The Market is Open!

Mornin’, Members!

The market is open and absolutely chock-full of delicious local foods and products. We’ve got over 30 active growers from all across Arkansas producing everything from grassfed meats to handmade hummus. Perhaps the biggest downside to an online farmer’s market like ours is that we don’t often get to see the faces behind the farms growing our food. Fear not, just click on the Our Growers tab at the top of the market site to learn more about the amazing folks that have dedicated their lives to producing the highest quality food using ethical and sustainable practices. Folks such as…

• Farm Girl Natural Foods and her amazing selection of pork from Animal-Welfare Approved, woodland-raised hogs. I absolutely love these local sausages, sliced ham, trotters, and even lard, and highly recommend following her on facebook for adorable piglet pictures and incredible insight into how hogs are raised.

• A big market welcome to Arkansas Abundance and their delicious looking veggies. They’ve transformed the former Andeyo Farm on the edge of Little Rock into a veritable wonderland of garlic, hot and sweet peppers, white and purple eggplant, and the intriguing Thai baby turtle egg cherry tomatoes.

• Over 50 listings from Arkansas Natural Produce alone! This family farm uses their greenhouses to naturally grow greens and herbs all year-round, and are currently offering 3 types of eggplant, 9 kinds of peppers, and just about everything else from bok choy to tomatoes. They’re also hiring, so spread the word if you know anyone wanting to work on a farm and learn from the pros.

Thank you so much to ALL of our growers for working so hard in this heat to provide us with ethically-raised food to eat. And thanks to you, our members, these small farms can thrive and grow.

If you haven’t yet picked up your order from last week, we’ll be in the church kitchen on Tuesday from 4:30-6. Hope you’re enjoying a relaxing Labor Day Weekend full of local foods!

With Local Love,

- Alex Handfinger
Director of Operations

Do you have questions or comments about this, or any, weblog? Thoughts on local food, goods, or events? Reply to this email and let us know what’s on your mind. Your feedback is always greatly appreciated!