The Weblog
From vendor features & product spotlights,
to other important information,
including reminders of market closings,
upcoming classes, and events!
We are (finally) OPEN for orders!!
I apologize the market is just now opening up, at 11pm!
You’ve probably all had “one of those days” before… :-)
But EXCITING NEWS!! This week, welcome back D and D Potato!! YAY!!
With his versatile Reds, buttery Yukon Golds, colorful Purples, and those darling little marble potatoes in a stroke of marketing genius, we are so glad to have Dane back on the market!
…And what better way to show him how much we missed him than by ordering!!
Be sure to check out all the other new goodies on the market this week -
Live Simply Live Richly is offering a gorgeous Microgreen MIX – and they’ll have new varieties soon…
Covington Cheese Co. added a lovely Asiago style cheese to her incredible repertoire…
We have a great variety of Weekly Specials, from ground beef, organic breads, and baked goods to jams and herb mixes…
Becky’s Buckeye Naturals has several yummy, summery-scented soaps…
And Simple Living Farm has Red Raspberries that are sure to go quick! Get ’em while you can!!
www.miamicounty.locallygrown.net
Only a few hours left!
Don’t forget to sign up for the soap-making class, herb walk, and farm tour from
Mother Suds Soap Co!
Whether you’re looking for heirloom tomatoes, new garlic, fresh produce, local meats, exquisite desserts… we’re only open until 8pm!
www.miamicounty.locallygrown.net
What does it mean to offer FRESH produce?
Two comments this week sure surprised me…
I had someone ask me if the market sold FRESH produce… and I would argue, unless you were picking it from your own backyard, you’re not going to find FRESHER produce than what we harvest for you THE DAY you pick-up your order!
Then, while giving a presentation to a small group of women, the observation was made how tasteless grocery store tomatoes were compared to heirloom tomatoes they were eating for the first time.
They were astounded when I remarked how far those grocery store tomatoes had to travel, and how early they must be picked to handle mechanized harvesting, hundreds if not thousands of miles in transit, weeks of sitting waiting to be purchased…
It’s a wonder such produce could have any taste at all!
Talking to those women made me appreciate our growers and customers that much more -
here was a group of women, from my age to my mother’s, who had never considered how far their food had to travel, or what it meant to be truly FRESH.
We’re ready to custom-harvest and bake just for you! But only til Sunday at 8pm :-)
www.miamicounty.locallygrown.net
We're OPEN for orders! Refer a Friend!!
Refer-a-Friend Program:
Our steady growth over the last year is in large part thanks to our incredible customers, and your word-of-mouth promotion of the market.
One way to say Thank You… Our Refer-a-Friend program!
If you refer a new customer to us, have that new customer drop your name when they pick-up their order, so we know who brought them to the market!
Then you will be entered in our monthly drawing for a $10 Virtual Market Gift Certificate! Yay!
One drawing per month, after each month’s last pick-up – and I’ll announce the winner when I send the weblog that evening! Valid on any combination of products, and our Gift Certificates never expire – I keep track of your spending until you’ve used it entirely.
So the more referrals you send our way, the higher your chances of winning!
Just another reason to be excited about our lovely local market!
www.miamicounty.locallygrown.net
In honor of our First Anniversary...
We need your help celebrating the Market’s First Anniversary!
Wait til we unveil our Refer-a-Friend program!
Learn how to win a Market Gift Certificate!
Enter the drawing for our Market Gift Baskets, featuring products from your favorite vendors!
Details to come! :-)
This market opened on August 2nd, 2016 – and we have been humbled over the past year by your incredible support, and interest in truly local food.
Thank you so much for your business and friendship, as we continue to grow!
We’re open for orders until 8pm tonight!
www.miamicounty.locallygrown.net
We have berries, tomatoes, fresh garlic, and so much more!
So many new offerings for our first week back!
Their first fresh garlic of the season from Simple Living Farm! Not for storage – it begs to be used right now!
Two new cheese offerings from Covington Cheese Co – Hot Shot and Caraway!
Lovely parsley plants, perfect for your kitchen windowsill, from Chez Nous Farm
Juicy black raspberries from Jeanne’s Kitchen
Organic Hot Dog and Hamburger Buns from 6635 StudeBaker
And the next stop on our Farm Tour Series, complete with soap-making and herb lessons, from Mother Suds Soap Co! Space is limited! Be sure to check out the Classes or Farm Tour categories on The Market :-)
www.miamicounty.locallygrown.net!
Craving Food Freedom...
On this glorious Independence Day, as we open the Market and give thanks for the wonderful country and community in which we live, what is dwelling most on my mind?
The necessity of Food Freedom…
A difficult aspect of this job is the many conversations with vendors, both current and potential, who have ideas for creative, unique products they’d like to sell… and wading through the regulations, licensure, and requirements necessary for the legal production of those items in the State of Ohio. Miami Co Public Health, and Food Safety with the Ohio Dept of Ag, are so encouraging when I call to verify how to make a lawful product – one guy always tells me “You can do anything you want! Here’s how” – then explains the steps we need to take… sometimes it’s simple and inexpensive… sometimes it’s cost prohibitive and impractical for a small-scale producer… and other times it’s literally impossible, a great idea but not allowed.
I’ve always been a stickler for rules – there are so many we may not like, or agree with, but we follow every day. And of course we want to offer clean, safe products and don’t want anyone to get sick! So we in the food business comply, with the best interest of our customers at heart.
Warehouse license… Cannery license… Mobile Food license… Retail Food Establishment license… Egg producers license and inspection… Home Bakery license and inspection… Commercial Kitchen inspection… Rinse but don’t wash your produce… Butcher chicken for a neighbor but not beef or swine… Find a commercial kitchen if you want to sell dehydrated or frozen fruits and foods, prepared foods, cooked foods, etc…
Yet in Wyoming none of this is necessary, if I sell to informed consumers directly!! In 2015 they passed the Wyoming Food Freedom Act, introduced by State Rep Tyler Lindholm, to restore the food rights of all Wyoming citizens, and allow access to homemade and home-processed foods sold directly to consumers.
Small dairy herds are a reality, complete with raw milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream… No certified kitchens and licenses necessary to offer pre-shredded chicken, dehydrated and frozen fruits, and the list continues. Eggs at a farmer’s market? No licensing required!
And in the two years since all this became legal in Wyoming NO ONE has gotten sick!
NOT ONE case of foodborne illness outbreak due to the passage of their Food Freedom Act?!?! Incredible! Now, I realize Wyoming has always been progressive, from way back when they were first to grant women the right to vote… but my hat is sure off to those folks now, as they show the rest of us just how truly backwards and over-regulated we are.
Not only was the initial act passed, but it was so well received, their State Ag Commission is actively looking for ways to strengthen it! What a model to follow!
But it doesn’t have to be unique to Wyoming! North Dakota, Colorado, and California are all in various stages of taking similar steps. And Ohio can be just as forward-thinking, and healthy! I get chills thinking of ways to encourage a wider diversity of local food options. So many farmers operate at a loss… producers receive an average of 20% of consumer’s food dollars – with Food Freedom, think of the impact when the return of direct sales would give local access to the other 80% of those food dollars!
Wyoming is working to build their local economies, sustain struggling farmers, prevent the further disappearance of their rural communities… and do you know what? It’s working. The number of actual food producers at some of their farmer’s markets has tripled, and as Rep Lindholm put it, “Wyoming’s local food options have exploded!”
Ken Akopiantz, in the inspiring article “Rebuilding Rural Communities and Economics Through Self-Determination” for THE enlightened brilliant publication (our absolute fave) Small Farmer’s Journal, stated “We the people, farmers, food producers, and consumers of the United States have lost control over the food that we eat, our local food systems, and our self-determination. It is time that we awaken to what has been lost and put forth the effort to regain our food rights and Food Freedom.”
Is all of the regulation we see in Ohio then truly necessary, or could we follow Wyoming’s progressive example to truly bring Food Freedom to our own State? Wow, I have goosebumps just thinking about the possibility! YOUR representatives are only a phone call or email away…
Oh, the joys of living in America, where the impossible dream of Food Freedom can become a reality, with the support of consumers like you! No matter how different we are,
EVERYONE EATS… and nothing else can connect us all as can food.
www.miamicounty.locallygrown.net!
A new class offering! Learn to save seeds!
Ever wonder how to harvest your own seed?
Increase your self-sufficiency and get your hands dirty when you come visit
End of the Road Farm to help harvest lettuce seed at our
Seed Saving Basics class on Monday, June 26th! Space is limited, so register today!
Seed saving is near and dear to our hearts – we not only want to share with people one of our passions, but also show that seed saving is vitally necessary, absolutely doable, and oh so fun!
Appropriate for beginning seed savers, this class will include an introduction to seed saving, as well as why seed saving is critically important! See examples of our carrot, chard, peas, radishes, and spinach seed that is ready for harvest before we collect the lettuce!
In this class, conducted out of doors in one of the market gardens on our farm, you will:
1. See the various stages of growth and seed development of several veggies
2. Learn how to determine which plants you should save to harvest seed
3. Test your germination rate
4. Discover proper storage techniques
5. Take home resources and tips to aid your future seed saving endeavors, and much more!
Ages 14 and up are welcome – As we will be outside for the duration of this 90 minute class, please wear appropriate clothing and shoes for gardening, and feel free to bring water to stay hydrated!
Register on The Market under the Classes/Workshops category :-)
www.miamicounty.locallygrown.net!
We're CLOSED for 4th of JULY!! ORDER NOW!!
Today is your last chance to sign up for Wednesday’s stop on our Farm Tour Series -
6635 StudeBaker’s lovely farm with her outdoor brick bake-oven!
Sign up on The Market page under Farm Tours :-)
And folks, the 4th of July happens to fall on a Tuesday – and most of us will be celebrating, traveling, and generally NOT thinking about market pick-up!
So we will take a very SHORT ONE-WEEK break from the market, and NOT reopen this Tuesday June 27th after pick-up -
The market will re-open on Independence Day,
so stock up NOW for all your 4th of July festivities!!
Bacon, greens and herbs on a focaccia sandwich…
Burgers with melted cheese and Jane’s Italian seasoning…
Brats and Buns paired with a tomato herb salad
Grilled cucumbers (not kidding!)
Pork tenderloin with a peach preserve glaze
The possibilities are endless and delicious!
But you only have until 9pm TONIGHT!
www.miamicounty.locallygrown.net
Happy Father's Day!
Does a more exhausting, demanding, or rewarding profession exist than fatherhood (motherhood not withstanding)?
My grandma has always said that every day is mother’s and father’s day, and with 10 kids, she’d know! But my husband and I are lucky to have had selfless examples of what it takes to be a parent.
Lee and I have four children – our oldest just turned 6, and the youngest is 8 months – and he said this morning even when it’s crazy (which is often), he just loves being a dad.
And it’s more than just Dad… so many men, whether another relative, friend, teacher, neighbor, with that special mentoring instinct have made a powerfully positive impact on our lives, and we don’t always have the opportunity to appreciate them as they deserve.
So, to all the “Fathers” out there in our Happy Market Family, thank you for everything, and Happy Father’s Day!
www.miamicounty.locallygrown.net!