Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 27, 1994                   TAG: 9407280062
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

DISTINCTIVE

But it is also an attraction for natives, the focal point of downtown Roanoke, the feature that gives that bustling square its character. There are restaurants and businesses and Center in the Square's museums and theater, any or all of which might be the actual destination of shoppers or folks at play, but it is the farmers' market that makes them hang together as a distinctive place, unique to Roanoke.

Best of all, the City Market is real in a way no specially built tourist attraction, no matter how well-conceived, can be. It has been dressed up over the years, yet still clings to its original life as a marketplace where Roanokers and their neighbors can buy locally grown produce, often picked ripe that day.

It is important as a regional economic asset. But its value lies also in the imprint it leaves on the lifestyle here, the pleasure and sociableness it lends to the simple domestic task of gathering food for the supper table.

Unfortunately, the market is subject to the forces transforming agriculture throughout the nation: the disappearance of family farms, the rise of huge and efficient corporate food producers, and transportation improvements that allow shipment of perishables across continents and oceans. There is less homegrown produce for sale - homegrown here - and fewer farmers at the stalls.

Neither Downtown Roanoke Inc., which works with a committee of farmers to oversee the market, nor the city, which provides infrastructure and support, is going to be able to slow the global changes. They can and will have an impact, though, with decisions of more immediate concern. How can downtown parking and traffic be rendered more retail-friendly? Would a different fee structure attract more farmers to the stalls? What sprucing up is needed to maintain the market's inviting appearance?

It isn't enough to have set up the market. City officials must remain actively involved in sustaining its success. As they and Downtown Roanoke Inc. turn their attention to dealing with the changes wrought by larger forces, they should be mindful of the need to maintain the market's character as a farmers' market.

That means keeping the proportion of farmers high. Some craftsmen are a welcome addition, adding variety and interest. But the market's charm flows from the feeling that this is part of the life of the valley, serving the people of Roanoke and, incidentally, providing a colorful backdrop for tourists.

The peppers and corn and tomatoes and green beans, their colors a patchwork quilt as shoppers stroll along the stalls; the tantalizing smell of a ripe cantaloupe; the mouth-watering promise of a basket of peaches; the friendly instruction on how to cook up that mess of collards just right.

These make up the appeal of the farmers' market. They are not unique to Roanoke's City Market. But having them at the heart of downtown, lending that distinctive country flavor to the busy-ness of the city, is a part of Roanoke's appeal that ought to engage city officials' careful attention.