Farmer's Market Week! (August 2 to 8)

From the Huffington Post:

Next week, (August 2-8) is National Farmers Market Week as proclaimed by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, and the nation's 4,800 farmers markets have a lot to celebrate!

The USDA started recognizing National Farmers Market Week in 2000, and since then the number of markets listed in the USDA official directory of farmers markets has swelled over 170%. This means opportunities for hundreds of thousands of producers to sell directly to millions of customers wanting fresh food. In turn, these customers support farmers, while tending to their own health, building their local communities and strengthening their regional economies. (Read More)

Looking for a market in San Antonio -- besides the obvious one? Try the MySA.com market directory.

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From The Atlantic's Sustainability Blog

An article on farmers' markets from the farmer's point of view:

We start harvesting two days in advance, filling crates in the field, stacking them in the back of a pickup, and trucking them a half-mile to our farm center. There we wash and count and pack our produce into blue-and-gray plastic storage boxes, labeling them, for example, "Carrots, 20, Dupont." The stickers signal not only what we've got but how hard we have to hoist; root vegetables require more oomph than, say, lettuce. And forget the flip flops.

(Read More)

Whoa.. how'd we miss that?

Nice little plug that we received over at the new (and recommended) SavorSA.com:

I have been to a few farmers markets in our area and in other states — and even other countries. Leon Springs is not the biggest, but it has a good variety, easy to get service, and just a friendly, can-do, attitude. Go see for yourself and try something new!

(Read more)

Leon Springs Market in the News!

Two stories within two days... pretty good press!

• Northwest Side Farmers Markets Join Forces (Northwest Weekly (via MySA.com), 16 July 2009)

• All Natural Food Companies Are Sprouting (San Antonio Express-News, 17 July 2009) Although the story covers vendors from across the city, it includes a mention of regular Leon Springs vendor Tracy Carlson and her brownie company:

The Green Brownie Co.

Tracy Carlson started The Green Brownie Co. in October. She offers 100 percent organic and gluten-free brownies.

The Green Brownie Co. is a fully licensed eco-friendly bakery. Products are made without oils, artificial flavorings or preservatives and are baked in glassware, not aluminum pans. The company also uses all-natural packaging and recycles.

The gluten-free brownies are made with a mixture of organic brown rice flour and organic ground raw almonds.

"We started at the Leon Springs Farmers Market, and I had such an incredible number of requests for gluten-free because it's such an issue," Carlson said. "Gluten is the protein in wheat. So many people get deathly ill from it — they can't tolerate it and it's a hard thing for them to find food. I've been amazed at the response."

Carlson worked with two dietitians who helped her with the gluten-free recipe and the nutritional panel and ingredient listing on the package label.

The gluten-free and original "green" brownie, made with organic semisweet chocolate and cocoa, as well as "green" brownies-on-a-stick and a new gluten-free berry bar, can be purchased at the Leon Springs Farmers Market, 24133 Boerne Stage Road, on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m-1 p.m. and the Boerne Farmers Market, Kendall County Fairgrounds front lot, Texas 46 east of Boerne, on Wednesdays from 2-6 p.m.

The Green Brownie Co. also caters parties and events. Visit www.thegreenbrowniecompany.com.

Looking for local food?

Leon Springs Farmers Market is included in the MySA.com database of area markets.

DinnerGarden.org Needs YOU!

As you may have read in a recent San Antonio Express-News article, San Antonio resident Holly Hirshberg envisions homegrown produce sown from FREE seeds in the yards and alleys of ordinary people. Her non-profit group, The Dinner Garden is seeking donations of money and seeds to help ensure food security for folks nationwide. Consider helping her group, if you can.