We Went to a Gala

Santa Fe has an impressive farmer's market that operates all year long. Saturday mornings there are hundreds of farmers and ranchers at booths and tents at the rail yard downtown. There are funky street musicians in summer and the aroma of roasting chiles in fall. Honey and wool and grass fed meat and sheepskin rugs and lavender oils and cheeses and flowers are sold along with all the fruits and vegetables. And the breads are wonderful.

The train runs right through on its schedule and it lends a very European vibe to the street scene as it cruises into the station.

It's great for the tourists, and the locals too. We shop there. And there are programs for SNAP recipients that double their dollars and Healthy Rx plans that allow doctors to prescribe vegetables for patients and CSA sign ups and micro loans and training for farmers and it's all vibrant and well run.

But a market of so many farmers doesn't run itself. And the micro loans and doubling SNAP dollars and other programs don't fund themselves. That's where the Farmer's Market Institute comes in.

My friend and neighbor is the executive director of the Institute. I know her from our neighborhood book group and we've become good friends both in that group and doing things together on our own. Last night she hosted a big fundraising gala and Jim and I went with another couple. It was so much fun.

The Institute started about 20 years ago because the farmers who were selling out of the back of their trucks in various parking lots around town wanted a set place to sell from, and wanted some shelter for winter markets. The non profit institute formed, and then secured the railyard for a permanent home, and funded and built a big pavilion for inside markets. 

The pavilion is basically a big warehouse with many garage doors to let trucks bring their wares in. But last night it was beautifully decorated with string lights, elegant tables for about 200 diners, gorgeous Christmas trees lit up and a string band playing lively music.

No one could enter the pavilion without a vaccination card and it had to have all three shots on it. They really did inspect and enforce that at the door. Masks, of course, but not while eating.

Some individual farmers and ranchers were recognized on stage with awards (farmers are not really public speakers, but all seemed grateful) and some bankers got up and talked about loans and grants (bankers are not public speakers either) and there were heartwarming videos of people who relied on the market to get by in so many ways. It was all for fundraising, and the paddle auction to raise money was well run and actually kind of exciting. 

We donated.

The dinner was excellent. It was all farm to table of course, and the sources for each course were identified, even the local brewers and vintners. It's good to know who grew your food. The catering and cooking were done by YouthWorks, a culinary training program for at-risk kids, and they were great, if a little uneven at times. 

A sparkly night out with friends, dressed up and eating well, in service of a good cause, is certainly something we hardly ever (never) do. We had a very nice evening.