This is the week we plunge into the full
market schedule, when we start the Free Kids Meal and look forward to several
hundred children joining us under the big yellow and white tent to eat at every
market. And we are ready!
Tomorrow the kids will enjoy market tomatoes,
carrots, sugar snap peas and smoked hamburgers (it pays to hire the catering
manager at Cloud’s Meats – Clouds generously lets their caterer who is our head
cook use their equipment to prepare parts of the market meal). The Kids Meal on
Thursdays is served from 11 to 1. And, in case you missed it, the meal is free
to anyone aged one through 18, regardless of where they live or what their
income. |
| Yep, you're seeing cucumbers & new potatoes! |
Stewart’s Bakery will service a hot pork
sandwich with mashed potatoes for $5. The Pommerts are performing.
Tomorrow we also welcome the American Legion
Auxiliary who will be giving away poppies in honor of Memorial Day. Donations
received go to help local veterans.
On Saturday, the Kids Meal is breakfast
casserole with a biscuit, market veggies and milk. Stewart’s Bakery is serving
broccoli chicken rice casserole for $5 for eat-in or take-away. Cooking for a
Cause benefits the Webb City High School Choir Boosters. JR and Corky will be
on the market stage.
Tuesday the kids will have soft tacos, more
market veggies and milk. No word from Stewart’s on their menu, but it will be
tasty. The Comments return to the market stage.
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| Braker Farm has baskets! |
Off site activities this week include the Kids
Community Garden. We met for the first time last week and got all the plants
donated by Fredrickson Farms put in, and some seeds sown. We meet on Wednesdays
at 3 pm for an hour regardless of whether school is in session. We have more
seeding to do and lots of mulching. In fact, we’re pretty much out of straw so
if you know of any old straw that we could buy cheaply, let me know! I think we
need either two large rounds or probably 20 small bales. Call me at 417
483-8139 if you have a lead.
Tomorrow we have our second Twilight Tunnel
Walk of the year. The walks are part of the Year-Round Growing Education Center
located on the Yang Family Farm at 1213 Route U, Rocky Comfort. It’s a mile
south o the intersection of State Highway 76 and Route U. This month extension
experts and experienced growers will be leading the walks with a focus on
tomatoes in the heated tunnel and transitioning from cool weather crops to
summer crops in the unheated tunnel.
High tunnels were first developed to extend
the growing season by a few months in spring and fall. It was not long before
innovative farmers found ways to grow all winter and now we have found the
tunnels can be very useful for summer growing as well. The crops are protected
from many pests in the tunnels and the farmers can control the amount of rain
and sun, which can result, in tomatoes, in less loss due to cracking and sun scalding.
However it is very much a learned skill which is exactly why the market
established the Center.
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| E & O still has hundreds of gorgeous baskets! |
The Twilight Tunnel Walks are free and open to
everyone, including folks who just want to learn more about how their food is
grown. No reservation is required.
Whether at the market or far afield, we are
doing our best to build a healthy community and a healthy supply of food and
farmers. See you at the market!
