Motherhood is crucial to the growth and development of all living things. The role of caring for, nurturing and teaching new beings how to thrive and survive is truly special. There are mothers and mother figures who may not be actively caring for new beings, but who are nonetheless interwoven into our culture and essential to our well-being and resilience. All should be acknowledged, appreciated and celebrated! At LCFM, we are celebrating all the ways motherhood shows up in our lives, all the relationships that teach us how to care better for one another, and all of the people who have helped nurture us and tend to our growth!
This Mother’s Day is a unique one in our market’s community. We are celebrating quite a few vendors who are expecting new sprouts in their families this spring! We asked our soon-to-be moms of the market what being a mother means to each of them.
“I am Angelina, owner of Formosa Flower Farm. My partner and I are so excited to welcome our first baby into the world in early June. I have always known I wanted to be a mother, and this season of life has already been incredibly meaningful and transformative. We feel so grateful to be building a life and raising our child surrounded by such a strong, loving, and supportive community. There is something especially beautiful about preparing to welcome new life while spending each day nurturing and growing flowers here on the farm.”
“My name is Kelly and I am the co-owner of Willow & Oak Farm along with my husband Adam, where we produce sustainably-grown cut flowers and pasture-raised chickens at the Berggren Watershed Conservation Area in Springfield. I primarily manage the flower side of our farm. At this time, I’m about halfway through pregnancy with our first child, and we are very excited to become parents this fall! While there is a lot of joy and anticipation in approaching this threshold, it has definitely been a journey to figure out how to restructure our business and our lives to create a little more space and balance, which feels vitally important for our growing family- For the past five years, our farm has been the primary baby and the focus of ALL of our attention! This means I’m spending a lot less time actively farming this year and a lot more time supporting other farmers through a new job role at Upper Willamette Soil & Water Conservation District. Through some big changes and transitions, I feel especially thankful for our fantastic farm team, and to my fellow expectant farming/local food mamas. Supporting each other in community has been such a gift!”
“I’m Shelley from Lane County Bounty. We make tasty preserves and salad dressing inspired by local harvests. I’m so grateful to be a part of this wonderful community as I welcome a new little one into the world. Being on the journey with other farm friends has been really magical!”
“I am Hayley of Upriver Organics. We grow lots of veggies and fruit (especially blueberries) on our farm, which is located up the McKenzie valley. My husband, Jack, grew up on our farm, and we are so excited to raise our son in the same place! We have always known that we’ve wanted to have kids, and we are over the moon that that time has arrived for us. As a scientist (in my off-farm work), I’ve been thinking a lot about the mothering that occurs across all species and the lessons that can be learned from all the life forms around me!”
We encourage you to wish each of these expecting moms a happy Mother’s Day at the market, and perhaps to grab a bouquet or baked good for any mother in your life!