The Weblog
This weblog contains LocallyGrown.net news and the weblog entries from all the markets currently using the system.
To visit the authoring market’s website, click on the market name located in the entry’s title.
ALFN Local Food Club: The Market Is Open
ALFN Members,
Follow the link to fresh food and local artisan products…the market is open.
As many of you know, shopping at a farmers’ market or online local market is fundamentally different than shopping at a grocery store. We visit grocery stores with expectations of an almost limitless stock. The meats and veggies seem to rise up from the bottom of the shelves and display centers on an eternal conveyor belt. The only time we may notice a shortage of items is when a snowstorm is threatening to hit in a few hours. However, the rest of the year, rain or shine, freezing or hot, the food seems to magically appear from nowhere. We find it difficult to consciously hold the question of origin for every food item, every time we visit a grocery store: How did this food get here? How has the product changed since it was cut out of the fields?
These questions are black holes that seem to lead us nowhere. And this place of nowhere is exactly the origin of so much of our food. Have you every considered the sheer quantity and control it takes to supply stores with a steady stream of carrots or ground beef?
A farmers’ market is a different shopping experience. We intuitively know that when people buy all the lettuce at a farmer’s stand, there won’t be any more that magically appears. The connection of consumer to farmer provides a rational and realistic bedrock that grounds our assumptions about the origin of food. Growing food takes time on limited space. Food cycles back on itself in arcs of sustainability, but food doesn’t come from an eternal source. The hoe reaches the end of a row and only so many lettuce heads can fit on a bed of soil.
So we enter the local farmers’ market with a different set of expectations that are more realistic. Items run out. Severe storms can destroy produce intended for harvest. Local shoppers of local food understand this dynamic. And I would argue, local shoppers are more grounded in the reality of food production. I would even extend that argument and suggest local shoppers of local food can have more robust virtues such as patience, understanding and empathy. This local food virtue is solely born out of making the connection secure between farmer and consumer. When a local farmer runs out of a product during the week, we can recognize the real limits and scale of local farms. In contrast to the agroindustrial deserts that stretch into the horizon, local food must fit in urban lots and small acreages. Cultivating food can’t simply be about production levels. Of course, Wendell Berry describes this much more eloquently in his book “The Way of Ignorance.”
“The exclusive standard of productivity destroys the formal integrity of a farm just as the exclusive standard of longevity destroys the formal integrity of a life. The quest for higher and higher production on farms leads almost inevitably to specialization, ignoring the natural impulsion toward diversity; specialization in turn obliterates local properties of scale and proportion and obscures any sense of human connection. Driven by fashion, debt, and bad science, the desire for more overrides completely the idea of a home or a home place or a home economy or a home community…The result, inevitably, is ugliness, violence and waste.”
Thanks for choosing to use the local market through ALFN.
Kyle Holton
Program & Market Manager
Duette, FL: New this week - Sweet potatoes, squash and radich
Please have a look at the availability
and place your orders.
Thank you,
David and Betty
Duette Locally Grown
Dawson Local Harvest: April-Showering You with Great Products!
Dawson Local Harvest for April 15th
April-Showering You with Great Products!
HI EVERYBODY!
You’re getting this Weblog early because we have to be in Atlanta to tend to my mother for a couple of days. That’s okay, the Harvest will open at its usual time. There’s a lot to talk about this week, so let’s get to it. Now I’m a Southern boy born and bred, and while I subscribe to the whole organic-healthy thing there are certain foods that must be prepared a certain way to be “right”. I’m talking about collards, turnip greens, and green beans which must be slow-cooked with fatback in order to be edible. Well, thank goodness for FIVE HENS FARMS for their free-range Pork Fatback! A very large portion of fatback is just $5.00 and it will last for months, plus it goes a long way towards making store-bought greens more edible when the real things are not available from the Harvest.
Next up, HANALEI BATH has added their Litsea Lavender Hand Soap to their Spring availability. This HANALEI soap combines 2 of their best-selling fragrances in their trademark smooth and luscious all-natural soap blends. Great as a small gift, or treat yourself to something special. In the Bath and Beauty section.
Been trying FARMHOUSE ESSENTIALS Natural Laundry Detergent which is kinda pricey until you realize that it doesn’t take much to do a full load of clothes (a little goes a long way) and it has none of those seven-syllable chemicals found in the commercial products. You find it in Home and Garden Supplies.
Finally, if you think that all Lettuce pretty much tastes like cardboard filler because you’ve been buying at the grocery store, know that a revelation is at hand. LEILANI’S Lettuce has amazing flavor! This “expensive restaurant quality” Lettuce is crisp and flavorful, hand-picked just for you on Friday mornings for phenomenally fresh taste. Try both the Waldmanns Green and the Red Sails and you’ll never buy grocery store Lettuce again!
THE MARKET WILL OPEN Sunday night at 8pm!
REMEMBER! You can order until Tuesday night at 9 pm. Pick up your order at Leilani’s Gardens Friday afternoons from 4 to 7pm.
You’ll find the DAWSON LOCAL HARVEST at http://dawsonville.locallygrown.net
We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible! We guarantee your satisfaction with all products in the DAWSON LOCAL HARVEST.
Have a happy and healthy week!
Alan Vining
Market Manager
Spa City Local Farm Market Co-op: The market is open
The Spa City Co-op online market is now open for ordering at www.spacity.locallygrown.net. Please place your orders by Monday night for Arkansas Natural Produce items, and you have until Tuesday at 9 pm to order others.
Please plan to pick up your orders at Emergent Arts on Friday April 1, from 3PM to 5:00PM, the earlier the better. If you’re unable to pick up your order at this time, please make arrangements to have your order picked up for you.
Don’t forget – this market has no paid positions, so we NEED VOLUNTEERS to run every market. It’s fun, you get a $5 gift card, and you learn so much about local foods in Arkansas.
Have a great week and we’ll see you on Friday!
Karen Holcomb
this market’s manager
501-760-3131
501-282-6314
ksholcomb@gmail.com
Northeast Georgia Locally Grown: Market is Open for Orders!
Good Evening Locavores!
Northeast Georgia Locally Grown is open for orders!
Go to the market now >>
Dothan, Alabama: April 9 Newsletter - The Market is OPEN
Market News
You’ll Find Us . . .
Our Website: marketatdothan.locallygrown.net
Our Email: marketatdothan@gmail.com
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/MarketatDothan
For Friday Pickup: Dothan Nurseries, 1300 Montgomery Highway, Dothan, AL 36303
This Week at the Market
A note from Ros – THANK YOU to everyone who brought back all the extra bags (including my personal ones!) that were used during the great April Fools downpour last week.
If you are new to the market, WELCOME! Please take the time to read the FAQ’s about the Market, what we are about and how everything works. And of course ask questions if you need to. We’re here to be a blessing and want your experience to be as great as the food is!
SANDSPUR FARMS – A Note from Jennifer: Pork is RESTOCKED! Plus, we’ve added a few new pork products.
Beef will be restocked, hopefully by next weekend. There are a few cuts left.
I failed to label some jelly jars and have them at a discounted price.
If you like surprises, this is the deal for you!
Once again, thank you for your continued support of our family farm. Be sure and like us on Facebook if you have not already.”
Your SUSTAINABLE Market
The word, “sustainable” is much newer to agriculture. In simplest terms, sustainable agriculture is the production of food, fiber, or other plant or animal products using farming techniques that protect the environment, public health, human communities, and animal welfare. This form of agriculture enables us to produce healthful food without compromising future generations’ ability to do the same.
The primary benefits of sustainable agriculture are:
Environmental Preservation
Sustainable farms produce crops and raise animals without relying on toxic chemical pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, genetically modified seeds,or practices that degrade soil, water, or other natural resources. By growing a variety of plants and using techniques such as crop rotation, conservation tillage, and pasture-based livestock husbandry, sustainable farms protect biodiversity and foster the development and maintenance of healthy ecosystems.
Protection of Public Health
Food production should never come at the expense of human health. Since sustainable crop farms avoid hazardous pesticides, they’re able to grow fruits and vegetables that are safer for consumers, workers, and surrounding communities. Likewise, sustainable livestock farmers and ranchers raise animals without dangerous practices like use of nontherapeutic antibiotics or arsenic-based growth promoters. Through careful, responsible management of livestock waste, sustainable farmers also protect humans from exposure to pathogens, toxins, and other hazardous pollutants.
Sustaining Vibrant Communities
A critical component of sustainable agriculture is its ability to remain economically viable, providing farmers, farmworkers, food processors, and others employed in the food system with a livable wage and safe, fair working conditions. Sustainable farms also bolster local and regional economies, creating good jobs and building strong communities.
Upholding Animal Welfare
Sustainable farmers and ranchers treat animals with care and respect, implementing livestock husbandry practices that protect animals’ health and well being. By raising livestock on pasture, these farmers enable their animals to move freely, engage in instinctive behaviors, consume a natural diet, and avoid the stress and illness associated with confinement.
adapted from sustainabletable.org
Footnotes
Market At Dothan is a small group of niche growers and producers promoting sustainable agriculture and supporting our local economy. Each grower/producer is dedicated to providing the freshest, highest quality products to their customers. Our growers use natural growing principles without synthetic chemicals. Local products available include: fruits, vegetables, herbs, eggs, beef, chicken, lamb, honey, baked goods, jams, jellies, goat cheese, frozen casseroles, pottery, nuts.
All growers /producers believe in providing locally grown foods and goods seasonally to promote a strong, local community and economy. Our goal is 100% Customer Satisfaction…comments, questions or concerns are welcome!
We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!
Paris Arkansas Farmers Market: opening bell!!!
Come on by and check out our beautiful spring offerings, River Valley!
Spinach, greens, herbs, fresh meat, eggs, cheese, tempting baked goods, beautiful repurposed and artisanally produced crafts….and you can order online in the comfort of your own home!
Get your orders in before Sunday 10pm, and pick up at Sweet Pickins in Paris!
See ya there, and thank you for going local!!
www.parisarkansas.locallygrown.net
PAFM
Central Arkansas : Opening Bell
What a beautiful day to open this wonderful market of ours!!!!
We are so happy to announce that another grower has joined our market & brought with them an even larger variety of local farm products!!!!
Shhhhhhhh……We will also be adding another new grower next week & they don’t even know it yet!!
Check out the great products from Red Rooster Farms!! Don’t forget to stay tooned for next week’s new grower!!
Happy marketing & remember Eat local, Eat Fresh, Eat Healthy!!!!
-CAM Market Mama