Hooray for Farmers Market Week! | August 2, 2021

Fresh & Local:

Hooray for Farmers Market Week!

Every year, the first week of August celebrates National Farmers Market Week. This year, as we reflect on the pandemic year we’ve just been through, we celebrate the resilience of the local food system. While conventional food systems buckled, leaving crops to be tilled under and grocery shelves bare, our local food system nimbly pivoted and kept providing us with fresh fruits and vegetables. When meat packing plants closed due to COVID outbreaks, our local family run ranches and small scale processors kept local meats available, demonstrating their humane and sustainable practices. And when food insecurity skyrocketed as many lost jobs, we introduced unlimited Market Match to meet the need. Market Umbrella is proud to have been a part of this rapid work to rethink our operations, keep the New Orleans community directly connected to local agriculture and its products and keep our food producers in business.

To celebrate Farmers Market Week there will be a special self-guided tour organized for shoppers to participate in at our MidCity Market on Thursday, August 5th. This is a good day to bring your favorite recipes, try some COVID-safe samples (i.e., packed to go home with you), and check out other fun items and products on display. A sign will be set up at each vendor with a small write-up on the business's history, products offered, and other fun details. Come celebrate National Farmers Market Week with us, and continue to support the food producers who support you!

Finally, we are excited to share a special announcement this week. Thanks to our generous supporters, unlimited Market Match for SNAP shoppers is extended through December 31, 2021!

Picks of the Week:

Cool Squash

Summer in New Orleans can get tiresome, and sightings of winter squash, jams and figs around the market have us dreaming of cooler days and wintertime treats. While we can’t change the weather, we can still spread some holiday cheer! Most of us typically associate butternut squash with the comfort foods of autumn and winter, but its growing season is actually happening now. It’s called winter squash because the thick rind allows for long term storage, so before the modern developments in global “conventional” agricultural trade, when you ate pretty much only what you grew and storing food for colder seasons was important, you could put up the butternut and acorn squash (and others) growing now to save and eat them later. Grab a butternut squash from Indian Springs Farmers Association or Joe Fekete Family Farm and check out our recipe of the week for some dinner inspiration. If you blast your AC you’ll *almost* feel like it’s winter vacation.

Farmers Markets are Essential - and Donors are too!

Farmers markets are essential - and so are the donors that support their operations and programming! In honor of National Farmers Market Week, now is the perfect time to show your love! As a non-profit organization, Market Umbrella is more than just a market - we rely upon support from our community and donors like you in order to operate the Crescent City Farmers Markets as well as programs like Market Match and Market Mommas Club that help combat the growing food insecurity in our community. Donors like you are needed now more than ever - make a gift today in support of healthy families, local farms and small businesses at the same time!

WIC Event Sunday

Each year, the Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) - a USDA-funded program administered by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry - provides voucher coupons to hundreds of mothers participating in WIC, to spend on fresh fruits and vegetables with certified local vendors at area farmers markets. Support from Cox allows WIC mothers to match their $24 in vouchers dollar-for-dollar for an extra $24 of cash-value tokens. Bonus tokens can be redeemed for any items at market - including dairy and protein! Jefferson PHU WIC clinic will be visiting the market to distribute vouchers on August 5th and August 8th. Follow the link to find out more or to check your eligibility at WIC FMNP.

Vendor of the Week:

Too Tall Farm & Nursery

A warm welcome to Too Tall Farm & Nursery! Married team Maggie and Jacob have been cultivating a variety of flora in their greenhouse and garden space for the past five years, a rich history of farming, landscaping, and nursery and non-profit work behind them. The farm is currently located in the ninth ward and claims the title of Certified Naturally Grown, meaning no GMO seeds, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and always organic approved materials when possible. Too Tall believes that familiarity with plants in both personal and public ways only enriches one’s life, and they’re not wrong. Greenspaces like community gardens strengthen community ties, improve air quality, grant access to nutritious food, and increase biodiversity in local wildlife. A fan favorite plant among both customers and Jacob and Maggie is the Roselle Hibiscus, both beautiful and beneficial as it can be brewed into a lovely tea. Too Tall Farm will be joining the lineup at our Thursday and Sunday markets.

Recipes of the Week:

Summer Squash Rice

This recipe calls for “any summer squash”, so you’ve got choices at market! Squash is currently lining the tables of all of our produce vendors and is available at each market. Even other gourds like zucchini will fit in well with this recipe, which is finished off with garlic butter and parmesan cheese. The addition of tomatoes makes the whole dish reminiscent of pizza, but with different carbs and a lot more veggies! It’s sure to be a hit with young ones, especially considering the recipe includes a tip to modify it into a gratin. Sub out long-grain white rice for brown for a more fibrous, filling dish.

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!