Farmers Market set for Saturday

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Would you spend $10 a week on local foods? Ohio State University Extension is encouraging Ohioans to pledge to do just that this week during the first-ever statewide Ohio Local Foods Week.

To highlight Ohio Local Foods Week, Elaine Yoder will be grilling and sampling her “grilled vegetable medley” from 9:30 to 11 a.m. during Saturday’s Fayette County Farmers Market. Just how would you define “local foods”?

“There are a lot of different ways ‘local foods’ can be defined,” said Patrice Powers-Barker, OSU Extension educator who helped organize the week. “It could be a certain geographic area, a radius of a certain number of miles or even a supply chain in which consumers buy directly from producers. There’s no one single definition of ‘local foods,’ but we encourage consumers to think about it and decide what local foods are to them, based on their own values.”

According to the 2012 Census of Agriculture, Ohio ranks in the top 10 states in agricultural direct-to-consumer marketing, said Heather Neikirk, OSU Extension educator, who is also helping organize the week. Agriculture remains Ohio’s No. 1 industry, totaling more than $105 billion in annual revenue.

“We’ve seen continued growth and expansion in the local foods movement,” Neikirk said. “Ohio is unique in that we have many metropolitan and micropolitan areas, so we have lots of opportunities for an urban-rural interface. That allows us to create those direct connections between producers and consumers.” For more information on local foods in Ohio and Ohio Local Foods Week, see localfoods.osu.edu.

The Fayette County Farmers Market encourages all to visit the market on Saturday, see what we are doing in the realm of local foods, and ask the farmers their thoughts on the subject. Available at Saturday’s market will be sweet corn (including silver queen), watermelons, Crenshaws, honeydew, cantaloupe, pork cuts, farm fresh eggs, homemade breads and rolls, local honey, green beans, new potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes (slicing and cherry), cucumbers, zucchini, summer, butternut, and spaghetti squashes, assorted baked goods, hand crafted items, and jams and jellies.

The Market is located in the municipal parking lot on the corner of South Main and East East streets in Washington C.H. and as always, SNAP EBT food benefit cards and credit/debit cards are accepted.

Vendors expected this week include (among others who did not know as of yet):

Gerhardt’s (Kevin Gerhardt): super sweet white sweet corn, red seedless & seeded watermelon, cantaloupe, Crenshaw melons, honeydew melons, spaghetti squash, a few varieties of tomatoes, green/red/yellow/orange bell peppers &cucumbers.

A.I.M. Specialty (Richard Miller): homemade sourdough donuts.

Garland Farms (Joe Garland): bi color sweet corn.

Engeti (Beth Day & Alana Walters): pies, cinnamon rolls, cobblers, cookies, brownies, bread, cakes and rolls.

Martin’s Holiday & Weekly Baking (Vaughn, Cinda Martin & Hunter Rohrer): assorted breads, dinner rolls, cinnamon buns & whoopie pies.

Jones Farm Fresh Produce (Jon & Taylor Jones): brown eggs, pasture raised whole frozen chickens, sweet corn, green beans, red potatoes, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes (slicing and cherry), garlic, zucchini and yellow squash.

Ratliff’s Produce (Chessie Ratliff & Carrie Zoodsma): silver queen sweet corn.

Rachel’s Flour Shoppe (Rachel McClish): assorted fruit pies, sheet cakes, and cookies. Call Rachel at 740.572.0038 by Friday morning for special orders.

BYE Gardens (Brian & Elaine Yoder): tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, green tomatoes, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, local honey.

Creative Court House (Mandy Miller): kids crafts, face painting, and we will be awarding 2 COSI tickets to the winner of our Potato Hair Head contest.

Persinger Produce & Cottage Food (Julie Mosny & David Persinger): McIntosh apples, GREASY beans, half runners, local raw honey (just bottled), assorted fruit pies, cinnamon rolls & pecan sticky buns, jams/jellies, Texas sheet cakes and lemon bread.

PinkiePie Productions (Rebecca & Michael Scott): tomatoes: red, green, and heirlooms: brandy wine, pink lady, German Johnson & Cherokee purple, chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal scotchies, iced sugar cookies, caramel puff corn, peanut butter fudge. Call ahead for special orders by Friday 10 a.m. (740) 505-3665.

L&L Natural Products (Julie Carter): alpaca fleece dryer balls, home produced laundry detergent, soaps, scrubs, lip balms and lotions, make-up remover, body moisturizer, face toner and bug repellent spray.

What nots & Fancies & Whims, Oh My!!! (Mary Sanderson): garden stakes, dessert/snack stands & centerpieces, hand-painted tile art, coasters, magnets and pendant necklaces.

Mary’s This & That (Mary Ford): Hawaiian banana Bread, apple butter bread, orange fudge, cookies, catnip toys, scarlet/gray dog sweaters, goose outfits, lavender dream pillows, concrete stepping stones, magnetic jewelry and much more.

DJ’s Farm (Dennis Anschutz): blackberries, potatoes and Hungarian peppers, peach cake, apple cake, pumpkin bread, pepperoni bread, zucchini bread & cookies, Buckeye confections, jams.

Food & Habitat Farm (Katrina Bush): fresh, chemical and pesticide free produce including kale, beans, zucchini, sweet and hot peppers, eggplant and home grown chemical and pesticide free fruit products including granola with dried apples, hand pies (apple and raspberry) and Katie’s handmade goat milk soap.

Shady Grove Farms (Harold & Kelly Dillon): seasonal produce, farm fresh eggs, jams/jellies, and pork cuts.

http://www.recordherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/08/web1_localfoods_weekcolor_2015-5b1-5d.jpg
Ohio Local Foods Week to be recognized

By David Persinger

Fayette County Farmers Market

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