Welcome Aboard Flight CCFM | July 13, 2020

Fresh & Local:

Welcome Aboard Flight CCFM

Good afternoon shoppers. This is your friendly farmers market speaking. We are currently cruising at a smooth altitude of two weekly drive-thru markets and a home delivery box at an airspeed of a successful, re-imagined walk-up market. The weather looks toasty and the summer produce is in full swing.

That’s right folks, get comfortable because you are in for a treat. Our return to Uptown with a modified walk up design was right on target and we are happy to announce that it will continue! Please welcome our weekly modified walk-up market to the team - Tuesdays from 8 am – Noon at Uptown Square.

Mid-summer brings a breath of humid air to our lucky neighbors and farmers, fishers, and food producers in the coastal Southeast. The afternoons are hot, but the peppers are hotter! It’s that special time of year when we say farewell to our beloved leafy greens and the farmers who cultivate them and welcome eggplant, okra, squash and other heat loving fruits and veggies. Warmer days also bring peaches, figs, melons, beans, peas and tomatoes to the market.

While you may find all of your fav items in the CCFM Box or at the drive-thru/walk-up markets, keep in mind that you may not find your fav vendor. Remember the natural ebb and flow of seasonality and in the face of this pandemic, our various levels of comfort - many of our vendors and shoppers are in a higher risk category for complications from COVID-19. Now is the time for understanding why a vendor may wish to sell their bounty a certain way and support their difficult decisions. We appreciate your participation in keeping these community members safe, and keeping this market’s operation sustainable.

Now for the deets - Every day is a new adventure as we learn and adapt to new technology and best practices. Moving forward, we will no longer utilize reservations through Open Table. You can pre-order for the Tuesday market but must do so by Sunday night. For updates and information, including rules and expectations, click here!

Good Food Word of the Week:

While Market Umbrella is known for our farmers markets and fresh food access programs, food systems work touches on many social, economic, and environmental issues. The Good Food Word of the Week seeks to shed some light on these parts of our work and the way we talk – demystifying the jargon.

Food Safety

This week’s Good Food Word is Food Safety – When we used to refer to food safety, it was in regards to practices that best mitigated potential unhealthy food contamination, usually through good agricultural practices, or GAPs (a certification that recognizes these positive on-farm practices). It’s a whole new ballgame, as food safety and handling practices also must address coronavirus threats with practices like social distancing and enhanced sanitation. These impacts are food system-wide and range from safety precautions and shortages at the grocery store, to the disproportionate effects of the virus on people of color who more often perform low-wage essential tasks like farm work and food processing, people who have suddenly been thrust into the position of being front line workers, without the equipment or hazard pay or respect that those roles deserve. Now more than ever, knowing your grower/producer means you’re participating in a socially and environmentally just and sustainable food system. And shopping outside for groceries is the safest place you can be!

Picks of the Week:

Executive Director Kate Parker Leaves Organization

After seven years with the organization, Kate Parker MPH PhD, the second executive director since Market Umbrella’s founding 25 years ago this year, is moving on to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, a generous funder of Market Umbrella programs and operations. She’ll be joining their food systems team as a program officer, and we look forward to continuing to work together to advance southeastern local food systems and equitable fresh food access.

Kate postponed the transition to weather the uncharted waters that coronavirus has brought us, and under her leadership we pivoted to home delivery, drive thru and now a modified walk up model. Over the years, her public health expertise was brought to bear as we introduced new programs like the Veggie Prescription Program and Market Mommas Club, as well as expanding incentive programs like Market Match, which doubles SNAP dollars spent at market, and which we have continued to offer through the new home delivery and drive thru markets. We are excited for her new role, and will soon begin a nationwide search for new leadership.

In the meantime, we welcome Robin A. Barnes, a national expert in economic recovery and resilience as our interim executive director. With more than 30 years of experience in helping cities, small businesses and nonprofits recover from and prepare for natural and manmade economic and climate-based disasters, we couldn’t be in better hands.

More Ways to Shop with CCFM

Just a reminder that the Modified Tuesday market is in addition to these other options:

The CCFM Box - Need fresh produce delivered to your door? Crescent City Farmers Market has partnered with Top Box Foods to create boxes full of CCFM vendor products for home delivery (pickup option available). Now with TWO box sizes available - $25 and $40! As always, both size boxes qualify for our Market Match program for SNAP benefit users, doubling buying power and cutting the price in half!

Drive Thru Markets - Two weekly Drive Thru Markets - Sundays at Parkway Bakery and Tavern and Wednesdays at Bucktown Harbor. Drive Thru markets are different from traditional markets, but not complicated! Order and pay in advance (with debit/credit or SNAP). When you arrive, staff will guide you to enter the market, make sure your placard is complete, and help you pop your trunk if needed. All vendors will be wearing face masks, sanitizing hands between customers, and respecting social distancing guidelines.

Healthy Mommas Healthy Family

Market Umbrella understands that now more than ever, motherhood has its challenges and is here to lend a helping hand! We believe health starts at home and a healthy momma means a healthy baby and family. A diet rich in fresh, local fruits and veggies is the most delicious way to nutritionally impact, improve and maintain a healthy family. In efforts to increase the amount of produce you bring home to baby, we not only accept your WIC FMNP vouchers at our CCFM Modified Walk Up Market but also DOUBLE them! You can redeem your WIC FMNP coupons with our FMNP certified vendors for fruits and veggies, herbs and edible plants. Then bring your empty FMNP booklet to the orange CCFM tent and receive $20 in market tokens. It’s just that easy!

Hungry for more? Are you a WIC-eligible mom who is currently breastfeeding? Our Market Mommas Club could be the group for you! In partnership with New Orleans Breastfeeding Center and NOLA Baby Café, we are working to support and encourage breastfeeding mommas, especially moms of color. Simply join and attend monthly a support group by our partners and receive $80 in market tokens to shop with at our CCFM Modified Walk Up! Connect with our partners or email allegro@marketumbrella.org for more details.

Fresh beans!

Fresh beans and peas are one of life’s simple seasonal pleasures. They require no overnight soaking or additional prep work because they’re already ridiculously tender, but you will want to cook them before eating. Just throw them into a boiling pot, and they become a whole new bean experience: rich, creamy, hearty. Or add them to a succotash or simple sauté. Throughout the summer we’ll see lima beans and pink eyed peas popping up - pick up any of these varieties and more from the Indian Springs Farmers Association at the Tuesday Walk Up Market.

Vendor of the Week:

Pete & Clara’s Seafood

Around here nothing says local seafood knowledge more than a pair of white boots. Pete & Clara’s Seafood is no exception, they are the rule! This long-time anchor of our markets captures the essence of what Crescent City Farmers Market strives for. Clad in their white boots, this family brigade knows the local waters they fish just as well as the community they feed. If you’re a regular, Chris already knows what you want before you even ask and Pete has guided you through cleaning your first soft shell crab. Right now they’ve got their hooks in lake shrimp, wild catfish, soft-shell crab, crabmeat, drum and more. Not a regular yet? You can catch Pete and Clara’s Seafood at our Sunday Parkway Drive Thru or Tuesday Modified Walk Up Market.

Recipe of the Week:

Soupe de pêches blanches (white peach ‘soup’)

Simple and refreshing, this white peach soup makes for a pretty desert or perfect treat on a summer afternoon. In honor of Bastille Day approaching on the 14th, this recipe celebrates the rich tradition of French cuisine while utilizing local seasonal ingredients. Market Manager Cristina Berthelot swears by this recipe to stay cool and laissez les bons temps rouler!

What’s your favorite dish to make after visiting the Crescent City Farmers Market? Share your recipes with us on Instagram or Facebook or even Twitter and it might be featured in our weekly newsletter!