Happy Birthday, Market Umbrella! | August 15, 2022

Fresh & Local:

Happy Birthday, Market Umbrella!

National Farmers Market Week just ended, but we’ve already got another reason to celebrate: it’s Market Umbrella’s birthday month! The Crescent City Farmers Market began in 1995 as a once-a-week occasion and has blossomed into three weekly rain-or-shine markets hosting more than 70 farmers, fishers, ranchers, florists, beekeepers, and food businesses, who each grow or make their own products.

We’re proud of how much we’ve grown over the years while staying true to our purpose to promote public markets as a tool for change. One of Market Umbrella’s most impactful food access programs, Market Match, makes healthy food more affordable for families in need by providing a dollar-for-dollar match on fruit and vegetable purchases made with SNAP. Earlier this year, the Louisiana Legislature allocated $889,000 in the state budget to support Greaux the Good, a new program that will provide Louisiana farmers markets with funding to create or expand a Market Match SNAP program in their communities. Market Umbrella has been appointed to administer the funds to eligible farmers markets across the state! We’re thrilled to support the food system in such a major way.

Want to give us a birthday gift? Market Umbrella depends on contributions from generous donors like you to help keep our markets open and to increase healthy food access in our community. Make an investment in our local food system by taking a minute to visit our website or text CCFM to 44-321 to make a donation today!

Picks of the Week:

National Farmers Market Week was a blast!

We want to give a big THANK YOU to everyone who made this year’s National Farmers Market Week celebration a success! Last week, the CCFM community collectively ate over ten watermelons, helped us raise over $600 through our Uptown market Kitchenware Sale, and showered two cute little baby goats with lots of love and cuddles! We also blended smoothies by hand (or should we say, by leg?) on the Ochsner EatFit Smoothie Bike, and Chef Kim of KD’s NOLA Treats treated us to a delicious peach cobbler cooking demonstration. The kids–the human ones, not the goats–had a ton of fun, too, at our Marketeers Meetup on Sunday and the hula hoop class at our Thursday market! We had a great time last week, and it absolutely would not have been possible without our amazing vendors, shoppers, community partners, and supporters.

Catch Crescent City Family Services
In-Market!

Here before and now they’re back again! We warmly re-welcome Crescent City Family Services (CCFS) in-market as a programmatic tabling partner! CCFS is a community-based non-profit located on the Westbank of New Orleans dedicated to providing nutrition and health care services to families of the city and its surrounding parishes. We know—the Westbank is far! Save yourself a drive and find out more about their organization and services at the market. Crescent City Family Services will be in-market on Tuesday, August 23rd and Tuesday, August 30th. Stop by and find out how CCFS can help you and your family!

Work With Us!

Work with us to build a stronger food system and a healthier community! We are looking to fill the following positions: Business and Finance Manager to support our financial operations, Programs Manager to help facilitate our food access and nutrition education programs, Outreach Manager to build and strengthen community connections, and Greaux the Good Manager to assist with our new Greaux the Good statewide SNAP match program. Click here to learn more and to apply!

We’re peanuts for green peanuts!

Green peanuts are back in season, and a welcome snack and savory ingredient to add variety to our summer diet. A green peanut is fresh and raw so it’s been dug and cleaned but not roasted so shells still have quite a bit of moisture content. Our staff loves a boiled peanut snack, and they also make excellent (if somewhat laborious) ingredients for stews - common recipes include those that feature pumpkin or winter squash, also in season. They are too wet to be roasted, so you’d need to let them dry out first to do that. Peanuts, like any legume, are a great source of plant-based protein, rich in fiber, healthy fats and many vitamins and minerals. You’ll find fresh ones at the Indian Springs Farmers Association, and conveniently pre-boiled ones at T&R Dairy at every CCFM.

Vendor of the Week:

T&R Dairy Farm

Meet Mary Regan, the dairy farmer behind T&R Dairy! Hailing from Liberty, Mississippi, Mary is a fourth-generation dairy farmer, producing aged cheese, yogurt, whole milk, and eggs, along with beef yielded from their grass fed cattle. Now that we’ve entered into August and green peanuts are in season, you can find boiled peanuts at T&R Dairy’s table as well. Both a delicious and healthy snack, boiled peanuts have four times the antioxidants of raw or roasted peanuts. If you haven’t tried this special Southern snack already, visit T&R Dairy’s table at any of our markets and grab yourself a bag!

Recipe of the Week:

Boiled Peanuts

Traditional Southern hot boiled peanuts. Raw peanuts boiled in salt water for a salty, shell-shucking-worthy snack.

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