Get Down on GiveNOLA Day | May 1, 2023

Fresh & Local:

Get Down on GiveNOLA Day

Join us tomorrow at the Tuesday Uptown Market to celebrate GiveNOLA Day! CCFM vendors will have fresh, local food to stock up on. Come see a cooking demo by Chef Dana Honn, owner of Carmo and Café Cour. Enjoy the blissful melodies strummed by indie-folk duo Wild Roots Rising. Plus, Huckleberry Creamery will have their adorable baby goats! While you’re at the market, learn more about our efforts to increase food access and community health – and how you can help.

Your support makes a difference! Thanks to the generosity of donors, we’re excited to bring back Meet Me at the Market! Students in grades pre-K through six participate in a classroom lesson about seasonality, how plants grow, and the health benefits of Louisiana produce. Then, they take a field trip to market and meet the hard working and dedicated people that grow the food we eat! All of our programs – Marketeers Kids Club, Market Mommas Club, vendor technical support, and more – rely on donations to grow, expand, and reach new heights.

On Tuesday, May 2nd, we invite you to make a donation to Market Umbrella on GiveNOLA Day and join us in growing a stronger, healthier and more resilient community. Can’t make it to market? You can donate now by visiting the Market Umbrella GiveNOLA Day page.

Picks of the Week:

Spring at Market

While it’s technically been Spring for a few weeks, it finally looks (and feels) like it at market! The first blueberries of the season can be spotted on Johndales Farms table, the Monicas now have blackberries, and Perilloux Farms has popped back up at Sunday market with a cornucopia of warm-weather crops. Later this month, we’ll be rejoined by Cherry Creek Orchards, kicking off peach season. Soon, we’ll bid farewell to cabbage, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and strawberries. As we progress into summer, we’ll welcome creole tomatoes, okra, eggplant, and melons.

Stock up with your favorite producers at Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday markets for the last of the winter harvest and be the first to know about the arrival of new warm-weather produce by following our Instagram, Facebook, or checking our website to see who is at the market this week.

Have Healthy Snacks on Hand This Festival Season

It's Jazz Fest y’all! With so many tasty dishes at the Fair Grounds, maintaining a balanced diet can be a challenge. Visit CCFM markets to be sure you have healthy snacks on hand for before and after festin’. Bite into brightly-colored blueberries, crunchy cukes, tantalizing tomatoes, and support local farmers! A healthy diet is balanced so enjoy the praline beignets and crawfish pies and dance until you can’t feel your feet. Then, head home to hydrate and nourish with a homemade strawberry lemonade.

Make Your Own Salsa on Cinco de Mayo

This Friday is Cinco de Mayo! One way to celebrate Mexican culture and heritage is to try your hand at some Mexican recipes. Many ingredients in this salsa recipe can be found at market right now – tomatoes, onion, garlic and cilantro! Homemade salsa deserves to be served with homemade chips. To save time, you can always pick up homemade tortilla chips from Isabel’s Tamales and Produce.

Vendor of the Week:

VEGGI Co-Op

Established in 2011, VEGGI Cooperative is a community-member-owned and operated farmer’s co-op based out of New Orleans East. VEGGI Co-op has proudly sold the produce and products of cooperatively-growing farmers in Village de L’Est, a Vietnamese-American community in New Orleans East, at markets throughout the city. As a result of the 2010 BP oil spill, many Vietnamese fisherfolk and shrimpers were left without work. VEGGI–Village de L’Est Green Growers Initiative––Farmers Cooperative grew out of this period of adversity with the mission of empowering growers in the Greater New Orleans area and creating sustainable, high-quality jobs in urban agriculture that enhance people’s quality of life by increasing local food access and knowledge of various green growing techniques, such as aquaponics and greenhouse technologies. One of the guiding philosophies of VEGGI Co-op is “from each according to ability and to each according to need.” Using this approach, they have been creating economic opportunities in urban agriculture for the Vietnamese community in New Orleans East. Most famously known for their freshly-made and locally-processed tofu, VEGGI Co-op also brings a rich array of other amazing products to their table including fresh in-season produce and herbs, chili oil, seed bars, and loofah sponges. There is something for everyone at the VEGGI Co-Op table!

Recipe of the Week:

Crispy Soy Garlic Tofu

Grab yourself some Tofu from VEGGI Co-Op and whip together this simple yet delicious recipe by Christie at Home! This can be made using VEGGI’s raw tofu or skip a few steps and use their fried tofu.

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!