The Market is Open with Plenty of Gifts!

Good Morning Market,

Is it officially the most wonderful time of the year yet? Cause it sure is starting to feel like it. The lights in my neighborhood are popping up night after night, some radio stations are now only playing holiday music, and everyone’s begun the mad scramble for gifts. Speaking of gifts, the market’s got plenty of ’em! Besides the incredible quality of our products, purchasing local really is the gift that keeps on giving. When you spend your money with a small Arkansas family business, it allows them to invest that money back into making even more wonderful products that we then get to enjoy! Products like…

• Cookies in a jar from Green Acres Atkins. These cute quart mason jar kits come complete with all of the dry ingredients for one of nine varieties of cookies…just add liquid ingredients and bake!

• Glazed pecan meats from Bluebird Hill Berry Farm. Pecan meats are coated with egg whites and a sugar cinnamon mix then baked to produce a wonderful snack. A delicious gift…if you can handle giving them away!

• Check out the gift baskets and sets section for some beautiful gift sets from Tammy Sue’s Critters. Order any combination of her wonderful goat’s milk soaps, lotions, body butters, lip balms, and hair bars….just let her know in your order comment which scents you’d like.

• Or snag some stocking stuffer individual soaps from Homayd Natural Care Products. They’ve got everything from all-natural hand sanitizing spray to butter bars.

• My wish list is full of canned and pickled products like apple thyme sauce, spicy garden pepper marmalade, and Caribbean Paw Paw Sauce. Just saying’…

Remember filling out a customer survey in September as part of ALFN’s strategic planning? Welp, I’ll be sharing the results of our first phase of planning this Wednesday, December 10th from 1-1:45pm at the Clinton School of Public Service Sturgis Hall Classroom I. Just e-mail tljohnson@clintonschool.uasys.edu if you plan on attending. If you can’t make it but are still interested in the results, e-mail me at arlocalfoodnetwork@gmail.com to receive a copy.

Thanks so much and happy shopping!

- 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!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I do so love the transition from autumn to winter. The constant crisp in the air. The extra-thick comforter on the bed. The ever-present smell of cinnamon. There’s really only one thing about this time of year that I can’t stand, and that’s shopping. The noise. The traffic. The crowds. Spending hours trudging store to store only to come home with bags full of the same things that everyone else bought.

Lucky for me, the fantastic vendors on The Market offer a myriad of gift-worthy goods, and you can check out an awesome assortment of them this Saturday! We’ll have an entire table devoted to extras that’ll make perfect presents for everyone on your list. Come by early for the best selection, and bring an extra bag or two because you’ll definitely want one of everything.

-Rebecca Wild
Program Manager

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!

The Market is Open!

Good Beautiful Day,

Have you yet re-emerged from your Thanksgiving-induced food coma? Thankfully, it’s far too beautiful outside to be sitting around on the couch (or to already be hearing Christmas music, for that matter). As hard as it may be to think about ever eating another bite, I promise that you will get hungry again, and when you do, the market is here for all of the healthy, delicious local products to get you feeling good.

• There’s no better way to green up your diet than with a greens medley box from Barnhill Orchards. Snag this box of delicious green onions as well as turnip, mustard, and collard greens under specials.

• How about some grassfed buffalo from Ratchford Farms? Use it as a lean replacement in any beef dish, which shouldn’t be too hard with Ratchford’s selection of brisket, ground, strip steaks, sirloin steaks, snack sticks, and summer sausage.

• There’s also plenty of protein-packed legumes from Kornegay Berry Farm. Their butter beans, lady cream peas, and purple hull peas would all do well with a side of cornbread.

• Organic kale from Green Acres Atkins. Kale is a great addition to hearty up your favorite soup or the perfect start to a delicious salad.

• There’s so much fruit that I won’t even list it all, but you can still enjoy all of the sweetness and nutrition of the Arkansas summer with a delicious breakfast smoothie!

When it comes to sourcing locally, there’s no restaurant that does it better than The Root. They’re representing Little Rock by participating in HLN’s Growing America documentary series where teams of MBA students travel across the country to help small businesses. They could really use your vote as the most inspirational business, so please take a minute to do so here.

Enjoy this weather, cause it’s definitely not gonna last!

- 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!

Market Reminder!

I know. I know. As far as food-related things go, it’s pretty hard to see past Thursday right now, and with good reason. Your fridge is packed. Your freezer is packed. It seems like enough food to last a month or more, but I’m here to tell you that it’ll be gone before you know it. There’ll be dinner guests and doggy bags, seconds, thirds, and late night snacks.

Or maybe you really do have a month’s worth Thanksgiving vittles, in which case, now is the time to think about minimizing monotony by maximizing your leftovers. Fresh broccoli is a great addition to any turkey casserole, and kale gives additional nutritional punch to vegetable soup. For those of you dealing with a whole lotta ham, don’t overlook the wintery deliciousness of purple hull and lady cream peas. On the other hand, sometimes the beauty of leftovers is not having to cook anything at all. In that case, consider elevating your day-after sandwiches with some garlic and chive or altus port farmer’s cheese.

Whatever you do with your leftovers, you can’t go wrong unless you don’t get your order in before The Market closes.

-Rebecca Wild
Program Manager

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!

The Market is Open, Thanks to You!

Friends,

The market is open for orders and it’s all thanks to you! This time of year always has me reflect on all that I’m grateful for. When I look back on the growth of Food Club over the past seven years, I’m amazed at the countless number of folks that have contributed to our success. While the following thanks certainly aren’t exhaustive, there’s (more than) a few I needed to call out for their constant support:

• Thank you to our founders Nao Ueda and Katy Elliot for seeing a need and figuring out how to fill it. You laid the solid foundation for an organization that’s been able to grow exponentially thanks to your hard work and vision.

• Thank you to our ever-growing number of customers, who put your money where your mouths (and stomachs) are week after week. You support a stronger local economy and more sustainable future by ensuring the viability of small Arkansas farms, and we always appreciate your love of all things local and generosity whenever we reach out for help.

• Thank you to our incredible vendors for producing the highest quality food and products using ethical and sustainable practices. You work your tails off not for financial incentive nor personal gain, but because you have dedicated your lives to being the change you wish to see in the world.

• Thank you so much to our wonderful volunteers for donating so much of your time and energy to not only operating Food Club, but doing so with a smile. You are our greatest asset and Food Club could not function without your dedication.

• Thank you to our Board of Directors for volunteering countless time and energy to steering this organization towards a sustainable future, and especially to our exiting Executive Committee: Board Chair Dwayne McFarlan, Treasurer Juli Brandenberger, and Secretary Carrie Mensik. These three have given so much of themselves to see this organization through multiple transitions and we can not thank them enough for their wisdom and dedication.

• Thank you so much to our Food Club Program Manager Rebecca Wild for always going above and beyond to ensure this incredibly complicated program operates smoothly all-year round. I definitely didn’t gain a full appreciation for all of the moving pieces of Food Club until I had to start learning how to reconcile 90 orders a week from over 30 growers, each with their own adjustments, memberships, and unending list of quirks. Rebecca’s thoroughness and support makes my job so much easier, and for that I am eternally thankful. A special shout-out to her husband Steve for being our most dedicated and multi-talented volunteer.

• Thank you to our gracious hosts at Christ Episcopal Church for always practicing what they preach. From giving us an office and the room to operate an indoor farmer’s market to being incredibly flexible with our grower deliveries and equipment needs, I simply can’t imagine how we’d still be around without your generosity. Your ingenuity in supporting small farmers and low-income families through Green Groceries is an inspiration!

• Thank you so much to 2nd Presbyterian Church of Little Rock for their multiple grants that funded the publication of the first two editions of ALFN’s FRESH Local Foods Directory. FRESH is a groundbreaking project that helps connect the often disparate pieces of our blossoming local food movement, and it was only made possible thanks to your support.

• Thank you to all of the advisors and participants in ALFN’s recent strategic plan. This project was only made useful thanks to the contributions of countless individuals, and you have helped ensure a sustainable future for ALFN. Be sure to keep your eyes out for the results of that process within the next few weeks.

• And I would be remiss to not thank my family and friends, who are my rock and inspiration. I am so, so privileged to be able to do this incredibly important work, and I can only do it thanks to your love and support.

A few announcements:

• A great way to thank one of our growers would be to visit Tammy Sue’s Critters’ annual Christmas Open House at their farm on Saturday, November 29th from 10am-2pm. Tammy’s got a beautiful place on the outskirts of North Little Rock at 4 Cheyenne Trail, North Little Rock 72120. So come on out and meet the goats, alpaca, free-range chickens, dogs, cats, and GUARD LLAMA and even do a little holiday shopping while you’re at it!

• Willow Springs Market Garden wanted us to let you know that they’ll be taking a much-needed vacation, but fear not, their delicious vegetables will return in just three weeks’ time.

Hope that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thanks again for the constant support!

Most Sincerely,

- 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!

Last Call for a Great T-Day Haul!

This. Is. It. The very last chance to order all the fantastically tasty local ingredients you need to make The Best Thanksgiving Feast of All Time™. So triple check your menu, and make sure you have absolutely everything you need from The Market. Such as:

chicken for roasting, sweet potatoes to candy, fresh sage for dressing, eggs for deviling, kale for sauteeing, leeks for creaming, radishes for dipping, turnips for gratin, berries for cobbler, and pecans for pie.

With the help all the flavor packed goods The Natural State has to offer, this may finally be the year that your dinner is so stupendously scrumptious, there won’t be a leftover spoonful in sight.

-Rebecca Wild
Program Manager

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!

The Market is Open for A Very Local Thanksgiving!

Howdy there Food Club,

It may be hard to believe, but the market is open and it’s already time for your Thanksgiving orders! While good food’s an essential part of any holiday, rarely do the average folk put so much effort into such a thorough and proper feast. While we don’t carry pasture-raised Turduckens on our market, there’s still plenty of other ways to show thanks to our hard-working small Arkansas farms this holiday.

• Those of you that already put down your deposit on a Falling Sky Farm turkey will certainly be thankful you did, and should have already been contacted by the farm about how to get it (let us know if you haven’t). For those that missed out, we recommend trying Hillcrest Artisan Meats or Butcher & Public for a local pasture-raised bird.

• All the turkey talk I’ve heard is that brining is definitely the way to go. Maison Terre has put their own custom blend of organic fruits and spices into a flavor-infusing turkey brine sure to impress the holiday guests!

• Green bean casserole is just about my favorite dish around, and this cast-iron, panko-covered recipe looks like a must-try. We’ve got plenty of local green beans, and I’ll be subbing our superior shiitake mushrooms for their buttons.

• As far as favorite dishes go, potato gratin comes in a very close second. We’ve got plenty of potatoes, peppers, and somehow even the tomatoes needed for this delicious recipe!

• When it comes to dessert, look no further than pie. Period. But how to possibly choose between local apple, blackberry, blueberry, peach, raspberry, strawberry, pecan, or sweet potato?!??!? Beats me!

Thanks to Kevin Shalin over at Rock City Eats for putting together this helpful guide for where to order just about anything else. Pies, dressing, casseroles, and smoked birds, oh my! Yup, this is definitely, 100% my favorite holiday.

Thanks to all of you for buying local all-year round!

- 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!

Market Reminder!

Christmas decorations are on display, and you know what that means: it’s almost Thanksgiving! Since they’re on a biweekly delivery schedule, this is your last pre-feast week to order from the full variety of delicious cheeses that White River Creamery has to offer. So if your Turkey Day plans include ricotta for the beet green gratin or aleppo pepper chevre to spice up your cheese tray, head to The Market now to place your order.

As should be the case this time of year, we’re finally dipping into the 20’s over the next few nights, and that means the demise of many delicate summer veggies. This is the week to stock up on organic endive, escarole, and green leaf lettuces from Crimmins Family Farm and eat all the salad you can stand to tide you over for the months of soups and stews ahead. But don’t let that get you down, because there’s always exciting new crops (beets!) just around the corner.

-Rebecca Wild
Program Manager

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!

The Market is Open and Tammy Sue Open House!

Howdy Food Club,

Do you know what time it is?!?! It’s time to order some local food and products on the market. Yippee, skippy!

But seriously folks, we’ve got a pretty cool thing going here. When people from bigger, supposedly cooler cities find out that we can order online from over 30 local growers all year-round, they are usually pretty shocked that you can find a market of this quality in a city of this size. So be proud, tell a friend, and order some amazing local products, including…

• Brand new cheeses from the artisans at White River Creamery. The folks that brought you delicious flavors of fetas, fromage blancs, chevres, and even ricotta have hit us with the brand-spanking new garlic and chive fresh farmer’s cheese. It looks and sounds like my version of heaven on earth and I am literally counting down the days until I taste it.

• It’s the return of Armstead Mountain Farm and their magically-colored organic vegetables! Brighten up your day with a beautiful purple bell pepper, pink shunkyo radish, or snack on some color royalty with a scarlet queen turnip. And yes, they do taste even better than they look!

• ‘Tis the season for mulling some hot beverages, and luckily we’ve got Maison Terre doing the hard work of putting your mulling spices together. Order some, mix them in with some warm apple cider, tea, or wine, and cozy on up to actually try and enjoy the cold weather.

• Do you ever sit down with a tub of Geek Eats hummus and only minutes later wonder where the heck it all went? Well, you probably ate it all in a fit of flavor addiction. That’s OK, it happens to the best of us. Luckily, he’s now offering his original, carrot curry, chipotle, and rosemary & black bean hummuses (or is it hummi?) in 2-lb. helpings. So, you know, maybe it’ll make it all the way to Tuesday!

• It’s the most, dry-skinned tiiiime, of the yearrrrr. OK, maybe not the best song, but it’s a real problem that some goat’s milk lotion from Tammy Sue’s Critters could fix right up.

Speaking of Tammy Sue, she and her critters would like to invite you to the annual Christmas Open House at their farm on Saturday, November 29th from 10am-2pm. Tammy’s got a beautiful place on the outskirts of North Little Rock at 4 Cheyenne Trail, North Little Rock 72120. So come on out and meet the goats, alpaca, free-range chickens, dogs, cats, and GUARD LLAMA and even do a little holiday shopping while you’re at it!

Most Sincerely,

- 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!

Weblog Entry

After tasting some truly fantastic chili made by one of our most loyal members, I was inspired to simmer up some of my own. Currently, there’s a big pot of a scarily spicy concoction simmering away on my stove, and on a cold, rainy day like this I’m especially looking forward to some comfort food. Come fall, it seems like there’s chili everywhere you look. At some point it’s on every stove, at every potluck, and in every thermos. And with good reason! In it’s many incarnations, it can be hearty, inexpensive, healthy, spicy, wholesome, or even sweet. The beauty of chili is that no two pots need ever be the same. All you do is start with fantastic ingredients, and see where they take you. Coincidentally, The Market is overflowing with fantastic ingredients, such as:

• Meat. Some say it’s not true chili unless you start with roast. Others relish the convenience of ground beef. Some say you’re skimping on flavor unless you start with sausage. Yet others think as far outside the box as chicken. Whichever you prefer, local and pastured is definitely the way to go.

• Veggies. Even the most carnivorous of chilies requires a little plant life in the form of onions, garlic, and – be they sweet or spicy – peppers. But adventurous chefs knows there’s plenty of other vegetables that would be right at home in a pot of chili, vegetarian or not. Potentially tasty additions like eggplant, winter squash, and corn shouldn’t be overlooked.

• Spices. Let’s face it. Though a proportionally minor ingredient, spices are really the star of any chili. With that in mind, quality and freshness are paramount. So if the paprika in your spice cabinet was there when you moved in, and your chili powder is old enough to drive, consider browsing the Bulk Items section of The Market to update your most precious culinary weaponry, but do it before The Market closes, or come the next rainy day you might find yourself crying into a can of Hormel.

-Rebecca Wild
Program Manager

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!