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Market Updates
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School is out, the sun is shining, and summer is here at the farmers market with crisp cucumbers, tender beans, big blueberries, and juicy raspberries all coming out for the show this Saturday. Stop by
Happy Harvest early for the first blueberries of the year, and find Hood strawberries once again (and maybe the last time) at
Unger Farms and
Deep Roots Farm. Fresh dug new potatoes are in at
Sweet Leaf Organic Farm, and find fava beans at
Winter Green Farm. This is the last Saturday to find tomato and pepper starts at
Gales Meadow Farm, so identify those last sunny patches in the garden and the perfect plants to occupy them.
If you've got some kitchen knives or garden tools in need of sharpening, then tomorrow is a day to bring them to
Dragonfly Forge. Joining us at the market every other week, it often takes coordinating to make you, your dull blades, and Gabriel all show up on the same day.
We also have
Cranberry Kitchen,
Fire Brew, Freeland Spirits, Leikam Brewing, Mic's Mix, More Bees, Rise Up Remedies, and
503 Distilling joining us this week.
This season we are asking our community to think (and hopefully take action) about reducing waste at the farmers market. Just by shopping at the market you are already making an impact by reducing the distance food travels from the farm or production kitchen to your table. But once you are at the market there are even more opportunities to reduce the waste generated. Consider keeping handy a Farmers Market supply kit with a reusable cup and straw, your own cutlery, produce bags, and an extra grocery bag all packed up in a grocery bag. That way you have everything you need to eliminate using and disposing of single use items at the market. Do you ever show up at the market but forgot your own bags? No problem, because HFM has
"Take A Bag, Leave A Bag" bins at each end of Hancock Street. There you can drop-off any oversupply of grocery bags, and also take a bag or two for your shopping if you arrive empty handed.
We look forward to seeing you at the market!
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POP Club continues!
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Our POP (Power of Produce) Club continues this Saturday - all summer long we'll be offering
free activities for kids aged 5 to 12!
This week's activity is
Farmers Market Scavenger Hunt
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The POP Club is made possible by our neighborhood sponsors, and this week's sponsor is the
Northeast Community Center! T
hey'll also have a community booth at the market with information about their programs.
For those of you who haven't participated before, here's how POP Club works:
- Kids aged 5-12 come to the POP Club booth between 9am and 12:30pm on market day, located in Hancock Street toward the east (45th Ave) entrance to the market.
- Fill out their POP Club passports if this is their first visit to the booth.
- Participate in activities based around food, nutrition and food growing. At every POP Club market you can find activities such as produce tastings, salad-making, scavenger hunts, games and more!
- Receive $2 in POP Club wooden tokens EVERY time they come to market during the POP Club season!
See you Saturday at the market!
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Meet Our Vendors: Bliss Nut Butters
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by Susan Gibson, HFM volunteer
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For the past three years, Bliss Nut Butters has been a welcome presence at the Hollywood Farmers Market. Over eight years ago, Daniell Bliss and her husband created these delicious and nutritious nut butters. As a triathlete, Daniell needed something that would give her sustained energy without making her sick. While most of the sports products at that time provided sustained energy, the additives were causing her adverse side effects. She wanted healthier food that could keep her going over her many four-hour training sessions.
Daniell’s story began in Maine where she lived with her mom. Her dad lived on the other side of the country in Portland, Oregon. Every year she traveled West to visit her dad, and each time she fell more in love with the Pacific Northwest. Finally, at age 15 she made Albany, Oregon her permanent home. But for over eight years, Daniell worked at Portland City Grill downtown. It was here that she became deeply entrenched in Portland’s culture and way of life.
After high school, she got her degree in Public Health. Always interested in nutrition and wellness, she thought her career would be as a health consultant, possibly a grant writer, or even a nutritional coach. A businesswoman to the core, this path led her to create the Bliss Nut Butters’ parent company, Back 2 Basics Wellness. Making her own product, and being very successful at it, wasn’t on her radar at the time.
Her knowledge of good nutrition led her to look for the perfect energy booster to sustain her through four hours of training. This she found in her own combination of peanut butter, honey, and sea salt. Each having a property conducive to her training regimen. Peanut butter for energy, honey because it is lower in sugar, and sea salt which provides naturally occurring hydration. Her family and friends were trying out this healthy treat and loving it. Not one to sit still, she created a second flavor by adding chia seeds for an energy boost. In addition to her friends and family, her co-workers were also enjoying the benefits and encouraging her to sell the nut butters. Her initial response was, “No way.”
However, destiny had other plans. Soon Daniell and her husband were renting space in a commercial kitchen one day a week. But the fledgling company was seeing a lot more demand than could be met just making batches one day a week. They tried working with a co-packer, but after a year, they found that the relationship was detrimental to their business, and almost went bankrupt due to very unethical business practices. They had to do something else.
As Bliss Nut Butters started showing up at farmers markets, they desperately needed more capacity. They did the research and her home kitchen could be certified, allowing Daniell and her husband to make larger batches to meet the ever-growing demand. While this was suitable for a time, it wasn’t long before a larger, dedicated space was needed. They needed room to have pallets upon pallets of nuts delivered.
Bliss Nut Butters found a new home and larger space in Oregon City, where the nut butters are currently produced to support 22 farmers markets and over 500 stores. She does all this with about eight employees for the farmers market and five on the production side. A solid team effort, Daniell owns and manages the business and her husband manages the production.
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Entertainment and Events
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Music
Brent Swanson
Community Booths
Special Events
Activity: Farmers Market Scavenger Hunt
(POP Club will run every Saturday until August 31st)
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Vendors at Market on
June 15th
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Featured Products
June 15, 2019
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Titan Cherries
Maryhill Fruit Company
Maryhill Orchards' unique location, located 100 miles east of Portland on a south-facing gentle slope on the Washington side of the Columbia River, allows them to bring some of the earliest stone fruit of the season. The first cherries that have come in this year are Titans, dark and firm, with a great sweet flavor - similar to a Bing.
Paleo Ground Buffalo & Yak
Pine Mountain Ranch
Pine Mountain Ranch's buffalo and yak are 100% grass fed, and are great lean meats that are packed with rich flavor - yak meat regularly wins taste tests against other ground meats! Try their "Paleo" blends, which mix in a small percentage of organ meats (heart and liver) for added nutrients.
Bagels
Gabriel's Bakery
Gabriel's Bakery is a small wholesale and farmers market bakery committed to using sustainable grains and preserving the integrity of providing quality baked goods. Gabriel's offers freshly made bagels using some unusual ingredients like quinoa and pumpkin.
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Looking for a farmers market to pick up some midweek groceries?
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Tuesdays 10am-2pm
Year Round!
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