Unemployment Discount

My business has launched a new promotion at our farmers' market booths: we're offering half off any menu item to folks who are unemployed. We're not asking for proof; all you have to do is ask.

We've been pleased with the response. At most markets we've had two or three people taking advantage of the offer, but at Lake City the number was closer to ten. This made sense because our sales at Lake City have been down more dramatically than at any other market.

I'm hoping to give some unemployed folks a reason to go to the farmers' market. We seem to be caught in a conundrum where so many people are short on cash because the current economic model is unsustainable, yet the alternative--for better or for worse--often asks us to spend extra.

It's true that you can find plenty of fairly priced food at the farmers' market (including my own products) if you know where to look. There are also a variety of food stamp benefits that can be used at market stalls. And a number of studies recently have found that produce at local markets is actually cheaper on average than items of comparable quality at neighborhood groceries. But if you have little or no money to spare you'll undoubtedly find yourself making difficult choices during a market outing.

Personally I think that the short-term solution, the best way to navigate the current economic and culinary climate, is for us to make peace with the idea of a hybrid, transitional food system. It's too expensive and time consuming for most of us to fuss over every ingredient in every food that we put into our bodies. At the same time it's very important for every one of us to be thinking about what we're eating and why. We all have our own biases and emphases, and we all choose our own particular lines to draw (or not.)

Perhaps a special discount for unemployed folks is a roundabout way of communicating this message. It's not a sexy message, or the kind of message that inspires evangelism. But I hope some elements of it will gradually filter out and be heard.