Halfway Point
Tasty offerings from Steppin' Out Foods
Halfway Point
How can it be that we're halfway through the 2024 market season already?
It seems just a few weeks back we were gobbling up asparagus, lining up early for morels and eager for the summer produce to come.
Now at the tail end of July, we're surrounded by fresh Flyte Family Farms sweet corn (pictured), snacking on fresh raspberries and wondering when apples will start arriving in August.
That's summer for you, just a blink and it's moved along faster than those morels did a few months back.
At this rate, we best save the time for inflection till the post season and get on with celebrating all the great finds while things are ripe.
This past weekend, there was no shortage of wonder with beautiful fennel in at Happy Valley Farm (pictured) and lovely floral bouquets from Country Bloomers Greenhouse.
Down the aisle, New Life Greens once again sold out of their fabulous microgreens. Owner Jessi has been working on bumping up her production to keep up with the market demand and doing a great job, especially for her first season at just 18 years old! We tip our caps to her for putting in the work and bringing us the best each Saturday morning.
We also want to give a shout out to another new vendor this season, Noellie's Deli (pictured), bringing some great gluten-free baked goods to the market that move nearly as fast as the microgreens.
The Deliciouser joined us this past weekend, and will be out again this Saturday with their yummy array of spice blends and seasoning salts.
Back this weekend after their early summer hiatus is Blue Moon Community Farm with their skillfully grown organic produce. Find them at their usual spot next to Dreamfarm at the top of aisle two.
Sustain Dane had a great first week with their food scrap collection. Check out the details below for bringing your scraps to market. Find them next to the Info Tent every week through early October. If home pickup is more your style for composting, stop by Green Box Compost to learn more about their compost subscription service.
With half of the market season behind us, we're excited for what's to come before we wrap things up in November. Flats of tomatoes, bushels of apples and then more squash than one can carry... it just keeps getting better from here.
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
Rude Brew Kombucha will be absent from the market this Saturday, July 27th. They will return the following week.
Daily Vendors - Saturday, July 27th:
Country Bloomers Greenhouse
Hope & Hill Flower Co.
Pecatonica Valley Farm
Steppin' Out Foods
Yellow Dog Deli
The Handel family of B. Kurt Dairy is hosting an on-farm farmers market at their place in Barneveld on Sunday, July 28th from 11am - 2pm. This is a great chance to visit their farm, check out a variety of vendors and enjoy a petting zoo and games for kids. Check out the flyer below for more details.
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 October 5th, 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.
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