with my day, jog, other errands, lunch, nap, you know, the important things that people don't seem to have time for anymore.

I am not quite understanding why the Whites Creek Farmers Market is not happening this year. I am not sure why the few local vendors at the Nashville Farmers Market have disappeared. I am not sure why I have not heard about the Urban Farmers Market. I thought that there was momentum and a push for organic and local organic foods. I thought people of Nashville were waking up and remember what it was like to eat tasty locally grown food. I thought local organic was a growth market. What happened?

Seriously, what happend? Can someone tell me?

Can you tell, I am mourning the loss of yet another venue to get fantastic local organic foods.