Lettuce Know Your Thoughts | August 6, 2024

Fresh & Local:

Lettuce Know Your Thoughts

Each year, Market Umbrella and the Crescent City Farmers Market circulates a customer survey to help inform the markets, programs, and needs of the community. The 2024 survey is now LIVE! And we would love your feedback. Now is your chance to tell us about your shopping experience and enter our sweepstakes for a chance to win a CCFM merch bundle! Three lucky winners will be selected and no purchase is necessary to enter. Sweepstakes closes August 30th. Even if you don’t regularly attend our markets, your opinion is valuable and we want to hear from you.

Click here to take the survey! You can also take the survey by visiting the melon tasting tent at the final Farmers Market Week market this Thursday in Mid-City.

Good Food Word of the Week:

While Market Umbrella is known for our farmers markets and fresh food access programs, food systems work touches on many social, economic, and environmental issues. The Good Food Word of the Week seeks to shed some light on these parts of our work and the way we talk – demystifying the jargon.

Third place

Third places are social environments outside the primary social spaces of the home and the workplace. While the workplace is a structured setting and the home is a private one, third places provide an opportunity to form spontaneous social connections among a diverse group of people. Examples of third places include public parks, libraries, cafes, and hairdressers. We hope that our markets serve not just as retailer of local food, but also as third places where everyone in the community can feel welcomed and connected.

Picks of the Week:

Farmers Market Week: Thursday Mid-City

Join us for the final market during National Farmers Market Week!

Thursday, August 8th at the Mid-City Market (3pm to 7pm):

• CCFM Chopped Chef Challenge featuring:
  1. Chef Shonda of Chef Shonda Fine Dining To-Go
  2. Chef Anh Luu of Xanh and Tatlo NOLA
  3. Chef Lindsay of Rooted N Cultured 
  
  
• Music at the Market: Tangiers Combo
  
  
• Exercise Dance Class with Shante from the Artz Studio from 5 to 7:30, classes every 30 minutes
  
  
• Vendor Demo: Chicken Breakdown with Pearl River Pastures
  
  
• Watermelon and Cantaloupe Tastings

Don't forget to hydrate before coming out, and be sure to visit the cooling station to stay above the heat index!

Thanks for coming out to Sunday and Tuesday!

With 25 years of National Farmers Market Week, this will surely be one to remember. We had 1,800 market shoppers come out on Sunday and try some watermelon and cantaloupe, buy fresh produce, and learn more about all the programs Market Umbrella offers. The veggie printmaking bandanas were a hit with the Marketeers Club - and the news came out to spotlight the market! We’ll see you at the market on Thursday for the wrap up of a fabulous week celebrating our local bounty.

Congrats to our Gambit’s 40 Under 40 Honorees

Shoutout to several members of the Market Umbrella community for being recently named on Gambit’s 40 Under 40 List!

Maxwell - Market Umbrella’s Communication Specialist, Founder of Big Gay Baby and advocate for the queer community

Tap and Khai - Co-Executive Directors, Song Community Development Corp, VEGGI Co-op, a CCFM vendor and Market Match partner

Jeremy - Dean Of Students, New Orleans Career Center; Trail Chief, Original Wild Tchoupitoulas Mardi Gras Indians; CEO And Founder Of Pickle Nola (a CCFM vendor); Artist Volunteer Mentor, Congo Kids

You can learn more about Maxwell on page 11, Tap and Khai on page 16, and Jeremy on page 8.

Music at the Market: August Lineup

We've been jamming out at the markets and have a few more lined up for the month!

August 8th - The Tangiers Combo
Thursday Mid-City Market
3:00 - 5:00 PM

August 15th - Burris
Thursday Mid-City Market
4:30 - 6:30 PM

To learn more about the Music at the Market program and how to apply, visit our website.

Vendor of the Week:

Burg’s Bees

Welcome back, Burg’s Bees! Meet Gerard “Jerry” Burg the beekeeper behind this one-man operation. First starting his beekeeping journey in the early ‘80s, it wasn’t until the late ‘00s when his kids were all grown up that he got serious with beekeeping, got involved with the Louisiana Beekeepers Association, started Burg’s Bees, and began attending markets. As a seasonal vendor of CCFM, Burg’s Bees typically joins us in late summer with the honey that has been produced from his 20 hives. Based in Amite, with a couple of hive sites on the Northshore, CCFM is the only outlet Jerry sells his honey through, so buzz on by the Tuesday and Thursday market and get a taste of his award-winning honey!

Tell us what you think!

Take the CCFM Customer Feedback Survey

Enter for a chance to win a CCFM merchandise bundle!

Recipe of the Week:

Crispy Oven Fried Okra

Okra is a star summer crop at the market! Try this Crispy Oven Fried Okra for a tasty, healthier twist on a Southern classic. This simple recipe delivers a flavorful crunch that's perfect for any occasion. Grab some okra from Monica’s Okra World, or use the pre-chopped okra from the Indian Springs Farmers Association you received if you purchased the CCFM home delivery box this week!