Is there a farmers market near me?
Farmers markets have become more than just a place to buy fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables; they have also become neighbourhood gathering places. I was recently at a farmers market in Fort Myers, FL and I was amazed at the different kinds of produce available. Everything from fresh citrus to the actual trees themselves. Down in Fresno, CA people are enjoying the first stone fruits of the season alongside succulent strawberries making the perfect fruit salad in May while those of us in the north are patiently waiting for the first fruits. In the meantime we are feasting on early greens.
Farmers markets are places of discovery and culinary adventure. At a farmers market in Kansas City I found several kinds of green leafy vegetables that I learned to cook and love while living in the Central African Republic. I never thought I would find them in the US but obviously I am not the only person craving for pumpkin leaf tips, amaranth greens and cassava leaves. Learning what grows in each season and adjusting recipes and cooking habits to fit has been a fun adventure. Although strawberries in December look tempting, I am learning to freeze our local berries in the summer and eat them with yogurt in winter. They seem to taste so much better than the ones flown in from thousands of miles away.
Equally important to me, farmers markets are a chance to meet and thank the farmers that grow the food that not only sustains us but gives us pleasure in the cooking, sharing and eating. Taking the time to speak with those selling vegetables, meats and breads at the market leads to some fantastic friendships. Good friends of mine grow citrus in Florida. While they were expecting their first child their weekly customers followed them as her belly got bigger and bigger. Near the end of the season she went into labor at the farmers market and two weeks later brought their 12 day old son to market where their customers were eagerly awaiting the baby’s arrival. Some even brought gifts and cards. The community that can be built around knowing who grows your food and how is a wonderful gift.
Many FRB growing projects are no strangers to their local farmers markets. A youth group in Iowa sells its fresh sweet corn out of the back of a pick-up truck every summer at the local farmers market. Apples, peaches and nectarines are sold in Wenatchee, WA each summer with part of the proceeds designated for an FRB program. New projects in California are growing sweet corn north of Sacramento with the proceeds going to their FRB growing project. Beyond a place to sell a crop, the farmers market is a place to tell the FRB story in a new and fresh way.
I wrote this post because I just moved from Portland to Bend, OR and was looking for farmers markets in my new town. The NRDC just released a new website and app for iPad and iPhone users that helps you know what is in season and where you can find it. You will find directions to regional and local farmers markets as well as recipe suggestions for how to cook what is in season. Enjoy! http://www.simplesteps.org/eat-local
Hearing the statistics on hunger can be overwhelming. Nearly 1 billion people are chronically hungry. That is nearly one in seven people! With that many people hungry will it ever be possible to make a meaningful impact? Well I wouldn’t be in this line of work if I didn’t believe it was possible to make a positive impact but I also realize I won’t be able to do it alone. I feel that collaboration is the key.
We at Foods Resource Bank have a wealth of people working with us to find the solutions. We come from all different backgrounds, from all parts of the world, and we all bring different talents. This is great because in development work there is never one solution. Instead there are many, many ways to create lasting change. The trick is to find a solution that comes from within the community by being open to new ideas and having access to resources that allow that community to try them out.
Foods Resource Bank’s Laos Xieng Khouang program #8010
Led by Christian Reformed World Relief Committee with local partner CRWRC-Lao PDR
Last year Mr. Toh harvested three tons of rice from his small upland paddy fields, much more than he needed for his household. With profits from the sale of his excess, he was able to purchase a rice paddy not too far from the village where he lives with his wife and three small children. Mr. Toh will no longer have to plant upland fields which are very labor intensive to prepare, weed, plant and harvest. He looks forward to a higher rice harvest without the backbreaking labor of working on steep slopes. Ten other farm families in his village also purchased lowland rice paddy fields with their profits.
Foods Resource Bank’s India Patharkhmah program #9006
Led by Christian Reformed World Relief Committee with local partner, NEICORD
With hard work and a will to learn and get ahead, Mr. Swol has gone from being a hired hand to farming for himself to provide for his family. He lives with his wife and four children in a remote area of northern India characterized by steep mountain slopes and narrow valleys.
Kimchi is a staple of Korean life and many people include it in their meals three times a day. You can eat it by itself, or use it in so many different Korean recipes. When Koreans make kimchi, they make an effort to make the best kimchi possible and include many different kinds of ingredients depending on the region where they live.
Today we will show how to make traditional easy kimchi. Since kimchi does not use exact measurements, just try to follow the recipe step by step. And remember, kimchi uses ingredients depending on the region, so if you don’t like an ingredient (such as squid) change it to something you do like, or leave it out altogether.
Young people are active in FRB’s Nueva Frontera program in Honduras, knowing that protecting their environment protects their future. Their mountainous, forested country has suffered from years of mismanagement of natural resources and is considered to be the most vulnerable in the world to disasters such as floods, landslides, droughts, and forest fires, putting human life and economic resources at risk.
Foods Resource Bank’s Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Micro Devru program
Led by Presbyterian Church (USA) - Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and local partner SANRU
This program has been supported by FRB's Community Growing Projects. For more information or to support this program or others like it, please visit the Overseas Program page on our website www.foodsresourcebank.org
Celebrate with the peanut producers of FRB’s Micro Devru program! Like farmers the world over, program participants depend on a variety of conditions beyond their control. Often the weather is fickle, yet sometimes it cooperates perfectly. The 2011 rains were steady and abundant, resulting in one of the best peanut harvests in years. Enjoy these pictures from the program, of families who’ve been able to get ahead this year. Photos courtesy of Micro Devru staff.
Led by Christian Reformed World Relief Committee
and local partner Churches for Community Transformation Used with permission.
Photos courtesy of Cambodia South program.
We recently received this story from Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) and Churches for Community Transformation, with this note: “Often an outside funding push starts something moving, and that something gradually gathers momentum. The success of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in small Cambodian villages arose from the first FRB grant to CRWRC in Cambodia. The support permitted us to start trials and training with SRI .”
Sunday April 15th – Thursday April 19th I co-led the Heart of the Hill Trip. Marv and I traveled with two volunteers from O’Fallon Missouri – Christine Bimslager and Maureen Avenenevoli. They are apart of a growing project that has an urban church in O’Fallon and a rural church and farmer in Bucyrus Kansas.
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