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| 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!
