We are excited to announce Empty Bowls
2.0! You may be familiar with Empty
Bowls which takes place in the fall and is based and organized by Phoenix Fired
Art in Joplin. Two years ago, thanks to the suggestion of one of our customers,
they began including the market as one of several nonprofits active in local
hunger projects to benefit from the fundraiser. That was how we began the WIC
program. Response to that program has been so robust that we must go beyond
that annual gift to keep the program going beyond a few weeks.
So when I expressed an interest in the bowls remaining from last fall’s event, Heather Grills, owner of Phoenix Fired Art, invited me to come fetch them and put them to work. These tend to be smaller bowls so we are asking for a $15 donation instead of the $25 minimum requested at the fall event. And since they are small, instead of filling them with soup, we are going to fill them with dessert! And not just any dessert, but dessert featuring the blackberries from the market’s research plot at the Mt. Vernon Research Center.
And who is making this dessert? Why, Stewart’s Bakery, Granny Shaffers,
Instant Karma, Eagle Drive-In and the Bruncheonette. Hard to beat that line up.
The bowls will be at the market every time we’re
open through July 14th which is the day to pick up the dessert. In
other words, choose your bowl, make your donation, and take the bowl home. Then
on Saturday, July 14th, bring your receipt to the market to pick up your
dessert.
The bowls will also be available at all the
participating restaurants so if it’s handier, stop by Granny Shaffers, Instant
Karma, Eagle Drive In or The Bruncheonette to make your choice. When you pay
you will receive a receipt and that receipt is your ticket for dessert so don’t
lose it.
More good news about WIC - A few weeks ago we shared
that we had received a generous gift for the WIC program from South Joplin
Christian Church. Just this week we received a check for over $300 from the
Christian Women’s Fellowship of South Joplin. What a generous people!
The market is overflowing with local produce
now. The blueberries and blackberries are coming in. The zucchini, yellow
squash, and cucumbers are amazingly abundant. That’s the thing about those
particular crops, one day they put out their first blooms and in a blink of an
eye the plants are loaded with veggies. And if you blink twice those veggies
get totally out of control. Moby zucchini!
Tomorrow the Hairy Vetch Band will play on the
market stage. We’ll have two cooking demonstrations. The Market Lady and the
educators with MU Extension will each have a market fresh recipe for you to
sample.
The Free Kids Meal will be soft beef tacos,
market veggies, and milk.
Stewart’s Bakery is serving lunch while Apple
Road Farm is off making a wedding cake. Linda will serve a Sloppy Joe with
mustard potato salad for $6.
On Saturday Cooking for a Cause profits go to
fund scholarships at Cottey College. Volunteers from PEO will serve up farm
fresh scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuit and gravy, hashbrown casserole, juice or
coffee for $6.
The Free Kids Meal is breakfast, served from 9
to 10, pancake on a stick, juice, and milk. Lunch is served from 10:10 to noon
and is turkey and cheese sandwich, market veggies, and milk. I expect there
will be some blackberries on the plates too since we are beginning to harvest
from the market’s plot in Mt. Vernon.
Tuesday we’ll do it all again with even more
produce, supper by Stewart’s Bakery, street tacos from Ghetto Taco, a free kids
meal served from 4:30 to 6:30. Just Jake and Corky will be on the market stage
and we expect both the Market Lady and our MU Extension educators to have
something tasty for us to try.
Now for your reward at the end (I hope you didn’t
just skipped to the end!). Both Braker Berry Farm and Still Waters Farm tell me
the sweet corn should be at the market on Saturday. Greg may even have some on
Thursday!
There will be more delicious news next week. But
in the meantime, come feast at the market!
