Andrew Toy of the Enterprise Center and Patricia Blakely of the Merchants Fund in Philadelphia thought it auspicious to organize the East Coast's first carrotmob here to mark National Food Day.
A carrotmob (nothing like a flash mob) is the opposite of a boycott.
Boycotts block shoppers from a particular business because the organizers disagree with the owner about something. A carrotmob aims to help a particular business grow because the organizers strongly approve of the way the owner operates.
It's the positive-reinforcement side of the carrot-or-stick equation.
Woodall, 47, who is struggling to keep his two-year-old produce shop afloat in the fast-food vortex that is 62d and Ludlow, was grateful to be on the receiving end of the carrotmob's attention. And proud to be part of a larger national effort.
Food Day was the brainchild of Michael Jacobson, who had a hand in the first Earth Day, April 22, 1970, worked for Ralph Nader, and went on to start the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Jacobson has high, perhaps apple pie in the sky, hopes for the project.
Food Day could mark the moment American consumers demanded that the federal government level the playing field for small, sustainable growers. But if it simply draws families to the table for a meal they prepared themselves, Jacobson said, it will be a success.
To that end, there is no central event planned for Monday. No grand march on anyplace. Each community was free to organize classes or conversations.
In Philadelphia, the kickoff was an Oct. 15 Harvest Festival in Hunting Park.
The Department of Public Health, Fair Food, the Food Trust, Philabundance, and SHARE are among the local organizations with events scheduled (see a list at food.visitphilly.com).
