There are 3 markets left in our summer season before winter market begins!

You won’t want to miss this Saturday. We are starting to see hints of healthy cruciferous veggies, such as Brussel Sprouts, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Cabbages and more, a sure sign of the changing season!

We are excited to welcome Brown Bottle Farm back after a 2-week hiatus! Anna and Ryan have been working to get fall transplants in AND hosting a mushroom convergence on their farm in Mulino! Make sure you give them a hearty welcome back. We’ve missed them!

As we finish up the last weeks of summer market, we will see some of our vendors concluding their season. This Saturday will be the last day for both Pheasant’s Eye Farm and South Barlow Berries. We’ve been grateful for the delicious produce they have faithfully provided for our customers this season and we eagerly await their return next spring.

Fall inspiration is here in terms of cozy candles by Gather in Flame and hand knitted accessories from Joining Yarns. Both artisans create top quality products that honor our Earth’s resources. Also, it’s a good time to get a head start on holiday gift buying. Supporting local businesses is the best way to shop!

This week in our newsletter we are sharing reasons why you should shop farmers markets during the winter months. We hope you will make the market part of your Saturday routine. Make sure to pick up one of our bookmarks at the Information Booth for our dates and times! As a reminder our schedule changes to every other week and we open 1 hour later, at 10am.

You can find us 2051 Kaen Road (corner of Kaen and Beavercreek Roads) here in Oregon City from 9-2.

See you at the market!

One way to make the harsh realities of winter a little lighter is to keep some of your warm weather routines and visiting the farmers’ market can be one of those summer habit holdovers. Winter markets offer an entirely different approach to local eating, one that is full of creativity and inspiration for trying new and interesting products.It’s possible to eat local year-round once you consider all the fall produce that is meant for storage, breads and pastas, eggs, and greens that are grown under cover thanks to the season extension techniques our savvy farmers use.

It’s not difficult to create nutritional and healthy meals in the winter out of local food. Think of all the squash, potatoes, dried beans, proteins such as meat and tofu, spinach, beets, and apples that can fill your plate! And by the time you’re ready for a change, March and April bring more opportunities for fresh early produce again.

Here are some reasons why you should plan on shopping the market this winter….

GOOD FOR SHOPPERS

The most obvious benefit to customers is that a winter market allows you to continue having access to local, healthy foods. For many people, however, this may mean being exposed to foods, especially winter vegetables that they may not have had before. In many households, winter means that the veggies and fruit we eat are packaged, either canned or frozen and shipped in from other places so that we can continue eating things that aren’t in season. At a local market, everything that you buy is going to be growing locally, so you may discover new squashes or fruits that you’ve never had but learn that you love.

Sustainable and healthy eating habits
Remember that local food is typically healthier food full of nutrients. That doesn’t change in the winter even when we’re talking about root crops like potatoes, beets, and radishes that can be preserved or stored. Yes, any type of preparation or storage of foods will diminish the nutritional value, but food that starts locally and grown in sustainably managed soils starts off with higher nutrient values. So, when you’re trying to get the most nutritional bang for your buck, shop for local produce and meat and ask your farmer about their growing and production processes. (Side note, winter markets are a great time to get to know your farmers and local vendors since they’re typically not as busy as summer markets.)

GOOD FOR FARMERS

Winter markets allow farmers to expand the selling year and decrease the length of winter months when sales are slow. It also gives farmers the opportunity to enhance their relationships with local community members. Often there are customers who frequent the same farmer repeatedly during the summer month but lose touch or forget about them during the winter.  A winter market is also a good space to promote a CSA that will be ramping up in the spring and work to level out that winter revenue dip.

Support farmers and the local food system year-round:
This is pretty straightforward, but in case you didn’t know, farmers don’t take the winter off. This is a key time to support them by purchasing local produce and meats as they begin to plan and prepare for next spring. Budget and crop planning spreadsheets, equipment repairs, and animal care are all tasks happening every day on our local farms. Keep that in mind when you’re thinking about stopping by a grocery store instead of the market and remember your part in keeping our local food system strong.

GOOD FOR COMMUNITIES
Local food access programs
Oregon City Farmers Market believes that fresh, local, and healthy food should be available to everyone, regardless of their budget. Many foods access programs, like SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks, offer incredible local food and farmers’ market benefits for low-income families and individuals in our area. For these members of our community, the winter farmers’ market is another healthy avenue to use these benefits and a major reason why winter farmers’ markets are important to communities. As a reminder, our market offers up to a 20.00 SNAP match! If you haven’t used your EBT card at our market yet, please stop by our Information Booth! We’re happy to get you started!

So, what are you waiting for? Join us this winter as we celebrate the season with a full market of incredible vendors. We hope to see you!