Visiting the Broadway Farmer's Market (for Jones Creeks' English Coxes Orange Pippins) and got to thinking about how much the high cost of gas must be hurting the farmers, some of whom come from 100's of miles away. Many of the producers try and attend multiple farmers' markets (Fri/Sat/Sun) and stay in Seattle for the weekend (can't be cheap).
Can we help them, in these difficult times, with some sort of "Farmers Homestay" program? Let them stay with you overnight in exchange for who knows what? Free veggies? Enticing tales of country life? Perhaps you could stay in the country with them in exchange? I suspect you'd need enough parking for a medium sized truck with their produce.
I mentioned the idea to Molly Burke, the market manager. Please chime in with your thoughts and I'll pass on any feedback to http://www.seattlefarmersmarkets.org.