Back to School
Blocks of beeswax from B's Honey
Back to School
The bell rang in the new day, and just like that our youngest market-goers are back in the classroom.
We sent them back with at least one good summer memory last Saturday, our Zucchini Car Races (pictured).
The kids had a blast building their own racers and seeing how they faired on our custom Zucchini Speedway. Our many thanks to all the participants and an extra thank you to our farmers who donated the zucchini: Blue Moon Community Farm, County Line Plants & Produce and Urban Gourmet.
The weekday frolics of summer may be over for the youngest shoppers, but at least they'll have Saturday morning markets to look forward to until early November.
The luckiest ones might even find some market treats awaiting them in their lunch boxes this week. Perhaps some beef sticks from Murphy Farms, ground cherries from Emerald Meadows Family Farm (pictured), or a nice Honeycrisp apple from Pleasant Springs Orchard will be waiting to brighten their day.
Warm days and sunshine might not be the ideal setting for back to school, but the signs of the coming fall are shining brighter at market. This past weekend we welcomed back Garden Gate Flowers with some beautiful fall ornamentals and the first mums of the season.
They'll be back this Saturday and joined by Tend Native Plants, who will return for the September markets with their array of pollinator-friendly native perennial offerings, just in time for fall planting season.
Also new this weekend, we're pleased to announce we have new Westside Community Market tote bags for sale! Offered in a natural-tone canvas, these spacious bags feature our market bunny logo designed by Snaggle Tooth Arts of Madison and will be available, while supplies last at the Info Tent for $15 each, cash or check.
A whole fall season ahead, new finds to get after and plenty of fresh apples for teacher. September may have come, but we promise not to miss a day of what's ahead. There's the bell!
See you at market!
Ben Zimmerman
Market Manager
For the safety of our shoppers, we ask you to please walk your bikes through the market.
As a reminder to everyone, dogs are prohibited within the market area, though we welcome service animals at all times.
Vendor & Weekly Market Notices
Fungi Farmers will be absent from the market this Saturday, September 7th. They will return the following week.
Live Jewelry Farm & Door County Fruit Market have both finished vending for the 2024 season. They both wish to thank their customers and look forward to returning next season.
Daily Vendors - Saturday, September 7th:
Garden Gate Flowers
Hope & Hill Flower Co.
Pecatonica Valley Farm
Steppin' Out Foods
Sugar River Vineyard
Yellow Dog Deli
Food Scrap Collection at the Market!
Beginning July 20th, Sustain Dane is expanding its free Food Scraps Drop-Off program to the Westside Community Market. According to the Wisconsin DNR, our landfills consist of 14.5% food that would be traditionally edible, and 6% “food scraps” (like peels). Take action and bring your food scraps to Sustain
Dane’s Westside Market booth on Saturdays from July 20th to November 2nd*, from 7:00 AM to 12:30 PM.
They can accept the following materials:
Raw Fruits
Raw Vegetables
Coffee Grounds
Loose Tea
Plain Pasta/Rice
Eggshells
Gourds
They cannot accept the following:
Meat
Dairy
Cooked Foods
Bread
Produce Stickers & Twist Ties
“Compostable” Bags
“Compostable” Utensils (Forks, Plates, Cups, etc.)
Paper Products
To date, this free public program has composted over 36,000 pounds. Compost buckets will be available at the first market to use for the remainder of the program.
Missed a market day? Bring your scraps to one of their other locations at the South Madison or Eastside Markets on Tuesdays.
All collected scraps are taken to Neighborhood Food Solutions (NFS) Farm which supports formerly incarcerated individuals in urban agriculture and teens in entrepreneurial and agricultural training. NFS
provides farming opportunities for community members who may not normally have access and resources to learn about and participate in farming. With this partnership, food scraps collected at the farmers markets will help to rebuild and create healthy soil at the farm to continue growing produce.
This program is in partnership with the City of Madison and Neighborhood Food Solutions. Learn more about the program here.
*The extension of the Westside Community Market food scraps recycling site is part of a youth led Sustain Dane initiative through the Youth Climate Action Fund focusing on youth engagement in food composting.”
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