by Mary KelleyPublished 7-15-10

It didn’t take tens of thousands of dollars to come up with a tagline for Art Read’s1978 Farmers’ Market logo…. just a phone call to Renee Kiff five years ago. Iasked her if we might have a contest to come up with a saying, and before theconversation continued any further, I heard her suggest, “What about ‘TruckingProduce to Town Since 1978?”A few people have questioned the appropriateness of having an old truck in thelogo as a symbol of our “green” market. It carries that huge ear of corn, and Idrive the Market Truck, a ‘69 Ford Ranger, to transport parking barricades,tables, files, first aid kits, tool kits, etc. Both the cartoon truck and the real truckcome from a time when fuel economy was not as much of a concern, and theyboth go fewer than 15 miles on a gallon of gas.The market truck is only driven 30 miles per week, but when the cash forclunkers program was removing older vehicles from the roads, the market boardhad a discussion about the Market Truck. I will never forget Russ Messingsaying, “That’s not a clunker, that’s a classic!” The board agreed that sometimesthe greenest thing is working with the materials that already exist, rather thandiscarding the old and building something new. Thanks to mechanic EricCompton, the truck is well maintained. The Market Truck carries a load that twosmaller vehicles might otherwise have to carry.Last Saturday, Heidi Herrmann and Scott Knippelmeir joined the market fromStrong Arm Farm, and I was happy to see them arrive in a ‘73 Ford. Our marketalso has the Jimtown Store’s ’55 Ford, Sharon Vyborny’s ’49 Ford, and RussMessing’s ‘89 Ford, among others. I also admire the old and smaller Toyotapickups that Emmett Hopkins, Yael Bernier, and Bert Villemaire pack soefficiently. Old trucks are weathered and they don’t have a blinding glare.They are also reminders of durability, something our market will celebrate thisweekend at our 32nd Birthday.In the big scheme of things, the Farmers’ Market is giving us a way to reduce“Food Miles,” a term that refers to the number of miles required to transport foodfrom the field to the dinner table. The often quoted number from the Aldo LeopoldInstitute is 1,500 miles. Yes, that’s right; food travels an average of 1,500 miles,and our conventional food distribution system depends on the availability ofcheap oil, and the burning of fossil fuels. On the other hand, 90 percent of thefood at our Farmers’ Market comes from within a 10 mile radius of the Plaza.By purchasing a head of lettuce grown near Chiquita Road rather than oneshipped from the Salinas Valley, or cheese from Petaluma rather than Italy, orgarlic from the Dry Creek Valley rather than bulbs shipped from China, or localhoney rather than cane sugar processed in Hawaii, or meat pastured locallyrather than fed on corn grown in Kansas, we are collectively reducing ourreliance on oil, and drastically reducing the carbon burned during long distancetransport.If you look carefully at Art Read’s drawing, there is a content looking farmerdriving his truck. He is not in a hurry. He is Hypermiling. That was the OxfordEnglish Dictionary’s new word of the year in 2008, and it refers to drivingmethods that maximize fuel efficiency. The best way to improve our Miles PerGallon, to Hypermile, is to drive the speed limit…especially 55 miles per hour onthe highway. Driving 70 miles per hour rather than 55 mph reduces fuel efficiencyas much as 17percent.A few more Hypermiling tips:1. Inflate your tires properly and keep your engine well tuned. 2. Don’t brakeunless you have to 3. Leave room between your car and the car in front of you toallow for braking slowly 4. Don’t accelerate (too quickly) 5. Plan your route anddo as many errands as possible in one trip 6. Empty the trunk 7. Drive less 8.Avoid drive-throughs (lots of idling in a drive-through) 9. Drive shoeless (to havea better feel of the accelerator/brakes; if your windows are up and your airconditioning is off this will also help keep you cool!) 10. Drive the speed limit (oreven a little slower on the highway) 11. Watch the crosswalk signs (to know if thelight is going to change soon so you can slow down)This weekend we will be celebrating the Farmers’ Market’s 32nd Birthday, soplease join us for Carrot Cake baked by Carrie Brown, with roasted walnuts andreal carrots and cream cheese frosting. We will be singing Happy Birthday andcutting the cake after the Cow Bell rings at 9 A.M. The farmers will also beproviding free coffee. It is our way of thanking you for greeting us in town for 32years, and purchasing our produce so we can Hypermile back to the farm with anempty load after the market.