Good
news. Melon season is here. Cantaloupe made its debut at the market
yesterday. Watermelons are expected on Saturday. We typically have
four or more farms that plant large melon fields so now that the
crops are ready for harvest we should see tables full of many kinds
and sizes. I hope so because I have my own
plan for market melons.
plan for market melons.
We
have been working for several years on ideas to maximize the use of
the market kitchen and also find ways to use surplus produce. One
very successful project has been the free kids meal which uses a lot
of our produce. In fact, when the state audited the program last
year, the auditor was amazed that almost 50% of our ingredients were
purchased from our farmers. She said no other program in the state
came close to that 
I review all sorts of programs as a grantreviewer and also try to keep up with what other local foods programs are doing. Typically farm to table programs have a goal of 10% to 20% of their ingredients being local produce. We aim higher.
So
I've ordered containers and sharpened my chef knife and just as soon
as the melon harvest is large enough that there are melons at the end
of the market day, I plan to buy the surplus and make fresh fruit
salads.
I
expect to also add some store-bought fruit like grapes, but the
salads will primarily be cantaloupe and watermelon, two of my own
favorite foods. I hope our customers will be interested since our
melons are delicious. But melons can also be rather large, so I'm
hoping those customers who can't manage to eat a full melon will
choose a salad once or twice or three times a week. All profits will
go to help with market expenses. Win-win-win. Farmers sell all their
melons, customers get a new ready-to-eat local product, and the
market becomes more sustainable. Watch for the new Market brand fruit
salad in a week or so.
The
market will be open tomorrow from 11 to 2. The free kids meal will be
a meat and cheese burrito, cherry tomatoes, sliced peaches, and milk.
It will be served in the large tent north of the pavilion and is free
to any child aged 1 through 18.
On
Saturday kids get two free meals: Breakfast, served warm and packed
to-go, is “Chunky-Monkey Morning Oats, with peanut butter and
banana, plus milk. The kids can also pick up a sack lunch of a club
wrap with market greens, market veggies, and milk.
The
Chert Glades Master Naturalists serve Cooking for a Cause. Enjoy
scrambled eggs, hashbrown casserole, biscuit and gravy or jammin'
biscuit, sausage, local tomato slices, and juice or coffee for $6.
Just Jake & Corky play. Music and meals run from 9 to 11.
Tuesday
is Eat Street at the Market and there will be lots of food truck
choices: Ghetto Taco, Culver Creek BBQ, Flounders (fish and chips
and more), Smack Dab (Southern comfort food), Songbird's Kitchen
(Asian specialties), MaMa JoJo's (pasta and more), and Squeezers
Lemonade. Andrew Ballantyne plays. The food trucks are at the market
between 4 and 8, while the produce, meat, and other vendors are at
the market until 7 every Tuesday evening.
One
of the things I love about our Eat Street food trucks is their
camaraderie. Far from being cut-throat competitors, they fully
understand that having a variety of food choices means more customers
and more business for everyone. That's part of the market's
philosophy too – our vendors understand that having successful
vendors is good for all the vendors, as well as for the market and
the customers. That's why vendors will recommend another vendor if
they don't have what you're looking for. They support each other and
also want our customers to have a successful shopping trip. One more
reason to love the market.
