Observation Final Draft

    Food For Thought

There was a green sign. That was the first thing I noticed, was the bright green sign with the words 'Liberty Heights Fresh'. The sun was setting behind the sign, illuminating it, drawing me in, so I gladly went. I could smell the ripe apricots from across the street, see the bright signs luring me inside. The entrance really wasn't a door per-say, it was more of a large garage door, wide open, there to welcome all customers and people inside the small store. I browsed all the delicious fruits, apples, strawberries, raspberries, figs, and much more. I found local jars of honey, bottles of olive oil and fresh cheeses. As I picked out a ripe apple and a bottle of black tea I began to think. I thought, and thought and thought while I ate my crisp apple, not paying attention to the sticky juices running down my arm. My thoughts were curious, I wondered if me, one small person, am I contributing to a greener world by buying local groceries from a locally owned grocery store? So I sat and pondered my question and listened, smelled, tasted and engulfed myself in the local atmosphere of this simple grocery store.

    The first thing I noticed were the signs around me. Most of them included the words 'local', 'organic' and 'fresh'. The apple had me convinced that every product in the store contained all those words. I could taste the freshness, the simple '9' in front of the produce code numbers indicated it was organic, and the reassurance of the cashier let me know it was local. Next I watched the people, they were the most important. There were lots of people to put into consideration, the farmers, the employees, the people shopping. Of course I couldn't speak to the farmers the next best was the employees. I noticed special things about them unique things. As I browsed around, taking everything in, a man asked if I needed any help, I smiled and said 'I'm alright, I'm just browsing." He smiled back and went about his work. Its nice to know your noticed in a store and that people are there to help when you need it. Later I saw the same man, and another kind looking man talking to one another, working together, moving large boxes to the back of the store. Even their mundane and daunting tasks seemed easy to them because they had a good attitude about it and seemed to enjoy their jobs and work atmosphere.

Then I began to think about the people who shop there. Do they shop here a lot? Do they believe they are helping out a larger cause? The first person that stood out to me was a boy, sitting outside with his bike at an orange table, listening to his MP3 player and eating some food. A few minutes after I had sat outside on a matching bright orange rusting table, another boy came up and greeted the boy sitting. Boy 1 (who was sitting on the table), asked how Boy 2 (who had rode up on his bike) was doing. They obviously knew each other and began talking.

"Ya I just got back from traveling from Vancouver, BC to San Francisco." Said Boy 2.

"Did you document it?" Asked Boy 1.

"Ya we took a ton of pictures, I'll have to upload them to Facebook and show you." Boy 1 nodded. "Awesome bike, I didn't know you bought one." Said Boy 2.

"Ya I actually bought it off criagslist from some Army guy who took it all around Europe." They continued talking and eventually Boy 2 said "Ya I haven't been here [Liberty Height Market] in a while, I should come here more often." That statement made me believe that they get a lot of regular customer. Regular customers who ride their bikes, and go on adventures. The fact that they ride their bikes around makes me believe they enjoy doing their part in helping the environment by not driving cars. They also obviously by at local grocery stores, so it seems like they both care and try to do their part in their community.

    A few minutes later a woman came riding in on her bike with a black backpack on. She browsed the foods, picked out two zucchini, a bag of peaches and weighed them. She was wearing gray converse shoes, white basketball shorts and white v-neck t-shirt. She Kindly paid for her food and rode off with her groceries in her reusable bag, obviously to help the environment. It seemed like her, along with another people realize what they can do for the environment. Buy locally, ride your bike or walk and use reusable bags. Later I watched as a man brought his child into the store. The child was excited about being able to push their small carts around the grocery store. Without even realizing it, he's already setting the child up for a healthy lifestyle for his generation. He's learning about organically grown food and that buying locally benefits us as well as the farmers. Just like the small child, I was brought up to be concise about what I ate and how I treated the earth. I believe its important to teach your kids about what they and you can do for the environment and their community.

After I finished my food, packed up my things and began to walk home I thought about everything I had seen in that short time. About the different fresh produce, locally made merchandise, and the people who shop and support the local grocery store. I came to my conclusion, the answer was yes. Yes was all I could think. Yes, I can be the one to do my own part. Yes, people do care about their community by doing their part too. Yes, local farmers, grocers and customers benefit from me and other doing their small part to help build a greener better earth. So yes, I am buying locally and so are other for a greater cause, and of course the delicious food.