Martin's Farmstand:  Asparagus is ready!

Asparagus season is finally here! I am enjoying not having cold wind blowing all the time! Yesterday we cut the first 100 lbs of asparagus and this morning we cut 400 lbs. To put into perspective how late this is for asparagus- 18 out of the last 20 years that we have been doing asparagus we cut the first week of May. Last year started around Mothers day. This year it is almost Memorial day. Last week we were worrying about if the plants would freeze in the high tunnels and had days of snow. Now the weather forecast looks like it just might be safe to put tomatoes, cucumbers basil and everything else out. A farmers life is not dull! Enjoy the summer weather. Daniel

Miami County Locally Grown:  Sourdough Pizza Crusts and Creativity

We vendors are trying to be creative when we’re unable to order our regular supplies, packaging, and ingredients. Case in point… 6635 StudeBaker has been unable to source the organic yeast she needed for her pizza crusts, so this week she’s offering Sourdough crusts instead!

And I don’t know of a meat vendor who isn’t feeling the effects of the insanity of the meat industry right now – with the closing of the regular avenues to sell off their livestock, more livestock farmers needing to take their animals to the local butchers instead is creating an incredible back up – for those of us who used to be able to call and schedule a hog or cow within a couple weeks, I’m now talking to producers who cannot get an animal scheduled before December, March, or next summer!

The Market has always been in a unique position. Because we’re a Retail Food Establishment, we must require our meat and egg vendors to hold a license which then allows them to sell through the Market. There are more local beef farmers, and small chicken flock owners, who contact me about joining the Market than any other type of vendor (other than crafts!!) and yet very few have been willing to do what it takes to actually become a vendor, or it isn’t cost effective for them when their small flock would only enable them to offer, say, a couple dozen eggs a week.

For example, our newest vendor, Mark Gibson of Hidden Springs Farm, will soon offer organically fed, pasture raised chicken eggs with us, but we have been working with Mark for over a year before he received his license last week and is finally ready to join us! Patience is certainly not my strongest attribute, but it’s true that good things come to those who wait :-)

And our purpose has always been, and continues to be, offering only locally grown or crafted items – there’s simply no place for reselling on this Market. We exist to offer an avenue to local producers to sell their products without an exorbitant markup their small business cannot afford to eat, while also offering customers the widest variety of quality local products possible.

So we will continue to work for a balance in offering you the quality and variety you need and want, while holding to our original ideals of what a sustainable, 100% locally sourced Farmer’s Market can be!

And if there’s something you’d like to see on the Market, continue to email and let me know. I’ll share important updates as I can – that Grumpy Goat and Honey Creek will have more produce to offer just as Simple Living’s offerings will be limited as their CSA program begins. Or that King’s Poultry has expanded their operation to meet demand, and Michael’s Pastured Poultry will have more Certified Organic chickens and cuts available in June!

I don’t know about you, but I am sure ready for sunshine, summer, and all the bounty it will bring!!

Thank you for your continued support :-)

Statesboro Market2Go:  MARKET PICKUP TIMES

Thank you for your market orders! Here are the market pickup times for this week. Times have changed to reflect more efficient order handling, the actual number of orders received this week, and customers’ choices of pickup locations. Please check your order confirmation to confirm your choice of pickup location.

STATESBORO – THURSDAY Drive Through at Uncle Shug’s on Main

• Last names A – L ___ 3:15 pm – 4:30 pm
• Last names M – Z ___ 4:30 pm – 5:45 pm

STATESBORO – FRIDAY Drive Through at Uncle Shug’s on Main

• All Friday customers 10:00 am — 11:30 am

SYLVANIA – THURSDAY Pickup at Victory Gardens General Store

• All Sylvania customers 3:45 pm — 5:15 pm

Please help us maintain an efficient organization — and our sanity! — by honoring the established time frames for order pickup. We want everybody to get their groceries, so if you have a problem with your chosen or designated time slot, please text 912.481.2263 and tell us the LAST NAME on the order and the TIME you will be able to pick up. That way we can make sure your order is in the right place at the right time.

REMINDERS ABOUT THE DRIVE-THROUGH PROCEDURE

• Drive clockwise around the outermost perimeter, maintaining a tight queue, from the designated entrance to the front of the restaurant.
• A staff member will check you in as you come alongside the restaurant.
• Please display the name(s) for the order(s) you’re picking up on a windshield placard.
• Please wear a mask while communicating with market staff.
• Your order will be brought out to your vehicle from the main restaurant entrance as you wait.
• Provide access to your vehicle and to the containers you want loaded (bags, boxes, bins or coolers); e.g., unlock the back door or pop the trunk, with containers inside. We recommend that you bring a cooler for transporting meat, dairy and perishable items.
• Wait in your car for the runner to return with your order and load into your containers.
• If you did not prepay on line with a debit or credit card, please make a check for exact amount when your order is delivered. (You may pay cash in exact amount, but any “change” from cash received will be credited to your account. Use an envelope to label the cash payment with your order name.)

Champaign, OH:  A Thank You!

Just a quick note of love, for loving this market, so much! Thank you for your total support as we continue our growth, and thank you for the smiling faces that you bring to us, each week!

We look forward to seeing you at tomorrow’s pick up or at the Friday pick up!

XOXO,
Cosmic Pam

Foothills Market:  Market Reminder

There’s one hour left for shopping today on Foothills Market! Finish your order by 5 p.m. today (Wednesday), and we’ll have it ready for pickup tomorrow (Thursday) between 4:30-5:30 p.m.

Champaign, OH:  Tomorrow's Time Slots

Get excited!
Tomorrow is pick up time!! Here are your time slots!
4:00-4:30….A-C
4:30-5:00….D-H
5:00-5:30….J-N
5:30-6:00…O-R
6:00-6:30…S-Z
Or…
Friday 10am-12pm! (Please alert if you are a Friday pick up!
My Cosmic Hotline is 937-926-4833 if you need me!
Pre-pay, checks, or exact change keep the lines moving!!
XOXO,
Pam

Growing Together :  New items on market! Order by tonight!

We’ve just added some exciting new items to the market! Check them out and order by tonight! Market closes at 6pm.
We’ve got:
-Cauliflower (!!!)
-Broccoli (!!!)
-Cabbage (!!!)
-and more spinach!

Don’t forget that order pickup is on Saturday from 9-11am at The Nashville Food Project.

Thank you!!
-Growing Together

Independence,VA:  Market CLOSES Tonight at 8 pm!

*

Good morning,

Be sure to get all of your new and last minute orders in before the Market closes at 8 pm tonight.

Please schedule your pickup time using the Calendy link below as soon as you have a chance. Be sure to input your information after you click confirm and then click the schedule your event button. It also makes things run a bit smoother if you use the same name in Calendy as your account on the Online Market (that way we don’t have to guess who’s order goes to who if the names don’t match). You can always cancel a pickup time and choose a new one if your schedule has changed.

To Shop: Independence Farmers Market.

Schedule your pickup time: Calendy

Thank you so much for shopping on the Market!

Abby

The Cumming Harvest - Closed:  Weblog Entry

I hope everyone is staying safe this week and in the near future. To reiterate what was said last weekend:

We will open the market this week and our pickup on Saturday will largely be the same as previous weeks. In response to concerns over Covid-19 we will disinfect and sanitize all shared surfaces before and after business is conducted in the market. We ask that if you are feeling under the weather that you please refrain from placing an order this week or send someone else to pickup for you. Please follow all sanitary precautions put out by the CDC as we are following those guidelines as well and we want to keep everyone as safe and healthy as possible.

We are doing our best to keep you safe as well as our staff and volunteers. We are doing everything we can to provide alternative options for pickup to ensure your safety. We have had concerns brought up about how safe the market is and we would like to say that this is a service that we are providing. It is imperative that as the customer you understand that it is also your responsibility to keep yourself safe. We can take all the precautions we can to keep the market clean and sanitary but it is also your choice to make a calculated risk to leave your home during this shelter in place order. We want to make this pickup go as smoothly as possible which is why we have moved pickups outdoors as well as encourage you to pay online so there is less interaction and less touching of shared surfaces. Please help us help you as we do not want to have to shut down the market. This would effect you negatively as well as our growers who are doing their best to provide this service during these trying times.

We know that you are eagerly awaiting our Back in Time Farm chicken to be available again. They have been sold out but they should be back in stock by the last week in May! Thank you for your patience.

Thank you, Happy Shopping!

Emily Eilers
[email protected]
Head Farmer FM Aquaponics

It is also possible to contact Jaclyn Barnum who runs the market on Saturdays.
[email protected]
678-630-5906

Springdale, AR:  Collard Greens Added

We have our first collard greens of the season available! If you have already placed your order, you can add collards to that order. If you haven’t ordered yet, you still have time!

See you Saturday!