Know Your Farmer Know Your Food Day!
Every second Saturday of the month through October is Know Your Farmer Know Your Food Day! It’s the day when you can take a guided tour of the Market with a registered dietician from OSU Extension. Meet the farmers, learn about their growing practices, their favorite varieties, how they prepare the food they grow, how to store it, what’s in season and much more……yup it’s all about knowing your farmer, and understanding what it takes to grow your food. Apart from farmers, you’ll also be introduced to other food vendors and learn about their products too. After the tour (starts at 9.30am at the Info Booth, rain or shine!) ) watch a cooking demo (under cover) , get a recipe and lot’s of inspiration to put local foods on your table and ‘eat healthy’ this summer. Have the SNAP card? Take the tour , watch the demo and get $5 extra this week to help with purchases!
We are in for some liquid sunshine this week, but the market WILL be open and farmers WILL have lot’s of berries (including Hoods from South Barlow Farm and raspberries too!) and the summer produce is starting to show up (squash, cucumbers etc.) Parsons Farms is back for the season this Saturday, so we will have plenty of berries (and rhubarb) for all! Maggy’s Farm is bringing loads of sweet and hot pepper plants as well as summer and winter squash to plant and herbs. 2 Towns Cider is back as is Vivacity Spirits and Forest To Shore. Out is Wild Oregon Seafood, High Five Cup Bop, Market Pasta and S&K Nursery (hanging baskets)….. all back next week.
So many beautiful bouquets this week, the growers will have picked a lot before the rain!
Columbia Land Trust and Audubon Society of Portland have teamed up to create a unique program that supports urban gardeners in their efforts to create natural backyard habitats. With your help we can make our city a healthier place, for ourselves and for the wildlife. To learn more about their amazing program and join the community of 4,700 already doing this, come and talk to them this weekend at the Market or visit backyardhabitats.org.
Big Yellow Taxi is playing to cheer us up on a cool day! We still have the cloth produce bags, just ask for them at the Info Booth. Kid’s Power Of Produce Club gives children (5 yrs-12 yrs) $2 in wooden tokens to purchase fresh produce and food plants, and the Double Up Food Bucks program matches up to $6 when you use the SNAP Card to buy market tokens. So find your rain coat (it’s been a while), and support the farmers and vendors, they’ll be happy to see you! As we always say, our market has the BEST customers:)
Interested in bringing new ideas to strengthen the market? If you think you’d like to become a member of our amazing and generous Board of Directors stop by the Information Booth and pick up a Board Application. We are currently looking for new members! FYI….our Market has just been called ‘exceptional’…read about it here: https://www.cngfarming.org/9_exceptional_farmers_markets What can you do to help keep us moving forward?!