Support your market

It’s Friday — market day.

Years ago, this was the day nearly everyone made their way to the city market, hunting for tomatoes to can, fresh potatoes for roasting, crisp cucumbers, peppers, onions, peaches, apples, berries, and more — all while sidestepping the occasional huckster.

The market was alive back then, with vendors selling jams, jellies, maple syrup, candles, pickles, hats, t-shirts, sausage — and one man who sold just about everything. During the busiest time, he’d grab the microphone and shout:

“Ninety-eight… ninety-nine… One hundred! That’s all there is, folks!”

Everyone would laugh, then go back to greeting neighbors they hadn’t seen since last week.

Today, I returned hoping to relive that same joy. But where Friday once bustled with energy, I found only five or six farmers, looking tired and bored. I bought a few things, then left.

I know the market received significant funding to expand , even adding an indoor space for vendors But if we neglect those who work from dawn to dusk planting, harvesting, packing, and hauling their goods, we risk losing our Niagara Falls market entirely.

Tomorrow, many will head to the North Tonawanda market and spend freely. My advice?

Don’t choose one over the other — spend at both.

Will Crois