Happy National Farmers Market Week!
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Salsa verde time! Fresh tomatillos from Natalie's Garden & Greenhouse
Happy National Farmers Market Week!
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A very happy "National Farmers Market Week" to all our loyal market fans!
It feels like we celebrate the wonder of farmers markets each week throughout the season, but having the occasion to shout from the rooftops in our appreciation of farmers markets is an extra joy.
In the peak season, we celebrate the seemingly endless fresh produce, like table loads of fresh tomatoes (pictured) from vendors like County Line Plants & Produce.
Yet we know the wonders of market are diverse and ever changing. The beauty and color of market flowers vary from the first daffodils in the spring to summer bouquets (pictured) from Lor Farm, to the lovely fall colors of mums in autumn.
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Other market gems are those we find all season long, like farm fresh eggs from Dreamfarm or squeaky fresh cheese curds from Murphy Farms. Regardless of weather or season, these staples bring us happiness from mid-April to early November.
Throughout the year we try new offerings, fill our baskets with seasonal fruit and eagerly await all the good things to come as the season passes.
Apples are coming in now, with Atoms to Apples adding more variety this weekend as they make their market return. Elsewhere the upcoming season change can be seen in new offerings like purple top turnips from Shoua Lee Vang (pictured).
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The celebration of farmers markets of course extends beyond the offerings from our many wonderful vendors. It's a celebration of the pop-up community a market creates, one that lasts well beyond the last tent coming down each week.
It's music delighting the ears, it's children dancing along and playing with new friends and old. A farmers market is the conversations held between neighbors in a time of peace each Saturday morning. The opportunities for groups to table to help answer gardening questions, to collect food scraps and keep them from the landfill, the market is much greater than the sum of its parts.
As we gather this Saturday, we encourage you all to take a moment and just enjoy yourselves. Try something new, revel in the favorites, stop and chat about the growing season, and most importantly smile at being a part of something that supports our farmers, provides a community space for our neighbors and nourishes us in so many ways.
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
B. Kurt Dairy & Savory Accents will be absent from the market this Saturday, August 10th. They will return the following week.
Daily Vendors - Saturday, August 10th:
Atoms to Apples
Colos Olive Oil
Hope & Hill Flower Co.
Inspired Alchemy
Pecatonica Valley Farm
Steppin' Out Foods
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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