For our final Action Project in Policy for the year, we created groups to attend and document our experience at a public event which protected the commons. As a class, we decided that the commons were things, such as public squares, which everyone has the right to enjoy, but equally assume responsibility of that space. Places such as parks are maintained by the park district, but it is the responsibility of the users of the park to do their part in maintaining the park. My group decided to attend one of the most popular farmers markets in Chicago on Division and Dearborn. They also accept LINK cards which means they bring in a more varied range of customers. The common these markets are protecting, are the right to equal access to food. Everyone should be able to afford healthy organic food if they spend responsibility. This right is not guaranteed to people who live in food deserts (areas of the city where there is limited/no access to foods like this). Our groups mini documentary is attempting to answer if farmers markets can be ONE solution to combating the effects of food deserts. Here is the video we created…
Farmers Markets: A Hoop Dreams Production from JH on Vimeo.
Lastly, here is a poem written by LN to describe his sensory experience,
People walking on the ground, a ground full of seeds and weeds a ground desperate for trees. Trees where wind echoes like a curious hungry dog, that only becomes more hungry when a man bites an apple. An unforgettable smell like garlic melting through my nose. Making it difficult for me to smell anything else in the atmosphere, this is the farmers market.