By Taylor Sisk
Staff Writer
With one participant reportedly saying, “There are people here who need to eat,†a variety of foods were distributed at last Saturday’s Really Really Free Market, held the first Saturday of each month on the Carrboro Town Commons.
The rub, from the town’s perspective, is that participants in the Really Really Free Market aren’t insured to distribute food at the event and therefore have been in violation of the event’s contract with the town.
But at least a few among those who bring goods to the gathering for free distribution say the town is wrong – that they are no different than anyone who may bring food to a public park and then share it, and that signs posted informing those who partake that the town can’t be held liable in case of sickness sufficiently cover all concerned.
If there are rules in place that prevent the sharing of food in the Town Commons, said Carrboro resident Tamara Tal, who brought and, within five minutes, parted with an entire loaf of her homemade zucchini bread, “I argue that we need to readjust the rules.â€
Food has been distributed, at no charge, at past Really Really Free Market events – in fact, photographs of attendees loading plates with covered-dish items are available on www.carrboro.com – but the town’s administration had yet to resort to direct measures to prevent it.
It appears that will soon no longer be the case.
Carrboro Chief of Police Carolyn Hutchison was at the Commons on Saturday, as was Town Manager Steve Stewart and at least two members of the Carrboro Board of Aldermen. A uniformed town police officer was also on hand shooting video as food was distributed.
Stewart said participants of the Really Really Free Market have in the past been duly warned: “We went to extra efforts to advise them of the rules,†he said.
“We put our staff in a most uncomfortable position,†said Alderman Alex Zaffron in an email to his fellow aldermen and town staff. “These folks have been given every opportunity to meet us halfway and demonstrate an infinitesimal level of responsibility.
They have chosen to do neither. I suggest we take immediate corrective action, if required.â€
Chief Hutchison said in an email sent to the board of aldermen that she spoke with several Really Really Free Market participants and that she “felt very saddened and frustrated by their non-compliance,†saying that she thought it was “in the Town’s best interest not to ‘fight’ with participants†while the event was still in progress.
But, “Clearly, the Town must take a definitive and realistic stand,†she added, “so that the police department may effectively respond in the future.â€
Tal finds the town’s reaction unfortunate.
“I think this town, this community is built around community member-to-community member interaction, like at the Farmers’ Market and at Weaver Street,†Tal said. That community-building experience, she believes, is much of what makes Carrboro unique.
And one of the most essential manners in which community is conveyed, she said, is through the sharing of food.
At the core of the Really Really Free Market’s mission, Tal said, is the conviction that there are enough of the essentials of life to provide for all: “If we just use our resources in a different way, there’s enough for everyone.â€
But, said Stewart, “No insurance, no food.†Distributing food without being insured is a “potentially very serious issue,†he said. “It puts the entire responsibility of someone getting sick on the town of Carrboro and its taxpayers.â€
Board of Alderman Jacquie Gist, who was present on Saturday, said, “I love the Really Really Free Market – environmentally, socially, it’s great. But this is a situation where the town has given them permission to hold [this event] and the public is invited … and we’re responsible.†Serving food that comes from a variety of sources presents, she said, “a public health official’s nightmare.
“I believe in what they’re doing, just not the food part.â€
Tal intends to return to the Really Really Free Market the first Saturday of September with, if not zucchini bread, something made in her kitchen. Whether that market is again held on the Carrboro Town Commons may well soon be taken under consideration.
Stewart is now preparing a report on the market’s activities, with recommendations on how to respond, to present to the aldermen.
Why hold the Really Really Free Market on the Town Commons? Come on Tamara Tal, be the first to host it at your place!! I’ll bring my favorite dish and serve it up on your table for free, cool? What could go wrong, right?