Consciousness in a Cup

Yesterday, the heat was intense, like wearing a wool blanket inside a sauna, or sitting around a bonfire in Kuwait.  Our eyes glazed with the weariness of the dehydrated, and there was only one thing on our minds: ice cream.  Or, more specifically, the sweet, creamy gelato sold at Goose the Market.

In the comforting (and air-conditioned) environment of the market, we found comfort not only in the coolness but in the familiarity.  There on the counter were husk cherries from Big City Farms, the sister farm of the Slow Food Garden, and we could appreciate the diffusion of the unfamiliar fruit into the city.  Behind the counter was Gabriele, the wonderful man who changed our definition of good pizza and who cheerfully greeted us.  And inside the refrigerator were products from Traders Point Creamery, a place Growing Places had toured previously.  Slowly, the holistic aspect of knowing the people, ingredients, and places behind the products sunk in.

Prior to this summer, we’d visited Goose, but not with our newfound consciousness of the importance of supporting local businesses.  When we began this internship eight weeks ago, we craved the dollar sundaes at McDonald’s.  It’s a testament to how this internship has affected our way of thinking that the cheapness and quantity of fast-food ice cream can be replaced by the fine ingredients served in that pleasant little cup at Goose.