This weekend, I went to the famous Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. Thousands of people crowded into Balloon Fiesta Park. It is a field about the size of four football fields. It attracts Balloonists from all over the country. This event attracts ballooning fans and families.
Along one side of the field are the vendors for products and food. I could not find any healthy food options. Every beverage that was not coffee was laced with sugar. Every food vendor sold the same trash food. Deep-fried tacos and donuts and burritos. I am not exaggerating, every seller of Breakfast Burritos sold “Award Winning Breakfast Burritos”. This was a strange sign to see everywhere.
The event staff was great in offering cell phone charging stations. You get to meet such wonderful people while charging your phone. I met a woman that was on a gluten-free diet. (Check out our post on the Market for Special Dietary Needs here) She ordered a cheeseburger and threw away the bun. That burger cost her $20. Clearly, she had a lack of options.
When I was walking the space for vendors, I was also looking for healthy options. French fries are natural but hardly nutritious. I found a vendor selling pecans with cinnamon added. I purchased a bag of those only to find out that they were covered in sugar. Far from a healthy option. There were turkey legs available but hardly light food for a dieter. In conclusion, There were not a lot of options beyond that for the Gluten Free or those of us looking for vegetables to eat.
Matthew Baron
