Mid July CB Farmers Market Update

For the past several weeks we have continued to raise the bar for total sales at our event. It appears that offering high quality locally made necessities is never an economic market that needs be concerned about disastrous crises. We are young but we are clearly gaining momentum. I have some amazing photos from the first several weeks that I’ll intersperse.

Last week we partnered with the local artisan group Artists of the West Elks. They have been located at the southern entrance of Crested Butte near the St. George and the Dragon sculpture. This year we communicated about combining our energies and the outcome was a success. The street was remarkably packed all Sunday long. My wife told me that while she was sorting out our experimental Zero Waste Station she looked up to a question about the appropriate place for their cup from an ex-President. The correct answer is to bring your own cup so as to maximize its reuse from week to week.

Speaking of the experimental Zero Waste Stations, the results so far have shown maximum abuse by participants. I find half filled cups of Starbucks disposable cups that clearly aren’t from Crested Butte amidst the blue recycling bins. Amongst other various debasing products and disarray like gum, vendor sampling materials, and toxic imported materials.  It would appear that in general people are lulled by the magical thinking of throwing things in containers and forgetting about them.  I’m plenty guilty. But I’m working on my trash awareness. Through my conscious actions I project my personal respect. It amazes me to see how badly people disrespect themselves while they think they are disrespecting others. Or more often, just plain not thinking.

The Crested Butte Farmers Market Zero Waste Stations did identify some things that worked. We began the program last year and found that we were heavily abused during the July time frame. The trend of abuse then gradually tapered lower and lower as we ran into latter October until it was practically non-existent. The cycle of high abuse in July is repeating itself this season. There is a correlation to the spike in tourist activity in July. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking trash about the tourism. Crested Butte generally houses people that love to be here and pride themselves on their hospitality. You’ll find some amazing local hosts and citizens trying to mind their own business. But, it is often wagged in our faces that Crested Butte needs the tourists or we wouldn’t be able to exist. I disagree. People probably heard similar refrains when the coal mines were in operation with regards to that industry.  The Crested Butte Farmers Markets’ sales numbers last year showed that our biggest days of total sales don’t come until the latter part of August and into October. This is generally referred to as ‘off season’ although I’ve heard nerdy overly optimistic marketing types referring to  it as the ‘shoulder season’ more frequently to my dismay. September is when the food really starts to come in from our Western Slope neighbors. Crested Butte has not been afraid to feed itself on the highest quality ingredients. Think about it, highly nutritious food that treats the ecology right is the only health care plan that is worth anything, despite recent attempts to reform health care from the top. It portends to be a booming year for our business model, welcome to locals and respectful tourists alike. We’ll even take the disrespectful because we care about the ignorant and we have an educational mission too.

We also found success when the handful of volunteers we have had help are stationed at the Zero Waste Stations. The volunteers reported that people were generally engaging and willing to oblige.  Some even learned that there were numbers on the plastic materials that relate to their chemical make up and if they are recyclable or not.  The bins stayed impeccably sorted when a friendly face was there to help educate the would be disposers. This is an encouraging sign. It’s the most important job if not the most glamorous. And if you know Crested Butte then you know we’re all about the glamor around here.

Meanwhile Crested Butte and the entire Gunnison County has no composting infrastructure nor a well developed operational recycling plan. Therefore there is no ability for anyone to realistically cope with the crushing amount of unused food and packaging items other than to send it to the dump, with extremely limited exceptions.  I’ll have the audacity to say that the Crested Butte Farmers Market offers the best hope for change in that much of the packaging material can be directly returned in full to the vendor for primary recycling. We have egg containers and mason jars going back to ranchers. Wine bottles returning to the vineyard. Goat cheese jars returned for a deposit, pie tins, produce boxes, honey jars, kombucha jars and trend setting locally made apparel from reclaimed material are also primary recycle points at the CB Farmers Market. Not to mention the Free Tent. This year at the CB Farmers Market Free Tent opportunistic marketeers have scored a 27″ TV, a barely used $500 Never Summer snowboard rig with ladies Burton bindings, K2 skis with Marker bindings and impeccable base material, organic mattresses and more that represents another outlet for in-community primary recycling.

I think next year we will move towards a policy of limited non-recyclable product available at a vendors’ booth that might be handed off to a potential disposer. The brunt of caring for the ecology and water supply around us shouldn’t land on either the consumer or the producer fully. It should be equally borne by both via awareness and education about our personal impacts. Please bear with us while we sort out the mess. This is our third year and we will experience some growing pains. We have a master plan of growth within the space we are given and then to refine and refine again over the seasons maximizing our real estate value and attracting a harmonious and supreme clientele, both inside and outside the CB Farmers Market. It seems so simple I have to wonder why other major Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte business leaders can’t figure it out. Well, some have.

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