Mobile Markets are the new black (at least in my mind)

Have you heard of a mobile market?

I recently started volunteering with one down in DC and I am absolutely loving the experience. I’ve learned that there are many more across the nation – I guess until recently, I didn’t even know to look!

A mobile market is pretty much a farmers market on wheels. The one I work with uses a vehicle about half the size of a UPS truck, which successfully supports three shelving units, two tables, two register systems with scales, two freezers (for meats), two fridges (for milk, yogurt, cheese, eggs, and some produce), a giant cooler, and everything else you need to set up a farmers market – oh yeah, plus food! Using two trucks, the organization I volunteer with reaches 19 communities every week. That’s 19 communities that receive fresh, healthy food on the reg. NINETEEN. REGULARLY.

I think this is tre cool.  For me, this is an amazing combination of using business and technology to help communities in need. I learn something new every week – for example, they have little, if any, food waste, partly due to the detailed procurement process. They help other organizations eliminate food waste as well – every morning they purchase bread from a local bakery who otherwise would have thrown it away (often times they have to bake extra to meet their own orders and leave room for error). Having a market on wheels decreases a lot of the infrastructure and transportation costs that are usually associated with fresh food sales and waste elimination.

Check out these videos to learn more about the markets. The second one talks more specifically the impact on a community.

Ayur-WHAT?

I’m so excited! This evening after work I attended an ayurveda sangha, or basically, a gathering to talk about the ayurvedic lifestyle (or should I say, “science of life”). You can learn a lot about it just by Googling it.

I first became interested in ayurveda when my roommate made kitchuri, a cleansing dish that is good for the digestive system, and it smelled AMAZING. I’ve always had an affinity for  Indian foods, though, so this should have come as no surprise.

Those who subscribe to the ayurvedic lifestyle believe that “health is the balanced and dynamic integration between our environment, body, mind, and spirit” (click the first link above for more info). They believe that there are three main energies, or doshas, that govern the world and our bodies. We are at optimal health when our doshas are in balance, though each person has a different optimal proportion of each – you don’t strive to have equal thirds of each.  When doshas are out of balance for too long, illnesses occur.  Each dosha has certain traits to help one realize when their dosha is out of balance, and most people are predominantly one (or two) dosha(s).  Those who are familiar with the practice can identify a predominant dosha pretty quickly.  Being the foolish American that I am, I did a fervent Google search to determine mine; I’m pretty much equal between the three, but Pitta is slightly more prominent.  The woman in my class today gently (I do mean gently) that online quizzes are a very Western way of determining doshas and obviously, they didn’t have the internet when this practice first started 5,000 years ago.

To truly follow the lifestyle, one eats according to his or her “constitution”, and uses products and exercise routines that align with their prescribed dosha. Occasionally, usually as the seasons change (and the environment’s predominant dosha changes), one might do a cleansing ritual to eliminate toxins. The most common and safe cleansing ritual is a monodiet, or eating the same thing (such as kitchuri) for anywhere from 1-21 days. Eating only kitchuri – an easily digested food – helps the body clear the digestive system and forces one to slow down and evaluate his or her lifestyle.

This concept is not unheard of in the health world – there are several diets and lifestyles based on blood type, body shape, etc. But what I like about ayurveda is that it goes beyond diet and acknowledges that certain people are better suited for certain things. By “things”, I mean careers, seasons, and more. Doshas can dictate your personality, skin type, digestive issues, and even what diseases you get in the future if they are left unbalanced. Descriptions of each dosha are pretty comprehensive and it is interesting to see what elements I identified with in my dosha.

I’d like to try a short monodiet cleanse in the future and I’d like to attend the next sangha. I don’t know that I would follow the lifestyle religiously but the people I met were very kind and welcoming so I feel encouraged to learn more. I’ll keep you updated!