Recent Posts
Fun Facts About the Food We Eat
- Lettuce is a member of the sunflower family
- In the US, lettuce is the second most popular fresh vegetable.
- Apples are a member of the rose family.
- The name asparagus comes from the Greek language and means “sprout” or “shoot”
- Asparagus is a member of the Lily family and is related to onions, leeks, and garlic.
- Pumpkins were once recommended for removing freckles and curing snake bites!
- Americans are eating 900% more broccoli than we did 20 years ago.
- A hive of bees flies over 55,000 miles to bring you one pound of honey. A honey bee can fly 15 miles per hour.
- Honey bees must visit 2 million flowers to make one pound of honey.
- Each honey bee makes 1/12th teaspoon of honey in its lifetime.
- It takes a combine 9 seconds to harvest enough wheat to make 70 loaves of bread
- One bushel of corn will sweeten more than 400 cans of pop
- There are about 600 kernels on each ear of corn.
- Farmers grow corn on every continent except Antarctica.
- Each American consumes, on average, 53 pounds of bread per year.
- A family of four could live for 10 years off the bread produced by one acre of wheat.
- Soy crayons have been created to replace toxic petroleum-wax crayons and are easier to use, brighter in color, and less expensive to product.
- One acre of soybeans can produce 82,368 crayons.
SHOPPING TIPS
IT PAYS TO GET UP EARLY – Get to the Market when it opens
to find the best selection and the freshest produce.
BRING YOUR OWN BAG – Bring your own canvas shopping bag or
basket from home.
TRY SOMETHING NEW – Buy something you haven’t tried before.
The Farmers’ Market is the perfect place to learn about new foods.
Vendors will be happy to advise you on how to select and prepare it.
BRING A COOLER – Put a cooler in your car to keep food items
cool when you buy at the market. They’ll stay fresh while you visit
the unique shops and restaurants on the Woodstock Square.
ASK QUESTIONS – Make sure to ask questions of the vendors
when you see unfamiliar produce. Vendors and farmers love to share
their knowledge and can even give you recipes and cooking tips.
DRESS COMFORTABLY – Wear walking shoes and dress
appropriately for the weather.
MARKET GLOSSARY
Organic: Organic farming relies on developing biological diversity in the field to disrupt habitat for pest organisms, and to maintain and replenish the soil. Organic farmers are not allowed to use synthetic pesticides or fertilizers.
Certified Organic: The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for managing the National Organic Program, which was implemented in October 2002. Organic farming avoids the use of most artificial inputs, like synthetic pesticides and fertilizers and bans the use of animal by-products, antibiotics and sewage sludge among other practices. Any food product (except fish) using the word organic must be certified as such by an official USDA accredited certifier.
Hormone-Free: There is no government or official definition for this term except on meat and poultry products as defined by the US Department of Agriculture. Use of the term “hormone free” is considered “unapprovable” by USDA on any meat products. Meat and poultry products carrying the “no hormones administered” claim imply that the animal must not have received any added hormones during the course of its lifetime.
Free-range: Free range (or free roaming) implies that a meat or poultry product comes from an animal that was raised in the open air or was free to roam. Its use on beef is unregulated, and there is no standard definition of this term. The term “free range” is only regulated by the USDA for use on meat poultry products. USDA requires that birds have been given access to the outdoors but for an undetermined period each day. “Free range” claims on eggs are not regulated. To learn more about what is meant by this term, customers should ask the farmer about their specific practices. Free range (or free roaming) is a general claim that implies that a meat or poultry product, including eggs, comes from an animal that was raised in the open air or was free to roam.
Heirloom: Heirloom varieties, also called farmers’ varieties, traditional varieties or landraces, have been selected and developed by farmers through years of cultivation and seed saving for the next season. Farmers hand them down through generations. These varieties are often specifically suited to a certain climate and soil type, and have been selected for flavor, pest resistance, productivity, and even beauty. Heirlooms are typically very genetically diverse and variable.
Transitional: Farmers need to practice organic methods for three years on a given piece of land before the products grown there can be certified organic. “Transitional” means that the farmland is in the midst of that transition period towards organic certification.
Organic: Organic farming relies on developing biological diversity in the field to disrupt habitat for pest organisms, and to maintain and replenish the soil. Organic farmers are not allowed to use synthetic pesticides or fertilizers.
Certified Organic: The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for managing the National Organic Program, which was implemented in October 2002. Organic farming avoids the use of most artificial inputs, like synthetic pesticides and fertilizers and bans the use of animal by-products, antibiotics and sewage sludge among other practices. Any food product (except fish) using the word organic must be certified as such by an official USDA accredited certifier.
Hormone-Free: There is no government or official definition for this term except on meat and poultry products as defined by the US Department of Agriculture. Use of the term “hormone free” is considered “unapprovable” by USDA on any meat products. Meat and poultry products carrying the “no hormones administered” claim imply that the animal must not have received any added hormones during the course of its lifetime.
Free-range: Free range (or free roaming) implies that a meat or poultry product comes from an animal that was raised in the open air or was free to roam. Its use on beef is unregulated, and there is no standard definition of this term. The term “free range” is only regulated by the USDA for use on meat poultry products. USDA requires that birds have been given access to the outdoors but for an undetermined period each day. “Free range” claims on eggs are not regulated. To learn more about what is meant by this term, customers should ask the farmer about their specific practices. Free range (or free roaming) is a general claim that implies that a meat or poultry product, including eggs, comes from an animal that was raised in the open air or was free to roam.
Heirloom: Heirloom varieties, also called farmers’ varieties, traditional varieties or landraces, have been selected and developed by farmers through years of cultivation and seed saving for the next season. Farmers hand them down through generations. These varieties are often specifically suited to a certain climate and soil type, and have been selected for flavor, pest resistance, productivity, and even beauty. Heirlooms are typically very genetically diverse and variable.
Transitional: Farmers need to practice organic methods for three years on a given piece of land before the products grown there can be certified organic. “Transitional” means that the farmland is in the midst of that transition period towards organic certification.
