Celebrating National Farmers Market Week | August 5, 2019

Fresh & Local:

Celebrating National Farmers Market Week

Don’t let the summer heat get you down, this week is National Farmers Market Week! Let’s celebrate our local farmers and food producers! Visit the Tuesday Uptown Market for a sweet treat. CCFM will feature a strawberry preserves demo featuring vendor Fletcher Farms and Chef Celeste Gill in partnership with the LDAF Strawberry Marketing Board. Then, cool off on Thursday at the Mid-City market with a watermelon tasting from Indian Springs Farmers Association. Watermelons are in peak season right now so they’re plump and juicy, not to mention sweet as heck. While you’re there, don’t forget to check out new vendor Original Grit Girl, with a variety of stone ground corn and bean-based grits, cornmeal, masa, meal and flours. Do you hate salad? We will bring new meaning to “salad” at the Friday Bucktown Market with a refreshing summer salad demo. Finally, join us Saturday at the CBD Market for a fun, Louisiana summer veggie-inspired kids activity. We will have music all week and fun giveaways at the welcome tent :)

Fun facts:

• Farmers and ranchers receive only 15 cents of every food dollar that consumers spend at traditional food outlets. At a farmers market, 100% of your food dollar goes to your local farmer
• In 2018, 7,206 markets and direct-marketing farmers accepted SNAP EBT, resulting in $24 million in SNAP spent at farmers markets. That’s fresh food access and more money in the pocket of small farmers.
• Farmers markets provide one of the only low-barrier entry points for new farmers, ranchers, and food entrepreneurs, allowing them to start small and test new products. According to the 2017 National Young Farmers Coalition survey, farmers markets and CSAs represented the marketing channel with the highest proportion of new and beginning farmers’ sales.
• 20 reasons why Crescent City Farmers Market is more than a market.

Picks of the Week:

COOLinary Restaurant Month

New Orleans is overflowing with delicious food, so if you’re anything like us, you have a long list of local restaurants you’ve been meaning to try, or maybe favorites you haven’t had the chance to get back to. Now is the time to take a night off, treat yourself, find a babysitter and check one of these culinary establishments off the list. COOLinary is a month long program throughout New Orleans celebrating our city’s rich culinary landscape. Participating COOLinary restaurants curate two to three course lunches, brunches and/or dinners at special prices. Participating restaurants range from classic New Orleans fare, to up-and-coming eateries, to James Beard winning establishments. Naturally, a portion of these restaurants are shoppers and friends of the Crescent City Farmers Market including Carrollton Market, Carmo, Del Fuego, Hippie Kitchen, Patois, Toups Meatery and more! For a complete list of participating restaurants and menu offerings visit NewOrleans.com/COOLinary.

Stop and Smell the Flowers

“My family has been growing all kinds of stuff since 1800’s in St. James Parish. I was going to culinary school and dietetics classes. I used to get the seed catalogs with all the stuff you couldn’t find in the store. I started growing all it, all the heirloom stuff. Heirlooms are all the old, non-hybrid varieties. The seeds haven’t been bred for transport or storage; they’re still grown for the flavor. After about a couple of years, I had four kids in the house, and I started making a few dollars and kept going and going. My pawpaw had three brothers and they had hundreds and hundreds of acres. By the time I started doing this the year before my pawpaw died, there were only a couple of rows left. I was the last one to keep going. I love to do it. There are thousands and thousands of foods you can’t find in the store. If you don’t do it or I don’t do it, no one can have it. I love to see how all the people love this stuff, and like I said, they can’t have it unless someone grows it. It’s nice to make a lot of people happy.”

- Tony Accardo, Louisiana Gourmet Produce

You’re One in a Mirliton!

That’s why we need you! Want to get more involved in the markets and our food access programming? Summer is a great time to volunteer at markets - it’s hot but markets are busy and cheerful places to be. Come hang out and talk about your favorite seasonal recipes while you work alongside staff to set up and break down market and beverage service, as well as engage with customers and vendors. See the inside workings of our various fresh food access programs, and while you’re here, pick up all the fresh fruits and veggies (and seafood, meat, dairy, bread, etc.) you need.

Check out our calendar of available volunteer opportunities and sign up for a spot directly through the calendar. Check back often as we also use this calendar to post volunteer opportunities at various events we attend around town and host ourselves. We have extra shifts posted for National Farmers Market Week! See you at market :)

Vendor of the Week:

Dennis Guarino

Dennis Guarino didn’t expect to end up working on a farm. While in between jobs, he began working on a farm near his childhood home in the River Parishes. Eight years later, Dennis is a familiar face at the Crescent City Farmers Markets, where he’s sold everything from okra to peaches. Dennis still works for the same farm in Montz, LA owned by Timmy Perilloux. Dennis has known Mr. Timmy since he was only ten years old, and you can often find him peddling the fresh produce grown on Perilloux Farm. With vegetable growing season slowing down, Dennis has spent the summer selling peaches fresh from Pontotoc, MS for Cherry Creek Orchards. Dennis says his favorite part about his work at the market is meeting people and making new connections with customers and vendors alike.

Tuesday’s Green Plate Special:

Chef Indigo

Greetings and much love from Chef Indigo, a plant-based chef, yogi, and our August Green Plate Special. Chef Indigo has been specializing in the art of food for a little over 7 years and focuses on educational programs teaching children how to cook by giving them valuable information on staying uplifted, aware, and healthy in the best ways possible. Chef Indigo believes that he is here to help people elevate mentally, spiritually, and physically. Catch him every Tuesday at the Uptown Market in August!

Recipe of the Week:

Pickled Okra

Yep. It’s that time of year. Long are the days and high are the temps. You’ve prepared okra every single way that you can think of, but now it’s time to pickle it. Pickling vegetables is an amazing way to save the season and embrace Louisiana seasonality. Craving okra in the middle of Winter? You’ll be covered. Try this recipe from The Sophisticated Caveman. Don’t feel like making it yourself? Pick some up from one of our many vendors like Pickled NOLA, Josey’s Goods, South of Eden, Dennis Guarino, and more!

What’s your favorite dish to make after visiting the Crescent City Farmers Market? Share your recipes with us on Instagram or Facebook or even Twitter and it might be featured in our weekly newsletter!