Homegrown Alabama

Market update 10/13

homegrownalabama — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:56:53 +0000

Howdy!

Well, seems like the skies should finally be sunny by 3 this afternoon, so come enjoy some sunshine and hang out with us at the farmers market. Our vendors are excited to share the fruits (and veggies) of their labor with you today. This afternoon we’ve got a special musical act for you, all the way from Providence, RI, Joe Fletcher. He has been making his way through Alabama for the last couple of weeks, and Tuscaloosa is his last stop before he heads back north. It’s not a show to miss!

The Tuscaloosa Food Summit is tomorrow at Canterbury Episcopal in the student center from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Y’all should come out. Andrea Mabry, the market manager, will represent Homegrown Alabama during the panel discussion at 1:00. Here’s the schedule:

9:00-10:30 AM Food Banks, Food Security, and Food Deserts
10:30-11:45 AM The Role of Faith Based Initiatives in Sustainable Food
12:00-1:00 PM Lunch and Lunch Topic How can business be part of the solution?

1-2:15 pm Community Gardens, CSA’s, Farmers Markets, and Urban Agriculture
2:30- 4:00 PM – The Complete Cost of Food (a discussion of the economics, social implications, health consequences, and environmental impact of eating from the modern food supply system)
4:00 PM – Closing remarks

One last thing: I hope next week’s Homegrown Fall Festival is marked on your calendars!

See you this afternoon!

Market Update 10/6

homegrownalabama — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:03:19 +0000

Good morning!

I am really looking forward to these last three markets of the season–the weather is just so nice in October–and I hope you are too. It’s time for fall greens and sweet potatoes!! Homegrown Alabama invites you to reply to any of these emails or to stop by our information table at the market to give us any comments or suggestions you’d like to relay about this year’s market and what you’d like to see next year.

Ben Joseph and the Lay-Lows have travelled back to Tuscaloosa from their new home in New Orleans to give us a great show at the market today. Don’t be afraid to do a little dancing while you decide which produce to take home.

For the love of veggies!
Andrea

Market Update 9/29

homegrownalabama — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:42:14 +0000

Well hello, good morning!

It’s Thursday! The market will be ready just in time for a nice afternoon jaunt from campus, or home, or work or wherever you may be from 3 until 6 this afternoon. We will look forward to seeing you there.

This season we have been doing special events on the first Thursday of each month, and that’s going to change a little bit in October. Instead of the first Thursday, we’ll be having a fall festival-themed market on October 20, which is the last day of the market this year. Mark an extra special place on your calendar for this market–we are working with a public relations course to organize an exciting event for y’all. More information to come soon!

I want to let y’all know that we will not have a kids’ craft table again until that Oct. 20th market. It hasn’t disappeared for no good reason: we are a student volunteer-run market, and since school started we just haven’t been able to find anyone to run the table. We had a great time with the kids this summer, and we plan to bring back the kids table next summer.

And finally, an announcement! There’s a very exciting thing happening in Tuscaloosa on October 14: our very own food summit! Net Impact and Canterbury Episcopal Chapel are partnering to present the Tuscaloosa Food Summit on October 14. The summit will include panels and discussions about the complete cost of food, the role of farmers markets and community gardens in Tuscaloosa, food security, and more. Admission is free. To view the flyer and more information, look here.

See you this afternoon,
Andrea

Tuscaloosa Food Summit, Oct, 14

homegrownalabama — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 14:27:39 +0000

Net Impact and Canterbury Episcopal Chapel are partnering to present the Tuscaloosa Food Summit on October 14. The summit will include panels and discussions about the complete cost of food, the role of farmers markets and community gardens in Tuscaloosa, food security, and more. Admission is free. Read the flier below for more information.

Click here to download a PDF version of the flier.

Market update 9/8

homegrownalabama — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:00:28 +0000

Hey y’all!

Good morning on this fine September day! I am happy to report that market day is once again upon us. Today a new addition to the market, BJ Bowling, will bring homemade sourdough bread, tea cakes, and other baked goodies. As some of our produce vendors run out of crops for the season, we like to give y’all a taste of what else Alabama farmers and bakers and entrepreneurs have to offer, and who may be selling at the market next season. Let us know what you think

Don’t forget, we will be accepting Bama Cash for the rest of the season. So be sure to spread the news to your friends, enemies, students, teachers, parents, sons and daughters, people in crowded elevators (it’s awkward anyway, you might as well mention the market!), neighbors, and pets (if they can talk).

For all those interested in joining the Homegrown Alabama student group and organizing the market, we are having an informational meeting next Wednesday, Sept. 14, in Lloyd 216 at 7:30 p.m. We’ll have food and ideas to share–there’s a lot to do this school year! There is a Facebook event (search Homegrown Alabama in people) to help you remember to come.

See ya!

Andrea

Market Update 9/1, Back to School!

homegrownalabama — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:39:46 +0000

Hello folks,

Thanks to everyone who visited us at Get on Board Day yesterday! We added about 200 people to our email list and talked with a bunch of students who are interested in joining the student group. It’s exciting to have that many people learn about the market in one day.

Today, the first Thursday of September, is Homegrown’s Welcome Back Alabama market. In honor of this occasion (and the possibility of the heat subsiding a bit…someday), Homegrown is implementing a truly momentus addition! Beginning today and for the remainder of the season, we will be accepting Bama Cash. Just bring your Action Card to the Homegrown table and we’ll swipe your card, then give you tokens to spend with our vendors. The UA Environmental Council will have an information booth set up, so be sure to stop by and ask about what they’ve got going on.

If you haven’t heard the news, we have officially run out of funds for our EBT matching program. We certainly still accept EBT, but will not offer the matching program again until we receive funds to do so. While it’s a shame the money is gone, it proves that there is a big market for spending EBT dollars at farmers markets. Homegrown Alabama is committed to making local foods more accessible for everyone in our town, and we will do everything we can to reinstate a matching program!

Our friends at Kentuck have notified us that they need help with the cob oven tonight. They’ll be making pizza for Art Night with veggies from Snow’s Bend, and they need help starting at 4:30 this afternoon. If you’d like to get involved, contact Emily Leigh at eleigh@kentuck.org or 205-758-1257.

For the love of veggies!
Andrea

Market update 8/25

homegrownalabama — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 16:14:38 +0000

Howdy!

I hope all of you are enjoying being back in town and/or aren’t getting too scared walking/biking/driving on campus. (I know I am!)

Since school is now back in session, we have been granted access to another parking lot for y’all to use! So in addition to the limited parking we’ll have on the lawn of Canterbury, customers of the Homegrown Alabama Farmers Market may park in the lot and adjoining field between Ninth Street Apartments and Cannon House on Thursdays from 2-6 p.m. The attached image will show you exactly where that is, and there will be signage to point you in the right direction.

Due to class schedules, we won’t offer a kids’ craft today. (But we’ll still have facepainting.) We are on the lookout for someone interested in making crafts with the kids from 3-4:30 on Thursdays, so if you are interested please let us know.

Next week will be the special Back to School edition of the farmers market. Some affiliated student organizations will have tables and information to peruse, so get excited!

See y’all this afternoon!

Andrea

Market Update – 8/18

homegrownalabama — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:00:57 +0000

Howdy,

Today is your last chance to visit the Homegrown Alabama Farmers Market before school starts! So if you’re considering hosting (or attending) a pre-school feast/shindig/soiree, today is the perfect day to stock up on all the right ingredients. New at the market this week will be G&G Farms from near Maplesville. They’ll come stocked with all kinds of fruit.

Just because summer’s almost over, that doesn’t mean the same for the market. This year we’ll run every Thursday until the end of October, October 27 being our last market of the year. Same time and place for the remainder of the season: on the lawn of Canterbury Episcopal from 3-6 p.m. So continue supporting local, family farms by attending the market throughout the fall. You make us smile every time you do!

Today is also craft day! Check out some of the awesome handmade art you can purchase at the market today:

Brittany Melton-

http://www.etsy.com/shop/madewithhope

Norm Miller-

http://normscustomwoodworking.com/

Leah Dodd-
www.leahdodd.etsy.com

Paige Renka-

http://www.peaceandhoopiness.com

For the love of veggies,
Andrea

Herb Festival at this week’s Homegrown Alabama Farmers Market

homegrownalabama — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 20:42:52 +0000

The Homegrown Alabama Farmers Market invites you to its first annual Herb Festival this Thursday, August 4th, from 3-6 pm. An herb demonstration from Josalyn Randall, a local herbologist, will feature basil as the “herb of summer.”

Randall will prepare two salads with basil and other fresh produce from the market, provide take-home recipe sheets, and have information on how herbs affect the body and their various nutrition and health benefits. Randall will also have herbal iced teas, lotions, medicines and other products available for sale.

Emily Conner, of Jean and Carol’s farm, will host a pepper roasting demonstration at this week’s market, and a new poster by Lindsey Reynolds will be on sale at the Homegrown information tent.

In addition to the children’s crafts offered at every weekly market, kids at the Herb Festival will have the opportunity to plant seeds and take them home to grow their own fresh herbs.

The farmers market is held on the Canterbury Episcopal Chapel lawn, 812 5th Avenue in Tuscaloosa on the University of Alabama campus, every Thursday from 3-6 pm, May through October.

Approximately 18 vendors attend the market throughout the season to sell fruits, vegetables, baked goods, beef, cut flowers, coffee and tea, eggs, homemade herbal teas, soap, pralines, canned goods, hot foods, and arts and crafts.

Other highlights of the 2011 market season include the availability of designated parking for all market customers, craft vendors every 3rd Thursday, locally grown, all natural grass feed beef, and the acceptance of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, formerly known as Food Stamps.

A Tuscaloosa One Place representative will be at the market on August 4th to sign-up area residents for SNAP benefits. An Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) machine will continue to be available for market customers to transfer SNAP funds into $1 and $3 tokens with the Homegrown Alabama label.

Homegrown Alabama has matched $10 spent using SNAP with an additional $5 in tokens as part of an ongoing incentive program. SNAP has been so successful at the market in its first year that the funds for the matching program are running out. If you would like to take advantage of the incentive program while it is still available, head to this week’s market.

For more information on the EBT incentive program and how to donate, call (205) 210-9621 or visit www.homegrownalabama.org/support

Vendors at this year’s market include:

Produce Vendors
Snow’s Bend Farm
Burnett Farms
Miss Emily’s Tomatoes
B & S Farms
Druid City Garden Project
Mockingbird Farm
Todd’s Produce
La-Ren’s Farm
AA Farm Creamery
Bubbles Bailey Honey

Beef
Folsom Custom Cuts
Oak Hill Angus

Miscellaneous
Cheeky Maiden Soap Company
Johnson Greenhouses Webb Farm
Margaret’s Pralines
The Urban Herbwife

Prepared Foods
Snap Decisions
Chloe’s Cup

Homegrown Alabama is a non-profit, student-led group at the University of Alabama that seeks to educate students and community members about the value of local produce, as well as foster partnerships between local farmers, the University of Alabama, and the greater Tuscaloosa community.

Farmers Market 7/14

homegrownalabama — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:33:13 +0000

Hey hey,

Today’s going to be a totally awesome, friends and fun farmers market! Join us on the lawn from 3-6 p.m. for veggies and the rest, plus music from the Underhill Family Orchestra. This band is from Mobile and is one of my favorites. (You should even take a quick gander if you’ve got time today at theunderhillfamilyorchestra.com.)

We still have some money stashed away in our EBT matching program, so don’t forget to bring those cards and keep spreading the word.

Y’all are awesome.

For the love of veggies,

Andrea