Supporting Vegan Vendors: 

A vegan diet, or veganism, tends to omit animal products for ethical, health, or environmental reasons.  Here are 2 texts that speak of our relationship to animal products vs. plants, seeds, and fruits/vegetables. 

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֗ים הִנֵּה֩ נָתַ֨תִּי לָכֶ֜ם אֶת־כׇּל־עֵ֣שֶׂב ׀ זֹרֵ֣עַ זֶ֗רַע אֲשֶׁר֙ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י כׇל־הָאָ֔רֶץ וְאֶת־כׇּל־הָעֵ֛ץ אֲשֶׁר־בּ֥וֹ פְרִי־עֵ֖ץ זֹרֵ֣עַ זָ֑רַע לָכֶ֥ם יִֽהְיֶ֖ה לְאׇכְלָֽה׃  

וּֽלְכׇל־חַיַּ֣ת הָ֠אָ֠רֶץ וּלְכׇל־ע֨וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֜יִם וּלְכֹ֣ל ׀ רוֹמֵ֣שׂ עַל־הָאָ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־בּוֹ֙ נֶ֣פֶשׁ חַיָּ֔ה אֶת־כׇּל־יֶ֥רֶק עֵ֖שֶׂב לְאׇכְלָ֑ה וַֽיְהִי־כֵֽן׃  

God said, “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food.  

And to all the animals on land, to all the birds of the sky, and to everything that creeps on earth, in which there is the breath of life, [I give] all the green plants for food.” And it was so. (Genesis 1: 29-30) 

כׇּל־רֶ֙מֶשׂ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הוּא־חַ֔י לָכֶ֥ם יִהְיֶ֖ה לְאׇכְלָ֑ה כְּיֶ֣רֶק עֵ֔שֶׂב נָתַ֥תִּי לָכֶ֖ם אֶת־כֹּֽל׃  

אַךְ־בָּשָׂ֕ר בְּנַפְשׁ֥וֹ דָמ֖וֹ לֹ֥א תֹאכֵֽלוּ׃  

Every creature that lives shall be yours to eat; as with the green grass, I give you all these.  

You must not, however, eat flesh with its lifeblood in it. (Genesis 9:3-4) 

Supporting Fair Trade Vendors: 

Fair trade is a global movement that hopes to improve the lives of farmers and workers around the world, especially in developing countries, to make sure that they are paid a fair wage and have opportunities for export.  It involves paying more for items that are environmentally and socially conscious.  It seeks to help provide a living wage to those that grow and make our food, clothing and other items.   

Check out this Fair Trade Jewish Values Matrix 

Support the Local Economy: 

Not all products at Farmer’s Markets are made locally.  Shopping local cuts down on packaging (no shipping needed!), food is fresher, you help the local economy, and you support your neighbors.  It also is a way to support local farmers who may not be able to export to big businesses.   

לֹֽא־תִקֹּ֤ם וְלֹֽא־תִטֹּר֙ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י עַמֶּ֔ךָ וְאָֽהַבְתָּ֥ לְרֵעֲךָ֖ כָּמ֑וֹךָ אֲנִ֖י יְהֹוָֽה׃  

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against members of your people. Love your fellow [Israelite] as yourself: I am יהוה. Leviticus 19:18 

Supporting Vendors with Kosher items: 

It may not be easy to find Kosher items at your local Farmer’s Market.  Kosher means that food items adhere to Jewish dietary laws.  Laws that tell us about foods that are permitted, foods that are prohibited, and how they must be prepared.   

In order to be certified as Kosher, a vendor must work with a local kosher food certification who will authenticate their status as a Kosher vendor.  It can be cost prohibitive to receive this status.  It also means growing fruits and vegetables in sync with the Jewish laws for gardening.   

Did you know… 

Fresh fruits, vegetables and grains are, in their natural unprocessed state, kosher and pareve (meaning neither meat nor dairy). They do not need Kosher certification and can be used with either dairy or meat. However, once a vegetable is combined with a dairy or meat product, it takes on the classification of that food, i.e., it becomes dairy or meat respectively. 

Checking for insects (which make fruits and vegetables unkosher) is also important.  

For more info on this… 

 Kosher Fruits and Vegetables – Chabad.org 

Supporting Black and LGBTQ+ Businesses 

Our Jewish tradition speaks a lot about supporting minorities.  While the Torah might not have written about shopping at Black and LGBTQ+ businesses specifically, there are texts from which we can extrapolate that meaning.   

This text from Deuteronomy reminds us that God is there to care for all, and that we must have empathy for those in our community who can be made to feel ‘othered’ in our society because we remember what it was like.     

עֹשֶׂ֛ה מִשְׁפַּ֥ט יָת֖וֹם וְאַלְמָנָ֑ה וְאֹהֵ֣ב גֵּ֔ר לָ֥תֶת ל֖וֹ לֶ֥חֶם וְשִׂמְלָֽה׃  

וַאֲהַבְתֶּ֖ם אֶת־הַגֵּ֑ר כִּֽי־גֵרִ֥ים הֱיִיתֶ֖ם בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃  

God is God Supreme… upholds the cause of the orphans, and the widow, and befriends the stranger, providing food and clothing. —  

You too must befriend the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (Deu. 10:18-19)