Art
Before supermarkets, most Americans bought fresh food from street vendors called costermongers. This French artist captured a common urban scene: a shopper and vendor negotiating price at a produce stand. For working families, daily shopping meant knowing vendors by name and bartering for the best deal.
Art · Full story
You smell overripe fruit and cart grease. The woman leans in, pointing at the oranges—too soft, she says. The vendor shrugs, adjusts his pile of apples. Voices overlap around you: other shoppers calling out, coins clinking, someone laughing. The light is fading. You need to eat tonight, and the price matters.
Reflect
How has the way you buy food changed the way you know the people who sell it?