Back in late February I was trying to come up with a photo story idea for a two-three page spread I would have in April. I'm not sure how it came about but I suddenly got the inspiration to focus on some of the local farmers here who sell at the Menlo Park Farmer's Market every Sunday. It really was like one of those moments in which a little light bulb inside my head flicked on. (Farms, produce, and sunshine...cool!) I was on a weekend assignment anyway so I decided to check out the market and talk to the vendors, see who was selling what and where they hailed from. Most of these farmers come all the way out here from places like Hollister, Stockton, King City, and Modesto. That's a lot of traveling and labor involved every weekend. I wanted to stay focused to a 40-mile radius from our area, so luckily enough the market manager gave me some names of farmers in the zone. I got in touch with two farms, Happy Quail and Mellow's, who were nice enough to go along with my vision and actually take time to talk to me during their 12-14 hour-long days. By the end of the two weeks I spent on this project, I had developed a new sense of awe and respect for farmers and all the work that they put into their crops. Tony, who runs Mellow's farms, has 40 acres spread out all over the Morgan Hill area. A few days a week, his shift usually starts at around 2am to load all the produce into the truck and haul it up to the city where he unloads it at the Farmer's Market, sells until about 5pm, and usually gets home around 8pm or so. That is a looooooong day. And he works seven days a week! And on the Happy Quail Farm, they are truly making the most of the one acre that they have that is located inside two greenhouses in East Palo Alto of all places. I couldn't believe that they have to plant all those peppers one by one bending their backs....it even made my back hurt just watching them. This story has been one of my favorites by far and made me open my eyes as to the amount of work we take for granted that goes into providing us our food. And I got to see how broccoli grows (how sad is that, that I had no clue before?) Farming must be one of the most labor intensive professions out there...yet the farmers seem to love it. I guess it must be that excitement and pride you get from seeing something start as a tiny little seed grow to six feet tall producing pounds and pounds of tasty food.
Thousands of tomato seedlings being planted
Watering the tomato seedlings
Cauliflower
Backbreaking work planting pepper plants
A rainbow of bell peppers
Back in late February I was trying to come up with a photo story idea for a two-three page spread I would have in April. I'm not sure how it came about but I suddenly got the inspiration to focus on some of the local farmers here who sell at the Menlo Park Farmer's Market every Sunday. It really was like one of those moments in which a little light bulb inside my head flicked on. (Farms, produce, and sunshine...cool!) I was on a weekend assignment anyway so I decided to check out the market and talk to the vendors, see who was selling what and where they hailed from. Most of these farmers come all the way out here from places like Hollister, Stockton, King City, and Modesto. That's a lot of traveling and labor involved every weekend. I wanted to stay focused to a 40-mile radius from our area, so luckily enough the market manager gave me some names of farmers in the zone. I got in touch with two farms, Happy Quail and Mellow's, who were nice enough to go along with my vision and actually take time to talk to me during their 12-14 hour-long days. By the end of the two weeks I spent on this project, I had developed a new sense of awe and respect for farmers and all the work that they put into their crops. Tony, who runs Mellow's farms, has 40 acres spread out all over the Morgan Hill area. A few days a week, his shift usually starts at around 2am to load all the produce into the truck and haul it up to the city where he unloads it at the Farmer's Market, sells until about 5pm, and usually gets home around 8pm or so. That is a looooooong day. And he works seven days a week! And on the Happy Quail Farm, they are truly making the most of the one acre that they have that is located inside two greenhouses in East Palo Alto of all places. I couldn't believe that they have to plant all those peppers one by one bending their backs....it even made my back hurt just watching them. This story has been one of my favorites by far and made me open my eyes as to the amount of work we take for granted that goes into providing us our food. And I got to see how broccoli grows (how sad is that, that I had no clue before?) Farming must be one of the most labor intensive professions out there...yet the farmers seem to love it. I guess it must be that excitement and pride you get from seeing something start as a tiny little seed grow to six feet tall producing pounds and pounds of tasty food.
Thousands of tomato seedlings being planted
Watering the tomato seedlings
Cauliflower
Backbreaking work planting pepper plants
Pepper plant seedlings waiting to get transplanted
The Menlo Park Farmer's Market
A rainbow of bell peppers
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