July 2, 2009 Harvest Market

One of my favorite parts about the Downtown Elgin Harvest Market is the atmosphere that I get to enjoy on a weekly basis. Meeting genuine people and the great conversations that follow make my trip to Elgin from Aurora a worthwhile commute. It is so relaxing going into my volunteer efforts knowing that I am going to have a great day because of the stress-free environment that a farmers market embodies. Today, I started by greeting all of the vendors and passing out my weekly survey. These surveys are helping me find out important information regarding each vendor such as peak times for sales, how many transactions were made in a given day, and what their top products sold were. In my conversations I can tell that all of the businesses that participate are comprised of hard-working people that truly care about the customers. They are not just in it for the money!
Of course my blog would not be complete without mentioning my weekly purchases. They say it's always better to give than to receive, and it seems that the saying holds true in my mind when shopping at the Harvest Market. Today, I couldn't help but thinking of my significant others’ fond desire for anything involving cinnamon. I stopped at La Spicera and Pierre recommended some finely ground Vietnamese cinnamon that he had just got in. Afterwards, I proceeded to Breadsmith where a cinnamon roll and a cinnamon scone found their way into my tote bag. I couldn't help but steal a small bite of the cinnamon roll and wow! What a treat. The quality and freshness of these products was excellent. What more is there to say, it was another successful day at the market!