August 7, 2014

Vol 8, Issue 23

Market Updates

In the last week, I've noticed that the days are staring to get a little shorter and the nights a little cooler. It's refreshing to remember that fall is coming, while we are still deep in summer's bounty! The market mirrors these changes: pears, plums, and apples are starting to creep onto vendors' tables, but we still have many weeks to enjoy abundant tomatoes, berries, and juicy ears of sweet corn!

As the seasons slowly shift, so do the market's vendors. Think Unique and Glass Jade are done for the season, but Sterling Cookies and New Deal Distillery are back after a week away. Dragonfly Forge will also be at market, so don't forget your knives and tools for sharpening!

It's August, and we're kicking off our month-long Photo Contest! This year, we will be running the contest on Instagram; just post your photo with the hashtag #hfmphotocontest to enter it. The winning photographer will receive $20 in market tokens! If you'd like to follow us on Instagram, you can find our page at instagram.com/hollywoodfarmersmarketpdx. The full contest rules can be found on our website here.

This Saturday is another in our series of kids' cooking demos, taught by the wonderful Joanna Sooper of Turnip the Heat Cooking School. Joanna will be leading our market kiddos in a demo of a peach fool (peaches layered with whipped cream and honey), a delicious non-bake desert that's perfect for what should be another warm day. Demos will begin at 9:30am and run until 12 noon in Hancock St. near the east entrance of the market.

This week is the 15th annual National Farmers Market Week, making it a great week to come out to the market and support your local farmer or rancher (though we hope every week is farmers market week for many of you!). To celebrate this week, the US Postal Service is releasing a special set of beautiful "forever" stamps honoring farmers markets! These stamps should be available starting today, August 7th. See below for the designs and more info about their creation.

See you at the market!

USPS issues Farmers Market stamps!

Fruits, vegetables, cheeses, flowers, and other fresh products invitingly displayed on tables or bins - farmers markets invite us to share America's agricultural bounty.

Four stamps depict a table laden with typical farmers-market fare. The stamp on the far left has among its products various fresh breads such as baguettes and rolls, cinnamon buns, cookies, artisan cheeses, and both brown and white eggs. The produce on the second stamp includes vegetables and fruits: apples, eggplants, watermelons, peppers, grapes, potatoes, broccoli, and gourds. Cut flowers adorn the next stamp, with bouquets of bright flowers next to a bucket of sunflowers and a collection of celosia. The final stamp on the far right features live plants, with various herbs, tomatoes, and flowers like marigolds and nasturtiums. Most items bear handwritten labels that identify the product and its price.

The artist chose and arranged the products so that each stamp has a large focal point; each stamp is complete in itself yet forms a cohesive whole with the entire stamp strip. The stamp art was created using acrylic paint.

Text on the back of the 20-stamp sheet describes the appeal of farmers markets:

Farmers markets are an old idea that's new again. Markets were once the main way Americans shopped. As towns and cities grew in the 19th century, farms were pushed farther from the population hubs, and new distribution systems and permanent in-town shops increasingly became the middlemen between consumers and farmers. However, in 1976 Congress passed the Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Marketing Act, and the number of markets has soared once more.

Farmers markets flourish in every U.S. state and territory. Some markets thrive in permanent locations that operate year round; others are open only once a week during the harvest season. There are markets that sell just produce and meats; others also offer seafood, breads, prepared foods, or dairy products. Markets might include locally sourced honey or artisan crafts like soaps and candles. Live plants or cut flowers brighten many markets, and some markets feature live music or children's activities, voter-registration drives, or local master gardeners offering advice. There are almost as many different combinations of goods and activities as there are markets.

Considered by many to be the new town square, farmers markets offer, as they did in the past, a gathering place for diverse groups of neighbors to meet and mingle and to share news, recipes, and stories-in short, to create a new sense of community.

Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamps with illustrations by Robin Moline.

The Farmers Markets stamps are being issued as Forever� stamps. These Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail� one-ounce rate.

Lloyd Farmers Market

Looking for a market to pick up some mid week groceries?

Tuesdays, 10am - 2pm

Year-round!

www.lloydfarmersmarket.com for more information or to sign up for weekly updates

At the Market

Music:

Zimba!

Community Booths:

Food & Water Watch

NE Community Center

Upcoming Events:

Face Painting with Crista

Saturday, August 9th and 16th, 9:00 am - 12:30 pm

Kids' Cooking Demo w/ Joanna Sooper

Saturday, August 9th, 9:30 am - 12:00pm

Market Medicinals cooking demo

Saturday, August 30th, 9:30am - 12:00pm

Featured Products

Seckel Pears

Sun Gold Farm

Good things come in small packages! Seckels are exceptionally sweet, in fact they are sometimes called "Sugar Morsels". These little pears are best eaten when still firm.

Melons

Sweet Leaf Farm

Just as everything has been showing up early this season, melons first appeared at the market a couple of weeks ago, and are now plentiful! Sweet Leaf will have watermelons, in addition to two varieties of delicious sweet cantalopes, the Charentais, which is the true French cantalope and the ever popular "musk" melon, which is the variety that we are most familiar with.

Sunrise Honey Nut & Seed Blend

Hammer & Tuffy's Handmade Granola

Hammer & Tuffy's is offering this brand-new flavor exclusively at farmers markets. Wake up with honey roasted sunflower seeds, almonds, cashews and pumpkin seeds!

Tamales

Montiel's Cocina

You will never go hungry at the Hollywood Farmers Market with vendors like Montiel's Cocina, offering a number of different tamales from pork to veggie and dressed with homemade green or red sauce. The masa is moist and fluffy and the filling is always generous and packed with flavor.

Market Photos

Days:
Every Saturday, May - Thanksgiving
1st & 3rd Saturdays, December - April

Hours:
May - October, 8am - 1pm
November - April, 9am - 1pm

Location:
NE Hancock Street between 44th and 45th Avenues (one block South of Sandy Blvd). In the Grocery Outlet parking lot!

For more information, check us out online at www.hollywoodfarmersmarket.org.

See you Saturday!

Hollywood Farmers Market