w o r k i n g
Friendly conversation, favorite recipes, and fresh produce are just a
few of the reasons to visit central Florida’s roadside stands.
 Field Notes: June 18, 2005 Mulberry: Table and tarp connected to a white minivan. Gravel lot. Flies everywhere.
Field Notes: June 11, 2005 Plant City: St. Martin Farms Drenched from rain. Spilled soda in my lap. Nervous I was going to scare the people I wanted to talk to. Met Mike. High school junior. Soft voice. Expressive hands. Bought tomatoes, squash and eggplant for $4. St. Martin Farms, owned by Mike’s father, grows only a small variety of produce. The farm’s core crop is the strawberry. Mike explained that their farm sells strawberries to wholesalers. He offered that it had been a difficult year for strawberries, so the family was trying out other produce. He also told me that his father was away for the day, but I could get a tour if I returned the following day.  As Mike boxed okra for a customer, he told me that this produce stand is actually his own operation. It is open seven days a week, but only during the month of June, when Mike is on summer vacation. He likes running the produce stand because it gives him something to do during the day and extra money for when he is not working.
Easy Okra and Tomatoes Set stove to medium. Provided by St. Martin Farms Produce Shopper:
Field Notes: June 11, 2005 Plant City Cactuses for sale. Expensive produce. Nayeli talked on the telephone for the first 20 minutes I was at the stand. She spoke softly with the hint of a smile, quickly setting the phone down and offering help when a customer came within earshot. Although I was at the stand for nearly an hour, only one customer made a purchase.
Field Notes: July 12, 2005 Tampa: Bearss Groves Three young men working the large semi-permanent structure. Constant customer flow. Variety of cars. Polished luxury sedan parked next to peeling minivan. Free samples of fresh juice. Partially eaten peach cobbler next to register. Almost asked for sample, but thought better. Beautiful, hanging orchids. Local sauces and honeys. All of the people shopping were eager to talk to me about Bearss Groves. One well-dressed woman told me she was planning a dinner party for her husband’s coworkers. As she chose three red peppers, she described shopping for produce at this location for as long as she could remember. Overhearing our conversation, another woman walked over and told me that the Bearss family has played a large part in Tampa’s history. The two continued with increasing excitement describing the Bearss’ commitment to preserving their land, not selling to developers when offered lucrative deals.  The young men working here were as generous with their time and stories as their customers. Brian, a vegetarian with several tattoos, explained that much of the produce sold during the summer season comes from a wholesale market. During the winter months, however, the family plants a small garden and sells the produce they grow. They sold out of cantaloupe while I was shopping, but Brian told me more were arriving from Georgia early the next morning. I opted instead for two ripe grapefruit. Citrus, he told me, was their mainstay and fresh squeezed juice, their specialty.  Field Notes: May 28, 2005 “Did you grow these?” “No. I’m too old to be growing food. I got them at the market.”
Field Notes: May 28, 2005 “Which are better? The red potatoes or the sweet potatoes?” “The sweet ones.” “How do you like to cook them? I don’t really know how.” <insert look of disbelief> “You just put them in the microwave till they’re soft.
Field Notes: June 18, 2005 Plant City: John and Kyle. Expressed surprise that I asked about their stand. Talkative and friendly. Let me poke around Talked a little. Learned a lot. No customers came for 45 minutes. Finally, as I was leaving,
John and Kyle were watching the produce stand for their grandfather, who had been kind enough
I shifted my gaze from the drooping onions, worn by summer heat, to a four-wheeler resting As I left, they helped me chose a basket of tomatoes. We mixed the contents of two baskets
"Hold on young lady. Let me have a sip of this tea and I’ll get right up." |
Woman with silver tooth. Sweet but too shy to have her picture taken. Helped me pick a watermelon. Told me to come back tomorrow. Her daughter will be working tomorrow. Her daughter will have her picture taken.
I helped the woman load two oversized watermelons into the back seat of her sedan and approached Nayeli as the woman drove away. Nayeli was reluctant to talk to me until I tried my hand at Spanish. She told me she was too shy to be photographed, but changed her mind when I told her I only had two frames left.
