Newsletter for Friday February 17, 2017

Winter Market hours 3:30 - 6:30
Be aware that vendors are not permitted to sell items to customers until the start of the market at 3:30.  Thank your for your cooperation with this.

Please note the following remaining dates of the 2016-2017 Winter Market:

February February 17
March 3 and March 17
April 7 and April 21

Lettuce Eat Well Farmers' Market is held inside year-round for your shopping comfort at Cheviot United Methodist Church 3820 Westwood Northern Blvd. 45211.  Most weeks the market is held in the church's Narthex, which is just inside the main entrance of the church.  Please note that this location could vary depending on other activities taking place at the church.  Follow the happy voices and you'll find us.

NEW LOCATION STARTING APRIL 7.  SEE DETAILS IN NOTICES BELOW.

THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHT

Introducing our newest vendor, Oakley Urban Farm
This week, I'm delighted to introduce Brian Lytle of Oakley Urban Farm.  In

Crispy lettuce from Oakley Urban Farm

addition to his five varieties of made-by-him refrigerator pickles, Brian will also please our palate with his crunchy lettuces and salad greens mix, which he raises in his greenhouse.  We are so grateful to be able to get these fresh greens throughout the winter.  

I can personally recommend both the pickles and the lettuce mix.  I made a grilled cheese sandwich  -  with cheese from Jenny at market, of course  -  and added some of Brian's Bread & Butter pickles.  Makes my mouth water just remembering it.  I added a salad made with this lettuces and lunch was ready to enjoy!  

Brian is quite active in the local food community and, as he states in his intro, he enjoys connecting with people through food.  Brian and his Oakley Urban Farm is a great addition to our lineup of Very Valued Vendors.  

I have a Urban Farm in Oakley. We have a 25×45 greenhouse,and large plots to grow from in Oakley,Woodlawn,and Colerain.  We are a no spray operation. We do lose crops, but we are employing natural biological inputs to help us out.  

Right now I am selling our pickles that I make in the Northern Kentucky Incubator Kitchen.

We offer fresh produce and pickles,along with other great value added products depending on what is extra from our plots. 

I run the garden program at Sands Montessori,and we are starting one at Clark Montessori next school year. We love having the opportunity to meet our communities thru food.     

NEW 'FUN' ITEM FROM HONEY TREE ACRES
Linda of Honey Tree Acres loves to try out and experiment with new and unusual produce.  Her most recent experiment has been quite successful and she is now making it available for us to enjoy.  When first seeing the name of the vegetable, Fun Jen, it sounds like we're referring to our baked goods vendor as being fun; but alas, the veggie was not named after Jenny the Pie Lady at our market.  Here's a bit of info from Linda, detailing its origin and ways to prepare it.

 *NEW* Fun Jen Chinese Cabbage

Pronounced "foon-yen," this nutritious green is actually a loose-leaf type of Chinese cabbage that grows well in the ground or containers. Its broad, mild-tasting leaves are wavy with a yellow/green hue. Young leaves, plucked whole, are excellent in green salads.

As leaves mature, a white mid-rib, typical of Chinese cabbage, begins to form, yet it is crisp, succulent and mild. The large leaves are excellent in stir fry. Because the leaves are firm yet mild and tender, they make a great substitute for bread when making sandwiches. Spread tuna or chicken salad on a large leaf and fold into a neat package. Or layer deli-sliced cheeses and meats on leaves to make roll ups. You can even add tasty ground-meat fillings, fold them into a neat package and steam. Fun jen is a good foundation vegetable for lunches and light summer suppers.

NOTICES
Beginning on Friday April 7, our market will move to a new location.  The market will be held at Cheviot Elementary School in the gymnasium.  This move is necessitated by the fact that our market is growing and requires a larger venue.

The market will continue to be held at Cheviot United Methodist Church until the move to the school on April 7.  We are hugely grateful to the folks at the church for their kindness in providing a wonderful location for our market over the years.


CELEBRITY  IN OUR MIDST 

Did you know that we have an honest to goodness celebrity in our midst?  Chef Gary of The Pickled Pig has become quite popular, written up in numerous publications.  His most recent news flash can be found in the City Beat.  If you didn't catch it you can view it at the link below.  If you, like the article's author, have steered away from pickles, do yourself a favor and try a taste while at market this week.  You, also, might be won over by the refreshing taste and crunch of Chef Gary's fermented foods.  And as I like to say, they taste yummy and they're good for your tummy.
http://www.citybeat.com/food-drink/eats-feature/article/20851501/the-pickled-pig-turns-customers-into-fermented-food-fans-one-pickled-vegetable-at-a-time

  

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. 

******************************************************

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.

*****************************************************************

BEEF AND PORK
The first Friday of each month, Mike & Deb of Abundant Green Pastures Ranch, who supply us with their 100% grass fed beef from their Red Devon heritage breed cattle, will be selling pastured pork from Mahlon Schlabach.  This collaborative arrangement between Mike and Mahlon will be more efficient for Mahlon who, being Amish, necessitated hiring a driver to bring him to market.  This arrangement will be 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 pork.  If you are not on the pre-order list and would like to be, please see further details below.

**************************************************************************

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. 

**************************************************************************

  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

Check out our Vendors.

**************************************************************************

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:

“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.           

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. 


***********************************************  


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!

Newsletter compiled by Mary A. Hutten, Market Manager