Neighborhood-y

An acupuncture booth near the produce vendors in Armory Park offers local residents free acupuncture sessions. Patrick, who has lived in the area long enough to see the farmers market’s evolution since it was started, decided to participate.

I was going to a friend in Pawtucket who does acupuncture for a while, especially with some injury stuff. It's only once or twice a year that I get reminded that acupuncture is an option. I like the idea that I get reminded of things, like I have no idea how my ears are connected to the rest of my body. But you're just curious. I could say that I am certainly relaxed now, and that's what they said, like I'm going to tap into some good things that will help you relax. This has been a stressful week. I won't try to figure out scientifically how it works. It's community-based, something like wellness as a community thing. It's not going to see your doctor for the prescription, but it's more about people getting together. Yeah, checking in on each other. 

This market has been a long-running thing. It's been at least 10 years, maybe more, that this has been in this park. And I live right on the park, so it's been a favorite. I'm usually out here every Thursday. I have a couple kids, and they look forward to it. They come out here, and they're like, 'it’s Thursday! It's farmers market day!’

It's taken some different changes through the years. This whole scene was on the outside of the park, and it was a different setup. This is an interesting bit, especially since Moniker (a local brewery) has been coming out, and they’ve been coming out with some bocce balls and tables and music. So, it feels very neighborhood-y all along. 

I used to also be involved with the Neighborhood Association, and I feel like this was a way to sort of tap into all the neighborhood stuff as a weekly thing all summer long. This was where we would just connect with neighbors. We would often have dinner in the park, a picnic dinner. It's been a long-running thing. 

There's been all kinds of incarnations of local things. And even the farmers, it's been exciting to see. There's a farm that's no longer showing up here, just because the guy himself is too old to run around every week. We just get excited to see the farmers. They're here every week, so we got to get to know these guys. It made where you got your food from that much more personal. I've never come out here and not run into a whole bunch of people.

I came from Chicago where there was a farmer's market every once in a while. But I would never imagine actually running into people I knew there. It was the city thing. This is more local and more neighborhood-y. And I feel like it's even more that drives me to come out every week. More so than even the food. It's the people. I feel like spaces like these are so important. Especially because there are fewer and fewer ways for the community to come together. Like, as cities evolve. Things like this are not always a given. But this neighborhood is very different than it was 20 years ago, 30 years ago.

All these people who haven't been over here that live on the East Side that had no idea. I think there's still a sense that West Side is, like, some kind of place where you wouldn't want to hang out. It's a funny thing that goes back decades. I think it was probably different in the 90s and the 80s. It's kind of fascinating to see what can happen if you get just a bunch of people pulling together. Five years ago when they finally figured it out, how to make it accessible to some of the EBT food stamp community. I hope that that's getting out, that this is an option. You don't have to just go to grocery stores, you can come here.