The Weblog
From vendor features & product spotlights,
to other important information,
including reminders of market closings,
upcoming classes, and events!
Upcoming events with Miller Flowers!
We’re happy to share two upcoming events from family owned and operated
Miller Flowers, Greenhouse and Florist!
Fri May 11th and Sat May 12th is the weekend for their 24th Annual Open House!! Door prizes, refreshments, shopping, and plenty of fun at 2200 State Route 571 in Greenville!
And Tue May 15th, 6:30pm, is Ladies Night Out! The focus? Container Gardening! They’ll go over everything you need to know to keep your containers looking gorgeous all season long, before you have the chance to plant your own container or hanging basket, amidst plenty of laughter, friends, and flowers!
RSVP by Mon May 14th on their website, www.millerflowers.co, or call 937-547-6099!
And of course the Virtual Market is open until 8pm tonight :-) Hope you enjoy this glorious day!
Thank You from the Food Pantry
I wish everyone who so generously gave food, toiletries, and monetary donations on Tuesday for the Food Pantry could have heard and seen just how excited even their volunteers were about the donations.
We are building a wonderful community with this market, and I just love the people we are bringing together in our efforts to make an important, local impact – thank you, everyone!
We are OPEN for orders, with new products and the return of old favorites!!
It may have been raining outside, but we were cozy, dry, and having a blast at the
Spring Farmer’s Market tonight :-)
And now the market is opened back up for the week, with the return of carrots, arugula, and cilantro!! YAY!!
And we also welcome A Taste of Sugar Bakery back to the market tonight with her baked goods, jams, granola, and more!
Our newest collaboration – organic wheat berries and organic spelt berries grown by End of the Road Farm that 6635 StudeBaker turns into her Ploughman’s Loaf and her 100% Spelt Sourdough Loaf (on sale this week!) – a truly local loaf of bread!!
Also new, Organic Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies from 6635 StudeBaker!
Covington Cheese Co has two new cheeses on the market, made with Certified Organic raw milk!!
And Rosy Toes Designs is sharing her organically grown Tomato transplants, this week only!! Such unique, heirloom varieties!!
Sadly, I must share that Davidson Family Growers did experience a crop failure with their ever-popular romaine lettuce, but no worries – they’ll have more soon!!
Thanks to everyone who came out to the Farmer’s Market tonight – we met so many new faces, and hope to see you sometime at pick-up :-)
An Important Partnership
The First Place Food Pantry opened in 2002 as a small outreach of the
First United Methodist Church in Troy.
Now a free-standing 501c3 organization, they provide services for over 18,000 people in Troy and Casstown annually! We have been so fortunate to partner with them and provide as much FRESH, local food as we can.
Open every MWF, 40 families can come “shop” each day – but each family may only come to the Food Pantry once a month!
Customers and vendors can drop off donations for the Pantry at Virtual Market pick-up on ANY Tuesday, and we’ll also accept donations for them this Tuesday at our Spring Farmer’s Market – 4 to 7pm at First Place!
Next week is the BIG night!
Both our Spring Farmer’s Market and Virtual Market pick-up will run from 4 to 7pm
next Tue, April 24th, at First Place in Troy!
Vendors from MCLG and other area Farmers Markets will be on hand with samples, products, and the chance for you to learn about their operations and products!
We’re excited to welcome back Miller Flowers – the family owned and operated full service greenhouse, florist, and flower farm in Greenville! With an incredible selection and gorgeous presentation, you can’t miss their homegrown beauties!
And some of our newest Virtual Market faces will be there, including Missy Duer of Indian Creek Distillery and Historic Staley Mill – she’s the 6th generation to own and live on her family farmstead. She and husband Joe continue her family’s 200 year old legacy of distilling the “American spirit” – Staley Rye Whiskey (and their unforgettable Stillhouse Maple Syrup, aged in their whiskey barrels!)
We had more referrals for our Refer-A-Friend program tonight than ever before!! Thanks to everyone for your help spreading the word about our little market – we’re thrilled how our community is growing, and it’s all thanks to you :-)
Chez Nous Farm needs your help!
Caroline McColloch of Chez Nous Farm in Piqua has quite a story to share…
She has been working hard the past five years on the farm she inherited from her grandparents. It’s been an uphill battle improving the existing infrastructure, converting row crop farmland into permanent wildlife and pollinator habitat, removing honeysuckle, bringing honeybees and cover crops to her land…
And after building her business plan and attending various marketing, production, and business management workshops/classes for beginning farmers, Caroline is ready to undertake her newest project – organic red raspberry production in a 30×96 ft high tunnel for season extension!
And now it gets even more interesting! Caroline has turned to KIVA, an international 501c3 organization for crowd-sourcing microloans to farmers, artisans, entrepreneurs… and folks like Caroline, where 100% of every dollar lent on KIVA goes to funding loans. Their mission is to connect people thru lending to alleviate poverty, and they help borrowers fund projects as varied as starting or expanding a business, going to school, accessing clean water and energy – a matter of survival for some, and the fuel for a life-long ambition for others!
Here’s how it works – Caroline finds 15 people each willing to LOAN her $25 for her project – and if she meets her requirement of 15 loans for operating capital, KIVA will open her project up to their global platform for the remaining $2,000 necessary for the completion of her project!
These are not donations, folks – she simply needs 7 more people to loan her $25 thru the following KIVA link, www.kiva.org/lend/1487837!
You can click on that link to read more of her story and of the program – but the deadline to join her current lenders and help her project come to fruition is NEXT WED April 18th at 3pm!!
Repayments begin 6 months after the loan capital is dispersed. Lenders use a credit card thru paypal on the site – it’s very simple, fascinating, and wothwhile!
www.kiva.org/lend/1487837
Welcome Back to Pizza Crusts, and Thank You to Vendors!
The long wait ends tonight… we have pizza crusts back on the market, with the addition of new vendor Rachel Lusk, the protégé of beloved Downtown Troy Farmer’s Market vendor, Mosquito Creek! They’ve passed the torch on to Rachel, and we couldn’t be more excited!!
And tonight we open with a Thank You to vendors…
We’re extending to a new vendor each month the $10 gift certificate from our Refer-A-Friend program, that rewards the customers who help spread the word about our little market.
Without our vendors and customers, this market would not exist – and we’ve got a unique mix of producers, from full-time farmers who depend upon their farm business as their livelihood, to those folks for whom this is an important secondary income or even those for whom it’s a hobby, a passion they love to share.
And because the market retains a smaller percentage (10%) than a typical retail operation (30% and up), we rely heavily on support from both customers and vendors.
Many of you know the vendors take turns as my cashbox volunteer – each vendor helps out two market nights per year. Less than 10 hours annually? Not too bad :-)
But as with anything else in life, there are always times a person will go above and beyond. And I’d like to thank the folks who consistently offer so much more support than what I’ve asked…
Whether pinch-hitting for someone who had to cancel, never leaving until the work is finished, spending countless hours brainstorming, recruiting, advertising, and just helping with all the thankless behind the scenes work typical of any business…
It’s such a small token of my gratitude, but it goes with plenty of love and appreciation :-)
So tonight our first Vendor Appreciation gift goes to Karen Purke,
McGuffey Herb and Spice Co. A hearty and sincere thank you for all you do!!
www.miamicounty.locallygrown.net!
Limited Time for Milk, plus Chicken Backs, Strawberry Cookies, S Hooks, and more!
Morning Milk Creamery will only offer their Whole Milk and Flavored Milks with our market EVERY OTHER WEEK – even more reason to get your order in by 8pm tonight!
And watch for all the new items being added weekly…
3lb pkgs of Chicken Backs/Necks from King’s Poultry Farm – a MUST for flavorful soups and broth, only $4!
Handy Hand-forged S Hooks from Live Simply Live Richly Farm!
Another Sourdough Bread Baking Class – Old Ways and Dough Trays – with 6635 StudeBaker at her gorgeous outdoor brick bake oven!
New Weekly Specials on Spiced Pear Fruit Butter and Applesauce Cherry Pie from Jeanne’s Kitchen!
Tender Baby Leaf Swiss Chard from End of the Road Farm!
And look for even more next week – Rachel Lusk is ready to make her Virtual Market debut, carrying the Pizza Crust-making torch from Mosquito Creek Farm! Can’t wait!
We close tonight at 8pm :-)
www.miamicounty.locallygrown.net!
What is Certified Naturally Grown?
How does Certified Naturally Grown compare to being Certified Organic?
This question has been posed to me time after time, most recently by a long-time customer who asked if I could explain what it meant for a producer to be Certified Naturally Grown for her kids who only shopped Certified Organic!
Short answer: Certified Naturally Grown was created by a group of farmers as the grassroots alternative to being Certified Organic, specifically for small, diversified family farms for whom the organic certification process is cost prohibitive.
CNG farms are organically operated with an emphasis on biological diversity and ecological balance – we must follow the National Organic Program, same as Certified Organic farmers – no synthetic chemicals, synthetic pesticides, or GMOs!
The CNG program is no less strict than the USDA’s Certified Organic program – both require farmers to follow the organic standards for three years prior to being admitted to either program – and without earning organic premiums.
However, CNG farmers go through an alternate certification process that focuses on small-scale operations and family farms, “not corporate conglomerates” and Big Ag.
CNG farms are inspected by other organic farmers, growers, and even customers, who appreciate the Certified Naturally Grown program being rooted in community with a focus on networking, transparency, and local accountability.
How much Certified Organic food sold in the US is produced overseas, where oversight and verification has proved to be lacking? All the more reason why it’s so important to support your neighborhood farmers, and really know who is growing your food!
CNG farms are ALL here in the US, with annual inspections and strict oversight from the program coordinators, who follow up on each participating farm to ensure anyone in the program is following the rules to a T.
One of the things my husband and I really appreciated when we compared becoming CNG instead of Certified Organic? CNG requires 50ft buffers around your property to keep your certified produce or livestock as far away as possible from your conventional neighbors, and their possible spray drift contaminating your livelihood.
The Certified Organic program only requires 25 ft… and as so many of us organic operators share borders with large-scale conventional farmers, CNG realizes farmers must be diligent in preserving as much space as possible, which is why we maintain a thick fencerow of trees and bushes. 50ft is even necessary insurance against a spray happy, irresponsible neighbor who seeks to eradicate dandelions from the face of the planet.
Out of our 21 acres, we’ve had to take almost 2 full acres out of production so our 50 ft buffers would compensate for the possible contamination we hope to never receive from our neighbors… when you make your living from your land, a 10% loss of available crop ground is massively impactful. We use those buffers for pollinators, wildlife habit and hay for our horses.
We love the inspection process – the questions engage the inspector and farmer to take a thorough look at all the good, as well as how to improve, in both the short and long term. The focus on the positive impact we must have on our immediate and extended environment is so refreshing!
Inspections are something we look forward to every year, knowing we’ll meet a new set of inspectors who’ll come with fresh eyes, understanding our hard work and sharing their own experiences and suggestions for our next year of this farming adventure!
CNG’s peer-reviewed inspections seek to drive producers to surpass the current expectations, for the sake of food safety and transparency, as the goal is to provide a healthy, happy, sustainable food system.
So… When you purchase Certified Naturally Grown food,
is it equivalent to purchasing Certified Organic? Yes!
And often, as we can personally testify, it’s “beyond organic”!
So Glad to be BACK!!
We’re refreshed from our break and energized to be back, bringing you new collaborations, more products, old favorites, and plenty local goodies!
Be sure to mark your calendars for our Spring Farmer’s Market at First Place on Tue April 24th, 4-7pm!!
www.miamicounty.locallygrown.net!