National Breastfeeding Month | August 9, 2021

Fresh & Local:

National Breastfeeding Month

August is National and World Breastfeeding Awareness Month, and experts and mothers from more than 170 countries agree: Breast milk is ideal when it comes to feeding a baby in the first year of life.This month is celebrated to advance advocacy, protection and promotion of breastfeeding to ensure that all families have the opportunity to breastfeed. Breast milk is the best source of nutrition for most babies, providing a variety of vitamins and minerals that help babies grow big and strong! Empower mothers to learn about the benefits of breast milk here.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are especially important for mothers who are breastfeeding, providing vitamins and nutrients to support feedings. To learn more about breastfeeding join the Market Mommas Club, where you can receive a $60 monthly market incentive by attending breastfeeding community groups. Market Mommas Club is open to mothers and mothers-to-be who are breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed and currently eligible for Louisiana Medicaid.

Picks of the Week:

Market Umbrella receives grant of $200,000 to advance health equity and Louisiana agriculture

Market Umbrella is proud to announce it recently received $200,000 in grant funding to address food insecurity and healthy food access, as well as support local agriculture in Louisiana. Voices for Healthy Kids, an initiative of the American Heart Association — the world’s leading voluntary organization dedicated to a world of longer, healthier lives — awarded Market Umbrella the funding. Market Umbrella is partnering with the Big River Economic and Agricultural Development Alliance (BREADA) and the New Orleans Food Policy Action Council (FPAC) to lead a campaign to leverage public and private funds in order to increase the purchasing power of SNAP beneficiaries at farmers markets state-wide. Campaign work is set to launch in coming weeks and will continue throughout the 2022 Louisiana Legislative session. Read the full press release here.

Vote for Crescent City Farmers Market in the 2021 Farmers Market Celebration

In celebration of National Farmers Market Week, the American Farmland Trust Association and Farmers Market Coalition are hosting a nationwide competition amongst Farmers Markets. The Farmers Market that gets the most votes can win up to $2,500! That’s extra money for us to use on programs that support our farmers and community members and improve our markets. Help spread the word by encouraging your friends and family to vote for Crescent City Farmers Market. One entry per email. Vote here and share this photo on Facebook and Instagram. The competition runs until September 19th, 2021.

Beat the Heat with our Sunday Hybrid Drive Thru Market at City Park

August is a HOT time of year here in New Orleans! Between the torrential downpours that happen without a moment's notice to the record hot temperatures, don’t let the weather keep you from coming to market. CCFM is still offering two contactless options for you to be able to support local farmers while stocking your fridge with fresh produce and goods! Preorder a CCFM Box through Top Box Foods to be delivered at your door. Place your order between Tuesday at 9 am and Friday at 5 pm. Still want to come to market without having to get out of your car? You can choose our Sunday Drive Thru Hybrid Market at Tad Gormley Stadium. Place your order from Wednesday at 12 am to Friday at 11:59 pm on WhatsGood and pick up your produce at our City Park Drive Thru Hybrid Market from 8 am - 9:45 pm at Marconi and Navarre. WhatsGood is running a $10 off discount on your first 3 orders. Use the code “3ORDERS10” to redeem this offer at checkout. As COVID cases rise in New Orleans and surrounding areas, we want to make sure our community has safe and convenient ways to buy local food while supporting our farmers! Both purchase options are eligible for SNAP and our Market Match program.

Vendor of the Week:

Gingerbooch

Originally hailing from “funky Northeast Philly'', Luke Sirinides has had fermentation on the mind for years. Quarantine allowed him the time necessary to properly ferment, as the rest of the process requires only household items such as jars, pots, pans, sieves, and funnels. The star of the show is kombucha - specifically gingerbooch, Luke’s combo creation of the drink and probiotic lemonade. If you haven’t tried it out yet, come to Uptown and ask for a bottle! Sweet, gingery, and with that kombucha kick, it’s clear why this is a fan favorite. A few other varieties of probiotic lemonade are also available, like his famous Strawberry Lemonade, which has been a big hit with market staff. While he’s starting small, Luke says that kimchi, sauerkraut, and tzatziki are on the way to the table as well once he’s got some weeks at Uptown under his belt.

Recipes of the Week:

Market Guide for New Parents

For all our new breastfeeding parents, here is a mini market guide to the highly nutritious foods currently available at market. Breastmilk contains everything your baby needs for the first six months of life, excluding vitamin D, so it is important to try and maintain a diet that supplies your body with essential healthy fats, nutrients, proteins, and fibers.

Red meat, like the beef and pork available at T&R Dairy, and duck meat from Backwater Foie Gras, is chock-full of vitamin B2, iron, and zinc. Poultry also contains vitamin B6.

Backwater also sells duck liver. Organ meats are a great source of vitamin A and copper.

Shellfish like shrimp, crab, and oysters-stocked at seafood vendors like Pete n’ Clara’s and Anna Marie Seafood-contain vitamin B12, iron, and copper.

Other fish, like the snapper, catfish, and grouper that’s been available at market, are like a superfood. They are packed with a laundry list of goodies such as vitamins B1, B2, B6, and B12, choline, selenium, and iron.

Starchy foods are an easy way to add vitamins A, B1, and B6, as well as folate, calcium, iron, and zinc. Acorn and butternut squash, zucchinis, sweet potatoes and a few varieties of beans and peas have lately been making their way onto the tables of all our produce vendors.

Both cow’s and goat’s milk is available for purchase at market at T&R Dairy and Huckleberry Fred’s Creamery, respectively. Everyone knows milk is great for bone health with its calcium levels, but did you know it is also a strong source of iodine?

Probiotics like yogurt from T&R Dairy are great not only for gut health but also as a supply of vitamin B12 and calcium.

Eggs have been available at longtime dairy vendor T&R Dairy, and SPROUT NOLA stocks eggs from Peep’s Farms. Isabel’s Tamales and Produce and Huckleberry Fred’s Creamery also supply them. Adding these little protein-rich packages to your diet will fortify you with riboflavin (vitamin B2), B12, choline, and vitamin A.

Peanuts, now available from Indian Springs Cooperative, are an excellent source of vitamins B1, B2, B6, choline, calcium, copper, and zinc.

This guide was adapted from this helpful article that outlines many more specific foods and nutrients needed for all phases of breastfeeding. It is a lot of information, but the main takeaway is that building dishes up from solid ingredients such as these will fortify you and your baby with the energy and sustenance to keep you both growing healthy and happy. Try topping a creamy squash or potato soup with nuts. Or if you are preparing meats or seafood, you can always grill or pan-fry other vegetables on the side over rice for a meal that hits all food groups. Breakfast can be a scoop of yogurt over oats with honey. Of course, highly nutritious meals like these are not limited to new parents. We can all benefit from nourishing our bodies with hearty, fulfilling meals.

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!