In an era where most of our lives are filled with worries about commutes, commissions, and childcare, it can often seem like there is no room left in our busy schedules to be active members in the West Seattle community, and certainly no time to contribute anything substantial to it.

The weekly West Seattle Farmers Market is working to disprove that opinion by providing a public sphere were neighbors can interact with one another, support local farmers, and reclaim the sense of community that can often get lost in the frenzy of everyday life.

The Market was opened in the spring of 1999 by the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting local farmers and educating consumers.

"It was new territory for this community to go in," says Chris Curtis, director of the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance. "I have to give them credit for taking a chance on the market."

But that chance decision has paid off for the Junction Association, local business, and most of all community members and local farmers. Each Sunday at 10 a.m. sharp the starting bell gives the okay for vendors to start selling their varied products from fresh fruit and vegetables to pastries and baked goods to dried herbs and tinctures, all raised and distributed by local growers who thrive in the community marketplace.

"I love it," says Jerry Pipitone of Pipitone Farms, who has participated in the West Seattle Market for six years, "You get to talk to people all day long about your stuff."

In fact, talk is what these vendors seem to be best at. Pipitone offers passing shoppers free samples of his seasonal dried fruit and jams, which fluidly lead to lengthy conversations about anything from tomatoes to tax reform. More than serving as a simple exchange of money for goods, the market is a vehicle for farmers to build lasting relationships with their community and the people in it.

"Most of my customers are like extended family," says farmer Wade Bennett, "Where else do you get that?" Bennett has selling his fresh fruit and farm-brewed cider at the West Seattle market since its second year, and also sells out of the five other operating Neighborhood Farmers Markets.

Space at the West Seattle market has become a hot commodity among local producers, which now runs a consistent wait list and is considered one of the more competitive local market to obtain space in due to the established popular vendors that return yearly. Still, even market novices become quickly aware of the communal efficiency of such a system.

"It's nice because you can meet your neighbors and see what people want," says Jayne Simmons, who is in her first few weeks at the market, "It's pretty cool how knowledgeable people are." Simmons is a West Seattle resident who found her niche sells herbs and tinctures made from her farm on Vashon Island.

The only thing at the market more diverse than the merchandise is the variety in shoppers. A true representation of West Seattle's growing and changing community, the market is filled with all types of shoppers, from groups of chatty senior citizens to young couples and their children, all of them entice with the market's high-quality products and face to face interactions with vendors.

"I like buying directly from farmers," says Marshall Foster, a San Francisco native who recently moved to West Seattle with his wife, Shanti," It adds a certain dimension to it when you talk with people and learn about the food."

"It's a gathering place for neighbors," agrees Jane Jacobs, another West Seattleite who has been shopping at the market since it began in 1999, "and there is something very satisfying about having a link and relationship with the person who grew the food."

The Neighborhood Farmers Alliance has sought to enhance the sense of community that permeates the market through various community-centered projects, including the weekly donation of fresh produce to the West Seattle Food Bank. Market farmers have donated over 6,000 pounds of food to the Food Bank this year alone.

"Our clients definitely appreciate the fresh, quality produce that is donated by the farmers," says Fran Yeatts, executive director of the West Seattle Food Bank, "The food we receive from the Farmers Market is a great addition to our donation sources."

The market has also had a positive effect on the life of the junction, and the Sunday business of local stores and eateries. Each week about 2,000 shoppers attend the farmers market, often visiting other Junction businesses on their way in or out.

"It usually means more business for us as well as them," says Adam Tutty, manager of Easy Street Records, "I think we have the same kind of customers and they feel if I'm going to one I might as well go to the other since they are so close."

The market also holds frequent community events, such as pumpkin decorating in October or their annual "Zucchini 500" races where kids construct racecars out of various types of the versatile fruit.

"Those kids are growing up with this amazing memory of a farmers market," says Curtis, "And maybe they will grow up wanting fresh, local food too."

The success of the market, however, can't only be attributed to its organizers and vendors. There is something that exists in the West Seattle Community that holds this weekly ritual together and consistently brings shoppers and farmers back for more of the locally-driven sense of connectedness that is ultimately the heart of the market.

"The West Seattle community has been so welcoming and supportive over the long haul," says Curtis, "Something just really clicked here and we're grateful for it."

The market operated behind Morton's Drugs and Key Bank wvery Sunday through Dec. 17. Hours are 10 a.m.-2 p.m. They will host a second season of a winter market beginning Sunday, Jan. 8 and continuing every Sunday through Feb. 25 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Whitney Cork is a University of Washington student in the NewsLab and can be reached via wseditor@robinsonnews.com