Welcome, summer! We love to be outside, and one of our favourite activities in the warm weather is to pack up our little ones and head to a local farmers’ market.
Our SS22 Eric Carle collection prints feature many summertime fruits and vegetables – along with a cute and familiar green caterpillar.
A Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Dream Outing
Eric Carle’s Very Hungry Caterpillar would be so happy at a farmers’ market. Stalls of fresh produce, food samples, busy vendors, and bright and colourful flowers make for an excellent activity for the whole family. Put on your little bub’s Bamboo Baby Bandana Bib, and start enjoying all the flavours a farmers’ market has to offer.
That little caterpillar would be most delighted to discover that he’s featured on our new SS22 Eric Carle prints:
Lemon Squeezy shows the caterpillar amongst beautiful yellow citrus fruit.
Herb Garden has the caterpillar exploring different kinds of cooking herbs.
Farmer’s Market shows the caterpillar trying to decide which colourful fruit and vegetables to eat first.
Avo Good Day features cut avocado and a caterpillar looking to eat it (he’s still hungry, after all!).
The Very Hungry Caterpillar would be quite happy exploring a farmers’ market, but he’s not the only one. Your family will have a great time there too.
The Farmers’ Market is a Learning Experience
Farmers’ markets are wonderful because they offer more than just shopping. There are learning opportunities for your little bub everywhere. You can encourage them to try new types of fruits and vegetables and support them in asking questions of the local farmers about how they grow their crops or what it’s like to run a farm. Have fun learning new things about the food we eat!
What Makes Farmers’ Markets Awesome?
There is a lot to enjoy at the farmers’ market. Many of the vendors sell organic, natural foods, which encourage your little one to learn more about healthy eating. Additionally, shopping at these markets instead of a big box grocery store supports local businesses and helps small farms continue to grow their delicious foods.
The Sustainability Benefit of Farmers’ Markets
At Nest Designs, we care about the future of the planet, and we think it’s worth doing small everyday things (in addition to the big ones) to help create a more sustainable world. Farmers’ markets are an aspect of food distribution, and shopping at them throughout the summer is full of perks, such as:
- Encouraging food security through local food production. The more food that’s produced locally, the more a community will be buffered if the long-distance food supply experiences disruptions, like weather events or other instabilities.
- Reducing the fossil fuel it takes to get food to market. Larger grocery stores use giant trucks and other modes of transport to bring in produce from around the world; buying local produce reduces the number of kilometres foods needs to travel.
- Minimal packaging waste. We love to see businesses do away with unnecessary packaging, and at farmers’ markets, you’re hard-pressed to come across much packaging, if any.
Fill Your Reusable Bag
You’ve filled your bag with all sorts of fresh produce, now you get to enjoy it. Here are some of our favourite things to make with our little ones using the fruits and vegetables:
- Make a smoothie or juice using the fruits and vegetables of their choice
- Use the produce to make a picnic to enjoy at the park or beach
- Make seasonal jam
- Create a gift basket of locally purchased goods and give it to a loved one
A Day Well Spent
We hope you and your little ones enjoy your time at the farmers’ market, make some wonderful memories, and help support local farmers at the same time.
All that fun can be tiring, so at the end of the day, dress your little bub in their Farmer’s Market Bamboo Jersey PJs, and wish them sweet dreams.
What do you like to do with the greens and other produce you buy at the farmer’s market?
