The Market is Open!

Good Sunday, Foodies,

And a happy Mother’s Day to all of the wonderful mamas in our lives. Personally, I owe just about everything to my mom, and though I could never thank her enough, a brunch full of local food at The Root is not a bad place to start. Thanks so much to all of our mothers for instilling a love of good food and community in supporting small, diversified farms like the ones in our market. Speaking of good food, in the market this week…

• I’m so excited that my pork: farmer’s choice bundle from Farm Girl Meats arrived this week. This is an incredible deal for a variety of cuts from their animal welfare approved, woodland raised hogs, and thanks to Farm Girl, we’ll be having pork for weeks to come!

• We’re so lucky to have artisan breads from Bryant-based bakery Arkansas Fresh. Their Arkansas sourdough, birdseed multigrain, ciabatta, and honey flax seed sourdough are all absolutely gourmet, and make sure to check out the extras list at Food Club pick-up to seek out some of their even more creative loaves.

• Enjoy some Skyphos red lettuce from the ALFN-sponsored Victory Garden Project. This beautiful dark red butterhead has a velvety texture and sweet taste. Expect to see many more great things in the near future from the Victory Garden, as they just received $500 from the ALFN Community Fund to complete their ongoing hoophouse project!

• Loads of wonderful beet greens, be they ruby red from Barnhill Orchards or chioggia and bull’s blood from Crimmins Family Farm. Whether eaten raw in a salad or sauteed with garlic and oil, there’s no wrong way to enjoy these wonderful greens.

• Nabak kimchi from Garden Works. Kimchi is a tasty, fermented condiment similar to sauerkraut loaded with healthy, alive bacteria that’s good for your gut, and I’m super excited to try Garden Works’ take on it.

• Order some custom embroidery from Bluebird Hill Berry Farm. Those talented folks can place names, pictures, or symbols of your choice on just about anything!

Thanks to the Arkansas Times for their coverage of our Green Groceries fresh, local food pantry program. Through a partnership with our wonderful hosts at Christ Episcopal Church, Green Groceries gets low-income families healthy, fresh food from all local growers, providing much-needed nutrition and support to small farmers. You can support many of these same families and farmers by adding donation greens to your cart in the market. Thanks to Christ Episcopal and to our local farmers for supporting this really wonderful and unique program.

Enjoy the day, especially you mothers out there!

- Alex Handfinger