‘A Thanksgiving Blessing’

“What’s a farmers market?” Allie asked curiously.

Allie and Grace were going shopping with their mother to buy food for their Thanksgiving dinner. They had gone to the supermarket the day before and now their mother was taking them to a new place called a farmers market that had just opened.

Their mother answered, “It’s where people bring food to sell that they grow.”

The girls were excited as they arrived. The girls were amazed when they saw all of the different stands with all kinds of food. Allie loved corn and ran over to it right away.

The farmer smiled and said, “Would you like to hold an ear of corn?” and then handed her one.

Allie was thrilled and said “Thank you. It really smells good.” Turning to her mother she asked “Can we buy some for Thanksgiving?”

“Of course” her mother replied. “It will really taste fresh.” Allie helped her mom pick out enough ears for their dinner.

Grace liked apples and was busy looking at a stand with bright red apples. She asked the lady next to the stand “Where did you get so many apples?”

“Well,” the lady answered, “My husband and I own an orchard and we grow them. You can come visit our orchard sometime.”

“Really?” answered Grace. “That would really be great.” Grace asked her mom if they could buy some, which they did.

The girls kept discovering new stands with more fruits and vegetables as their mother kept adding to the bags in their cart.

Grace was looking at all of the stands when she suddenly was puzzled. She looked at her mom and asked “Why don’t we buy the same food at the supermarket?” She was having fun but it did take more time to go to all the stands to find what they wanted.

Her mom said, “That is a really great question and I am glad you thought about it.”

Her mom explained that coming to the farmers market was a good way to support the local farmers and also to get fruits and vegetables that are much fresher. Another positive result is the fact that the food does not need to be transported very far. This helps the environment by reducing pollution from the trucks moving the food. Supermarkets are still helpful but it is good to have other choices.

Grace smiled at her mom’s explanation and said that was a good idea. Grace and Allie helped their mom load their bags into their car and headed home. They were now ready for their Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanksgiving Day was a beautiful sunny day with bright fall colors of red and orange on the leaves of the trees.

Allie and Grace helped their mom set the table for dinner. They were expecting many family members and it would be fun to tell them about their trip to the new farmers market.

As the family sat down for dinner, Allie and Grace’s father asked each person to give a blessing for this day and gathering.

When it was Allie’s turn she said “I want to bless the corn I love but I also want to bless the farmer I met. He was the person who had worked so hard to grow it.”

Next, it was Grace’s turn. “I want to bless the apples we bought. I also want to bless the truck driver who helped bring the apples.”

Then she remembered all the people at the supermarket who had also helped. Finally, she said “We should bless our food and the people who brought it to us every day, not just on Thanksgiving.”

Allie and Grace’s mom and dad sat with large smiles on their faces. Their girls had really expressed the real spirit of the day with their Thanksgiving blessing.

Special thanks to Bo Kim for this week’s illustration. To see more of her work, visit bokim.com.