I wore a short-sleeve shirt yesterday. You know what that means?
It’s finally (finally) picnic weather.
Which is why, theatre people, I can now present you with a “Take ten” picnic challenge. You wolf down food mid-rehearsal anyway. Use one of your summer-evening rehearsal breaks to connect with your cast/crew/creative team/complete strangers in the great outdoors with a speed picnic.
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| And nobody gets hurt. |
The Challenge: Step-by-Step
Step 1: Get a bunch of fresh, easy-to-eat, local finger foods. I recommend fresh bread (pre-sliced or rippable), a bread-dipping-friendly jar of preserves, a couple of sliced cucumbers and bananas. Pack them in tupperware and recyclable containers in a picnic basket.
Step 2: Get a blanket you’re comfortable putting on the ground.
Step 3: Ask your team to join you in the challenge. Especially your stage manager. Stage manager on a break often means a longer break. Plus, SMs deserve more love, and everyone knows it.
Step 4: When your director/choreographer/whoever’s in charge says, “Take 10,” everyone sprint out of the building, lay out the blanket, pull the food out of the containers, and start munching. And before you can say step five -
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| "We close on Broadway, take our two million, and go to Rio!" |
-everyone’s shared a meal, and it’s taken less than 10 minutes. Plus you’ve done something good for the environment.
Even if you choose not to accept the challenge - which would be inconceivable - make it a priority to check out some farmers’ markets this summer. You can benefit local businesses and reduce your carbon footprint immensely by just choosing to buy the local, often-organic food items available outside of the supermarket. There are so many in New York that I can almost guarantee there’s one suitably local, maybe even more so than your local grocery.
The sites below will help you find the food you want, at the markets closest to your doorstep.
Eat Green
1. GrowNYC Greenmarkets
New York City dwellers should probably start with this list of markets run or sponsored by GrowNYC. I’m a big fan of GrowNYC in general, but what’s especially great about their online listing is that you can tell at a glance which Greenmarket locations also provide battery and textile recycling. Some even collect compost.
You can also explore the site further to learn more about their Youthmarket farmers’ markets and wholesale food options.
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| Drool. |
2. The Farmers’ Market Federation of New York
The Farmers’ Market Federation of New York provides a listing for all farmers’ markets across the state on their website, available to be edited and updated by every NY member farmer. This site is a great option for those living outside the New York City metropolitan area. However, take care - as the site is mainly geared toward providing resources for the farmers themselves, the list of markets can occasionally prove to be less than current and/or user-friendly.
One lovely feature of this site is that it lists whether certain markets accept credit cards or require cash, which can be very useful.
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| Don't be me. |
3. WhatIsFresh
This site does not cover any new territory - in fact, its main focus is GrowNYC’s Greenmarkets. The beautiful part of this site is that you can can shop by product. Don’t have an idea what you want to cook this week? Look up what’s in season. Oh, you like the sound of asparagus. The site lists every market vendor who carries asparagus, and which Greenmarket locations they frequent. Want to make sure you aren’t going to come home from shopping with five heirloom potatoes, a leek, and a recyclable bag full of frustration? Suddenly you can make your market trips as predictable as a grocery store run. To which I say:
So use the resources at your fingertips this summer, and make the world a greener place. It’ll be a picnic.
