Thursday, April 24, 2014

Webb City Sentinel column - 4-25-14



Frank Reiter demos this pork recipe Saturday!  Yum!

We have a couple of new things about the market this year that need your support. The first is the new hours for Tuesdays. The Tuesday market has, for several years, been our quietest market of the week. And by quietest, I mean least profitable for our vendors. While we’re certainly not all about profit, we have to generate enough sales to make it worth our vendors while to come on Tuesdays. So this year we decided to move the Tuesday hours from lunchtime to supper. We’re open from 4 to 6 pm when we hope pretty much everyone can come – school employees, factory employees, bankers. All the folks with day jobs can come to the market at 5 or shortly after and still expect to see a loaded market. And so can everyone else who has more flexible time. 

But for these hours to succeed, you have to show up!  So put the Tuesday market on your calendar. Stop by for a hot dog or Frito pie from Dogs on the Roll. Ten percent of their sales go to Golden Paws Animal Rescue. Now how appropriate is that?  We have music, we have loads of produce, plants. honey and other good things.

The second new thing is our effort to start a matching program for our food stamp customers. All across the country similar program have met success but they are usually funded by a local hospital or foundation. We haven’t found such an angel here but we have found a way to fund it through many angels – that would be those of us who order on-line through Amazon.com. And it doesn’t cost any of us a thing. Just SMILE when you place your order. Instead of going to Amazon.com, go to their charitable support page – smile.amazon.com. It has exactly the same products and the same prices but 5% of your qualified purchases go to the charity of your choice. Obviously we hope that will be the market, which is among the choices, but frankly if you have another pet project, don’t miss the opportunity to support them.

We have not received our first deposit from smile.amazon yet – that’s due in mid-May - but we hope to fund that matching program in this completely new way. (Wouldn’t we all be surprised if the market led the way in finding a new way to make life better? Well, maybe not too surprised.)  

Depending on the funds generated, food stamp customers will receive extra tokens when they buy their regular food stamp tokens at the market. These extra tokens will be used to purchase fresh produce, milk and meat. We’re very excited to finally find a way to implement this program – it increases the amount of healthy foods our neighbors in need eat, it increases our farmers and ranchers sales and it makes us happy at no expense!  Does it get any better than that?  Just go to smile.amazon.com to sign up.

I’m going to slip in a third thing right here – which is that the Sentinel is doing a promotion – you get a $5 cash market token with each new subscription.  It’s a great time to sign up family and friends and you can do it right at the market information table any time we’re open.

We have a ton of good things happening at the market. Today we celebrate, with regret, the retirement of Bert and Daffol Ott from the market. At 10:55, if we can drag Bert away from giving Black Forest samples, we’ll present them with a card signed by many of their customers and a poster with photos of their time at the market. Today is their last day at the market but they will continue to take orders for pickup at their bakery just south of Carthage through June. To order, call 417 325-7506.

Next week we expect to have new bakers, Harmony Hill, on Tuesday and Friday. They won’t replace Black Forest, I’m not sure anyone could do that, but I plan to console myself with cinnamon rolls and half moon pies. It’s hard to beat the baking of Mennonites. It’s going to kill my waistline!

Granny Shaffers at the Market is serving lunch today. The Loose Notes perform. We’ll have loads of plants, hanging baskets, bedding and vegetable plans, and herbs today and tomorrow. The farms are bringing in loads of spring produce.

Tomorrow blogger Frank Reiter, of Frank About Food, demonstrates coffee crusted pork loin on a bed of cooked greens topped with mango chutney. We also welcome a new vendor, Danna Brennoerder with Odd Duck Soaps. Her specialty is handmade soap with all natural ingredients and essential oils. She also makes washcloths and rugs with repurposed fabric.

Hazel’s Bakery is at the market tomorrow. Note to kids of all ages – Kings Kettle Corn is adding funnel cakes to their menu on Saturdays.

Cooking for a Cause benefits the Friends of the Webb City Library tomorrow. Breakfast is served from 9 to 11. Come enjoy a wonderful breakfast and support a great cause (disclosure – I’m president of the Friends this year and delighted to be part of such an important community asset.).

Mark Barger will play Native American flutes during breakfast.

Next Tuesday – remember it’s from 4 to 6 and you’re coming, right? – features local favorites Gospel Strings on the market stage. Come join us!