“Sankofa Community Farm Market” & “Marketing Done Right”
This article appeared in the print edition of our special issue of the July Southwest Globe Times
Sankofa Community Farm Market
Chemical-free, spiritually rooted produce grown in Southwest Philadelphia.
Thursdays, 3–6 PM
Bartram Village Entrance, 5400 Lindbergh Boulevard
Saturdays, 10 AM–1 PM
Clark Park, 43rd Street and Chester Avenue
Cash, EBT, WIC Farmer’s Market vouchers, and Senior vouchers all accepted.
(Standard WIC retail vouchers not accepted.)
Marketing Done Right
by Asstan Cisse
Imagine this: a hot sunny day in June and your mother has just taken you to the market. Not just any market but the market you’ve always been to since you were a tiny child. From running in the store’s aisles as your mother told you to grasp her arm so you don’t get lost, to the samples you would try every time you passed the bakery section. You were never indifferent to life here at the market. It is the place you learned to grow accustomed to because of the many dishes your mother would prepare for the family. She of course needed her supplies from one place and one place only: the market.
Walking through the produce section your footsteps came to a halt as your mother needed to pick up some veggies and fruits for the next household meal. Her process was always particular, never leaving any white lines and room for errors. As they say, mother knows best, and she sure was the best when it came to picking up her produce. Your mother’s glare would examine the firmness of the tomatoes to the vibrant colors of the oranges. Her hawk’s eye missed no mark. She would knock on the watermelons as she would her neighbor’s door questioning the hollowness to see if it’s ripe. From the crunch of the salad to the length of the cucumber, nowhere, no matter the fruit or vegetable is missed. Do not forget: your mother knows the seasons of her produce. If something is supposed to be in the market she would know, and if not, she looks at it with a wary eye and disapproves.
But of course, your mother was raised with the greenest of thumbs, but convenience stops her from practicing it within her food process. So, you tell her, you tell her about the farm and market which practices healthy natural practices. You overheard your neighbors in a conversation about it, so you share that same knowledge. You tell her, “Sankofa!” You tell her the learning process with Sankofa is never lonely, it is with a team, a community. The food sold in markets was grown with intention and energy. Her process of picking products will get easier with one visit to Sankofa’s market. The ripeness and quality of the produce are all in front of your eye. There of course is examining, but not much because that natural and organic produce lacks the flaws of the “normal market.”
This is marketing done right. It is the process of learning. It is the process of teaching. It is the process of practicing what is learned. The food selection has never been easier, trust me!
Asstan Cisse is a youth leader at the Sankofa Community Farm and currently serves as the market manager. She is a recent graduate of The Philadelphia High School for Girls and will begin her studies at Barnard College of Columbia University this fall.
