Dirt Day and Composting at the Market!

This Saturday, in celebration of Dirt Day, the market will kick off its composting program. We have partnered with Hennepin County Master Composters, Welna Ace Hardware and Giving Tree Gardens to decrease our waste production at the market and take another step towards our goal of sustainability.

To make our composting program successful, we need the help of our market customers! Before you throw something away, stop and think: “Am I putting this in the right bin? Is this paper or food scraps? Is this compostable or recyclable?” Making informed decisions about what we do with our waste will help us reduce the amount we produce and contribute to a healthier, more sustainable community and environment.

In addition to launching our composting program, we will have Master Gardeners and Composters on hand to answer any of your gardening and composting questions. The Women’s Environmental Institute will also be at the market providing information on vermiculture and vermicomposting.

Thank You to our Composting Partners:

What’s Available?

This Saturday find:
~Asparagus, radishes, lettuce, spinach, scallions, kale, rhubarb, herbs, grass-fed beef, pasture raised pork and chicken, lamb, eggs, cheese, yogurt, butter, honey, jams and jellies, pickled veggies, maple syrup, artisan breads, granola, bedding plants and seedlings
~Coffee, tea, scones, croissants, cookies, fruit tarts, breakfast sandwiches, omelets, burgers, arepas, tamales, Thai dishes, kettle corn, and popsicles
~Jewelry, pottery and ceramics, hand sewn clothing, handmade soap, cutting boards, and photography

This Tuesday find:
~Asparagus, radishes, lettuce, spinach, scallions, rhubarb, pea shoots, salad turnips, arugula, kale, yukina savoy, herbs, pasture raised pork and artisan breads
~Kabobs, Thai dishes, iced tea, popsicles, scones, croissants, cookies and fruit tarts
~Handmade soap and cutting boards

This week at the market: 

 Saturday, June 15

Community Tables:

Master Gardeners

Master Composters

Minnesota Transitions Charter School

Cooperatives Energy Futures

Women’s Environmental institute

Thank’s to Saturday’s Market Sponsor:

It’s a busy June at the market!

As June continues, so do the many activities taking place at the market. This Saturday will include an activity with Martha Zemur, as well as the Open Eye Driveway tour at the top of every hour, live music, arts, great food and more!  Don’t forget to mark your calendars for next week’s Dine Out for the Market night atGhandi Mahal on June 12th from 5pm – 8pm when 10% of every meal will go towards supporting the market. See what else to expect this June the Upcoming Market Events schedule below.

What’s Available? 

This Saturday find:

~Asparagus, lettuce, spinach, scallions, rhubarb, grass-fed beef, pasture raised pork and chicken, lamb, eggs, cheese, yogurt, butter, jams and jellies, pickled veggies, maple syrup, artisan breads, granola, bedding plants and seedlings

~Coffee, tea, scones, croissants, cookies, fruit tarts, breakfast sandwiches, omelets, burgers, arepas, tamales, tacos. Thai food, kettle corn, and popsicles

~Furniture, jewelry, hand sewn clothing, pottery, handmade soap, toys, handmade cutting boards, and photography

Donate Blood at the Market!

Memorial Blood Centers will be returning to the market on Saturday, June 1st from 8:30 am – 12:30 pm to accept blood donations. All blood types are needed, especially Type O.  

Sign up for an appointment and enter Sponsor Code: 3991. The first 25 presenting donors will receive a FREE t-shirt and all donors will be entered into a drawing to win a pair of premium Minnesota Twins tickets.

Once you’ve donated blood, be sure to replenish yourself with some delicious food from our many vendors, pick up some fresh produce, enjoy live music, story time and more! If you can’t get everything you need on Saturday, don’t worry. June 4th marks the first Tuesday market of the Season!

What’s Available? 

This Saturday find:

~Asparagus, lettuce, spinach, scallions, rhubarb, grass-fed beef, pasture raised pork and chicken, lamb, eggs, cheese, yogurt, butter, jams and jellies, pickled veggies, maple syrup, artisan breads, granola, bedding plants and seedlings

~Coffee, tea, scones, croissants, cookies, fruit tarts, breakfast sandwiches, omelets, burgers, pork chops, arepas, tamales, tacos and popsicles

~Handmade bird houses, furniture, jewelry, hand sewn clothing, handmade soap, cutting boards, tie dye t-shirts and photography

Early Morning Yoga at the Market

This Saturday, the Midtown Farmers Market will be hosting its first ever Yoga At the Market! Guest yoga instructor Ben Lee will be leading the 8am yoga class in the grassy area in front of the school building. Find your balance in the open-air market as you watch the market open and early-bird customers trickle in. After your yoga session, you can step right into the market to enjoy breakfast, live music, local food and more!

What’s Available? 

This Saturday find:

~Asparagus, lettuce, spinach, grass-fed beef, pasture raised pork and chicken, lamb, eggs, jams and jellies, pickled veggies, maple syrup, artisan bread, granola, cheese, bedding plants and seedlings

~Coffee, scones, croissants, cookies, breakfast sandwiches, fruit tarts,

~Handmade bird houses, furniture, jewelry, hand sewn clothing, pottery, glassware and photography

Midtown Flavors Cooking Demos Return to the Market!

This Saturday marks the first Midtown Flavors Cooking demonstration of the season, led by our wonderful volunteer Lisa McDonald. On the third Saturday of every month, she will be preparing delicious, but simple dishes featuring items from our very own market vendors. Find the Midtown Flavors tent adjacent to the market tent to sample this week’s recipe and pick up your own copy of the recipe card. Once you’ve had a sample, don’t forget to grab a bit to eat from our prepared food vendors, check out the products of our art vendors, enjoy some live music and pick up all of the fresh, local food on your market shopping list!

What’s Available?

This Saturday find:

This Week at the Market:

Saturday, May 18th

Midtown Flavors Cooking Demonstration with Lisa McDonald

Community Tables:

Urban Arts Academy

Hiawatha Academy

Hennepin County

Market Musicians:

9:00-11:00am Mark Grim

11:00am-1:00pm Dumpy Jug Bumpers

This week’s Sponsor:

Donate Blood on June 1st!

Memorial Blood Centers will be returning to the market on Saturday, June 1st from 8:30 am – 12:30 pm to accept blood donors. All blood types are needed, especially Type O. 

Sign up for an appointment and enter Sponsor Code: 3991. The first 25 presenting donors will receive a FREE t-shirt and all donors will be entered into a drawing to win a pair of premium Minnesota Twins tickets.

Midtown Flavors Recipe of the Week

Baked Ranchero Eggs with Blistered Jack Cheese and Lime Crema

This recipe works well halved in a 9 inch skillet or quartered and baked in a 1 qt gratin dish. You can use a cast iron skillet, but tomato based dishes may wear away the seasoning. You can prepare the sauce in advance and reheat it when needed. The garnishes can be done shortly before, so the eggs can be added at the last minute.

Ingredients

Ranchero Sauce

-1 jalapeno
-3 cups whole tomatoes (28 oz can) preferably fire-roasted
-1 medium white onion, roughly chopped
-1 garlic clove crushed and peeled
-salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
-1 – 15 ounce can of black beans drained (optional)
-12 large eggs
-1 and 1/4 cups coarsely shredded jack cheese

Crema

-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (one lime)
-1 cup crema Mexinana or sour cream

-1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
-Crisp tortilla strips

Preparation

Toss jalapeno, tomatoes, onion, garlic and several pinches of salt and pepper into the blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a 12 inch ovenproof skillet, add black beans and bring to a simmer. Cook for ten minutes until the sauce has reduced slightly.

In a separate bowl, mix together lime juice, crema and pinch of salt.

Once the sauce has thickened slightly, remove the pan from the heat, and break the eggs across the surface of the pan, distributing them as evenly as possible. Return to heat, cover the pan and simmer the eggs gently in the sauce for about 10-12 minutes until the whites are nearly but not completely opaque. Sprinkle the surface of egg-tomato mixture with cheese and broil until cheese is bubbly and a bit blistered-just a few minutes.

Serve with dollops of lime crema, broken up tortilla strips and chopped cilantro. Serve immediately.

Celebrate Spring at the Market!

As the weather warms and the sun comes out to stay, many of us are beginning to envision our lush gardens and hoping to begin planting this month! If you are one of these people, this Saturday is the perfect time to come to the market to pick up bedding plants, including greens, herbs, flowers and more! If your not much a gardener, join us for breakfast or lunch, bring your kids to Martha’s Second Saturday Activity, and stay for live, local music!

Dine Out for the Market: Second Wednesday of the Month

This week at the market: 

Market Bucks Return

As a way to make it easier to purchase fresh, local meat and produce, we are pleased to be able to offer a 4th year of Market Bucks.

Market opens this Saturday!

After a long, cold and snowy winter, May has finally arrived! It is time to come out of hibernation and enjoy the sunshine, summer, and best of all…. the market. Join us this Saturday, May 4th, from 8am – 1pm for the first market of the season. This week at the market, you can enjoy live local music, catching up with neighbors, new and returning vendors selling prepared foods, arts and more! Keep reading for more information on what you can find at the market this week!

What’s Available? 

This Saturday find:

Market welcomes Miguel Goebel as new manager

The Midtown Farmers Market and the Corcoran Neighborhood Organization are pleased to welcome Miguel Goebel as the new manager of the Midtown Farmers Market, which will begin its eleventh season of bringing fresh, local flavor to the community on Saturday, May 4.

“I am eager to collaborate with community members, local farmers and small businesses to continue the growth of the Midtown Farmers Market as an incredible asset to the communities of South Minneapolis and the Twin Cities,” said Miguel.

Miguel is a Longfellow neighborhood resident with a history and passion for working to expand community access to healthy and affordable foods. He is a graduate from the University of Minnesota, where he studied organic agriculture and Spanish. His experience, spanning local and international food systems, ranges from working with indigenous farmers in organic production to assisting small corner store owners in offering healthy, affordable produce. Prior to his new role as manager at the Midtown Farmers Market, Miguel was a grocery buyer at the Seward Coop and brings a wealth of skills and knowledge in the areas of organic production methods, farmers markets, customer service, purchasing, sales, and community outreach. When he is not working, Miguel enjoys gardening, the outdoors, living an active lifestyle and spending time with his family.

“We are very fortunate to have such a beautiful and unique gathering space in South Minneapolis, where people can come together to build relationships through the exchange of food and culture,” said Miguel. “I feel fortunate to be a part of this amazing farmers market.”

“We are very excited to welcome Miguel to the Midtown Farmers Market,” said Migdalia Loyola, a former market advisory committee member who served on the hiring committee. “He brings to the job multiple skills that will help the market continue to live to its mission of offering healthy, fresh foods for all. His prior experience in food retail and in local food justice nonprofits is the ideal combination for someone in this role.”

“We looked for a candidate who could manage and grow an outstanding farmers market,” said Eric Gustafson, CNO Executive Director. “We also need a visionary leader to advance our leadership role in food justice, building communities around food systems, and more. Miguel has it all. We are thrilled to welcome him.”

Midtown opens for the season on Saturday, May 4 at 8:00 a.m. This month expect to find beautiful bedding plants and seed starters, your favorite prepared foods and preserves, and neighbors you’ve been looking forward to reconnecting with all winter! The Midtown Farmers Market operates Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. during the month of May. Learn more about each week’s vendors and special events at www.midtownfarmersmarket.org.

Market bids farewell to Amy Behrens

The Midtown Farmers Market thanks Amy Behrens for her three and a half years as Market Manager. Amy will be with us until May 4th helping to train Miguel.  She will begin a graduate program in speech language pathology at the University of Iowa this fall after spending the summer working at Tuscarora Outfitters in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

“My years with the market have been rich and rewarding and I feel very fortunate to have had the chance to work with, learn from, and become a part of the market’s many communities,” says Amy. “I hope to say hello and goodbye to many of you on Opening Day and will come back to visit often!”

Give to the Market!

Since March, you have contributed $1700 to the market–thank you! 

Our goal is to reach $5000 before our 11th season opens on May 4, and we still have work to do. Your financial contribution supports our vision of a community-based food system that assures equitable access to healthy food. It also funds the fabulous programs that position us for continued success in a competitive and growing farmers market environment.

In 2013, we will continue working to make our vision a reality through new SNAP-EBT outreach efforts and by building on the vibrant mix of vendors, community organizations, activities and customers that makes up the market. We will promote healthy lifestyles by encouraging biking and walking to the market and promote our vendors through marketing trainings and monthly cooking demonstrations featuring individual vendors’ products.

Your contribution can support this work in many ways:

·         $35 promotes Midtown vendors through monthly market-sourced cooking demonstrations.

·         $50 provides equitable access to healthy food by funding a week’s SNAP-EBT processing fees.

·         $150 helps us communicate clearly with vendors by hiring an interpreter for our annual meeting.

·         $500 funds a new canopy tent and enables us to include more community participants ranging from local bike shops to composting experts on each market day.

Donate today and help us continue to provide healthy, accessible food and a neighborhood gathering place for our community.Whether you have been part of this community since the market started or just discovered us, we are grateful for your investment and thank you in advance for your contribution!

Dine Out for the Market: April 10th!

Thank you Gandhi Mahal for your support of the Market!

 Support your Midtown Farmers Market November 15th! 

With your support, the market has set a record this year dispersing $18,500 in EBT  (food stamps), allowing low-income families access to healthy, local produce.

The market serves more than 55,000 customers a year, and here’s is what some of them say about why they love the market:

” Midtown Farmers Market is energizing and impacting local and organic food streams and sustainability way beyond the neighborhood it serves.”

“Great atmosphere, music, great farmers/growers, close by, friendly, good prices, my community.”

“oh so local! Captures the spirit and vibe of South Central Minneapolis”

“Makes you feel proud to live in the Twin Cities!”

“Lots of great fresh food with a strong sense of community”

Show your love for the market tomorrow on Give to the Max Day. Support local farmers, healthy communities and sustainable agriculture by donating to the Midtown Farmers Market!