Summer Market begins this Friday May 5 with market being held every Friday indoors 3:30 - 6:30 at Cheviot School. Please note the NEW hours for the Summer Market Season. This change makes for a smooth transition from school dismissal to market start time.
Cheviot Elementary School, 4040 Harrison Ave. 45211:
Cheviot Elementary School, 4040 Harrison Ave. 45211:
Parking is accessed behind the school. Take Harrison Ave. to Carrie St. to McFarran St. You will see the Lettuce Eat Well Farmers' Market sign by the main entrance door. Once inside, enter through the double doors to your left and enter the gymnasium on your left.
THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHT
I'm excited to announce that free cooking classes will begin at our market on May 12. The eight-week series will be held from 4:00 - 5:00 and will be taught by Margarita
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| Margarita explaining cooking class series to customer Photo courtesy of Kelby Bowers |
Lewis, Ohio State University Extension Nutrition Specialist. You can register for the series at our market this Friday or by contacting Margarita at (513) 946-8973 lewis.2349@osu.edu
I'm so glad that Margarita will be sharing her insights about food preparation with our customers. Her cooking classes, which are free and open to the public, will help take the mystery out of preparing the foods many of our customers want to try but are unsure about how to start. Over the past two years I have been over the top pleased about the number of folks who email, call, and come to market saying that they found our market when they decided to focus on making better food choices as a way to better health. I received yet another email from just such a person again this week.
Often, though, when I hear people say they want to make better food choices, I also hear their plight about not knowing how to prepare numerous items they see at the farmers' market. That's why I'm so pleased that we will now be able to take much of the mystery out of Eating Well by eating locally produced food items. By attending Margarita's cooking classes you can learn how to easily make a wide variety of dishes for your family, items they will likely ask for again and again. There's no better place to learn to prepare "strange" items than at our farmers' market, where Margarita will show attendees the various unfamiliar produce items and then show/explain how to prepare the items.
If you would like to get a sneak preview of Margarita in action check out the link below. Thanks to Sarah Prud'homme, Media Specialist, for arranging Margarita's recent appearance on Local 12 morning show.
http://local12.com/news/good-morning-cincinnati/lettuce-eat-well-farmers-market-recipes-and-cooking-classes
NOTICES
Karen Blocher, aka Green GRRRL Wisdom, will be at market on the following dates this summer: May 5, 19, June 2, 16, 30, July 14, 28, August 11, 25, September 8, 22, October 6, 20.
BEEF AND PORK
The first Friday of each month, Mike & Deb of Abundant Green Pastures Ranch supplies us with their 100% grass fed beef from their Red Devon heritage breed cattle, and pastured pork from Mahlon Schlabach. This collaborative arrangement between Mike and Mahlon is more efficient for Mahlon who, being Amish, necessitated hiring a driver to bring him to market. This arrangement is a win-win for all. If you are on the market's pre-order list you will receive further info from Abundant Green Pastures Ranch about the beef and pork. If you are not on the pre-order list and would like to be, please see further details below.
PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED
Some of you are long-time readers of the newsletter; others are new to the market and are reading the newsletter for the first time. This section is included each week to bring your attention to important happenings around the market and around town.
IT'S CSA TIME AGAIN
Have you ever arrived at market to purchase your favorite item/s from your favorite vendor/s only to be disappointed because the vendor/s sold out of the item/s? Did you know that no longer has to happen? At LEWFM you can pre-order your items and pick them up any time during regular market hours. Pre-ordering not only pays off for you, it also helps the vendors know how much to prepare/harvest, which greatly reduces waste. Pre-ordering is a real win-win for all, and it only takes a few minutes of your time to plan ahead and place your order. Given the importance of Eating Well, getting into the habit of placing your pre-orders each week will likely become a high priority on your weekly To Do List.
There are two easy ways you can place your pre-orders: in person at market or via email. Here's how the email ordering works: Email me at LEWFMLOCAL@GMAIL.COM and ask to be added to the vendor email pre-order list. Each market week you will receive emails from the vendors detailing the items they have available for you to order that week. Reply to their email, letting them know the items you wish to order, then come to market on Friday to pick up your items.
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For a full listing of our vendors, their products, and services including:
If you don't have any reusable market bags we've got you covered. Beginning this week I will have free reusable bags courtesy of Green Umbrella 10% Local Food Shift. To receive your free bag, check out this link for directions for signing up for the 10% Shift. https://greenumbrella.org/10shift Then, when you come to market just let me know that you've signed up for the 10% Shift campaign and I'll have a bag for you: one per customer, while supplies last.
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Please share this newsletter with friends and family to help spread the word about LEWFM!
Newsletter compiled by Mary A. Hutten, Market ManagerIT'S CSA TIME AGAIN
From Honey Tree Acres Farm and Gardens is the latest news to remind us that it's time to sign up for their CSA. Contact them asap to reserve your spot, before they fill to capacity so you, too, can pickup your CSA bag each week at our market. For more details, including pricing and product list, please visit the CSA page of their website https://www.honeytreeacres.com/csa
Welcome to the 2017 CSA season!
If you have questions or are interested, feel free to call 513-265-2796 or email honeytreeacrescsa@gmail.com
Welcome to the 2017 CSA season!
It's hard to believe it is that time of year! We are now accepting sign-ups for our 2017 CSA season!
Since our inaugural 2015 season, we have been grateful for the interest in our CSA program. Thank you to all of our members and we look forward to partnering with you again for 2017. Last year was such a great success that we are very excited to announce that we are going to accept more members. Space will be limited so reserve your spot early.
For those not familiar with a CSA, it is a partnership between the farmer and a dedicated community of supporters who enter into an agreement to share in the cost of the season's harvest, in exchange for "shares" of the harvest during the growing season. HTAFG is committed to growing non-GMO produce following organic practices. We will plant and harvest a wide variety of produce from mid/end-May through early/mid-October to share with our members on a weekly basis.
Benefits of a CSA:
- CSA members will enjoy a weekly harvest of fresh, nutritious produce directly from the farm
- CSA members help support the local economy by participating in a direct market outlet for family farmers
- CSA members will have an opportunity to get to know their farmer and connect with the farm
- CSA members have the opportunity to learn and understand the growing practices used by the farmer
- By getting to know their farmer, CSA members have the opportunity to influence what is being grown each season
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Pre-ordering Pays Off
Have you ever arrived at market to purchase your favorite item/s from your favorite vendor/s only to be disappointed because the vendor/s sold out of the item/s? Did you know that no longer has to happen? At LEWFM you can pre-order your items and pick them up any time during regular market hours. Pre-ordering not only pays off for you, it also helps the vendors know how much to prepare/harvest, which greatly reduces waste. Pre-ordering is a real win-win for all, and it only takes a few minutes of your time to plan ahead and place your order. Given the importance of Eating Well, getting into the habit of placing your pre-orders each week will likely become a high priority on your weekly To Do List. There are two easy ways you can place your pre-orders: in person at market or via email. Here's how the email ordering works: Email me at LEWFMLOCAL@GMAIL.COM and ask to be added to the vendor email pre-order list. Each market week you will receive emails from the vendors detailing the items they have available for you to order that week. Reply to their email, letting them know the items you wish to order, then come to market on Friday to pick up your items.
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For a full listing of our vendors, their products, and services including:
- Kids & Krafts, where the kids can have loads of fun so you can leisurely shop the market
- Many food and non-food items
- and a list of vendors who accept credit cards
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BYOB: Bring Your Own Bags to Market
As a way to help reduce the use of plastic bags, we are asking customers to bring their own reusable bags to market. I realize that many of you are already doing this and we very much appreciate you doing so. For those who are not yet in the habit of grabbing a few reusable bags as you leave for market, it might take a bit of extra effort to develop this new habit. Doing so will result in short and long term benefits. To gain some insight into the importance of reducing the use of plastic bags, take a look at this brief video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhxX1g9A2OM
If you don't have any reusable market bags we've got you covered. Beginning this week I will have free reusable bags courtesy of Green Umbrella 10% Local Food Shift. To receive your free bag, check out this link for directions for signing up for the 10% Shift. https://greenumbrella.org/10shift Then, when you come to market just let me know that you've signed up for the 10% Shift campaign and I'll have a bag for you: one per customer, while supplies last.
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Produce Perks
For those who noticed the logo at the bottom of the newsletter recently and wondered what it means, here is the good news about a new program. Produce Perks is an incentive program that is meant to encourage and help those who receive EBT (formerly known as food stamps) purchase more produce. Produce Perks is a dollar for dollar match (up to $10), with the matching dollars used on produce. The Produce Perks website offers the following additional information:
Please help us spread the word about this very worthwhile program. One way to help get the word out is to stop by the market management booth to pick up brochures to share with those you know who receive EBT benefits. You could also leave brochures at your church, doctor or dentist's office, or any locations that would permit you to do so. For those who noticed the logo at the bottom of the newsletter recently and wondered what it means, here is the good news about a new program. Produce Perks is an incentive program that is meant to encourage and help those who receive EBT (formerly known as food stamps) purchase more produce. Produce Perks is a dollar for dollar match (up to $10), with the matching dollars used on produce. The Produce Perks website offers the following additional information:“Produce Perks” is an initiative modeled after a similar program in Cuyahoga County. Focus is on access and affordability of healthy fruits and vegetables for under-served consumers.
Produce Perks are incentive tokens given to customers at participating farmers’ markets who use an Ohio Direction Card (“electronic benefits transfer” or EBT card) to purchase food. A customer wishing to use their food assistance benefits can swipe their card at one central terminal, located at participating market’s information booths, and ask to withdraw a desired amount. The market provides tokens for the transaction and additional Produce Perks that can be spent on fruits and vegetables. As the name suggests, Produce Perks are only good for purchasing fruits and vegetables. All other tokens purchased with the Ohio Direction Card are good to use on eligible items at the market.
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Please share this newsletter with friends and family to help spread the word about LEWFM!
We hope to see you real soon at Lettuce Eat Well Farmers' Market!
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