The snowy trek to the Wintertime Farmers’ Market this past Saturday made the experience all the more holiday themed. That and the few extra ingredients, gifts and treats on our holiday shopping list added a mix of generosity and indulgence, both necessary during these tough times. We’re happy that the market can support new farmers like Pete of Moonstone Farm, who still had many leeks and carrots (pictured right) in the ground after his South County CSA ended. Luckily, the ground was warm enough to harvest and the Wintertime Market customers hungry for great veggies. He sold out. Thank you also to everyone who gave to our toy drive for the Pawtucket Community Development Corp and St. Teresa’s in Olneyville. You’ve made for a very happy holiday for dozens of local children.

At Farm Fresh, we are thankful this year for the incredible community that gathers every week in every season around good food. Thank you to the hard-working Rhode Island farmers and producers whose food nourishes us each and every day, and to the Rhode Island eaters, whose commitment make it possible to grow this good food. We are lucky to live in such a place. May your holidays be flavorful and filled with good food and good people!

See you at the market this Saturday 12/27: Bring family and friends from out of town and show off what RI tastes like; stock up for a New Year’s dinner; get potatoes and onions for latkes; and thank your farmers, bakers and cheesemakers for a delicious 2008.

Looking ahead to 2009, here’s a snapshot of what we’re up to so far:

• Sat 1/3 – Farm-to-Chef “Taste Expo” at the Wintertime Farmers’ Market (12/20 and 12/27, too)
• Sat 1/10 – First Market Mobile delivery
• Fri 1/16 – NOFA-RI re-launch with lecture by Elizabeth Henderson, farmer and author
• Fri 1/30 – Vendor applications for Hope High vendors due
• Wed 2/4 – Local Food Forum
• Sat 2/14 – Valentine’s Day at the Wintertime Market
• Fri 4/3 – Vendor applications for all summer farmers’ markets due
• Sat 4/25 – Last day of Wintertime Market
• Sat 5/2 – First day of Hope High “Pre-Season” Market
• Thu 6/4 – Armory Farmers’ Market opens
• Fri 6/5 – Downtown Providence Farmers’ Market opens
• Sat 6/6 – Hope High Farmers’ Market opens
• Thu 6/11 – Armory Market Basket begins
• Fri 6/12 – Downtown Market Basket begins
• Tues 7/7 – Woonsocket Farmers’ Market opens
• Sun 7/12 – Pawtucket Farmers’ Market opens
• Tue 8/4 – Local Food Fest

Please make a gift today. Your year-end donation is tax-deductible and will support Rhode Island family farms and the community-building power of local food in 2009 and for generations to come.

Whether your holiday menu features potato latkes and apple sauce, or squash and ham and perhaps lobster (we are in New England!), you can find it from the 30 RI farmers and producers at the Wintertime Farmers’ Market, Saturdays 11-2 in Pawtucket. Friday is supposed to be snowy, but the parking lots will be plowed pronto.

If you’ve been coming each week, thank you for your help in creating one of the most vibrant markets we’ve seen to date. A lively string band, an inviting cooking Johnson and Wales cooking demonstration, and an array of salsas, pesto, chutneys and cheeses to sample all contributed to tasty Saturdays! But let’s not forget what we’re all pining for on a blustery and gray winter’s day, the humble heart of the market: vegetables! Colorful and fresh-from-the-farm winter squash, sweet carrots, scarlet turnips, heads of cabbage, fingerling potatoes, collard greens and spinach all played their part in creating a complete market. Skeptics may wonder, all this from RI in the winter? The only answer is to come and see it for yourself.

Actually, you can catch a glimpse online, too. Jen, our Buy Local Coordinator and host of the Jen’s Dish radio program, shot some holiday scenes at this past week’s market. Two days later, she had stitched it all together and suddenly the Wintertime Market is on YouTube! Take a look:

Still, this video is just a teaser. Experiencing the market in the flesh helps us all to visualize a year-round local food system right here in our small state.  What we’ve seen so far was more than just locally, honestly grown and produced foods. We’ve seen the result of farmers planning months in advance to grow enough food to last consumers through the winter. We’ve witnessed the building of trust between Rhode Island’s growers and eaters, the foundation of a fair food system.

Join us this Saturday 11-2, and make your holiday gatherings with honest ingredients and delicious gifts from Rhode Island’s family farms and producers. Chef Dave Rocheleau and his Johnson & Wales farmers’ market team will be cooking live from the market and Chef Toni Fiore of DeliciousTV on PBS will be there filming the sights, sounds and flavors of the bounty of local food in the wintertime.

By the way, the market will now also be open next Saturday 12/27 (and every week until the end of April). We were originally going to take the holiday weekend off but the farmers won’t let us! And they’re right, there’s still food growing and people eating.

We’re one day away from the second Wintertime Farmers’ Market. If you were there last Saturday, you were probably as blown away as we were. The market is perhaps what Boston’s Quincy Market used to be, or a taste of Philly’s Reading Terminal or Seattle’s Pike Place with the Wintertime Market’s emphasis on food sold directly from family farmers and artisan producers.

This type of market takes careful planning and is the result of years of building the local food community here in Rhode Island. The Wintertime Market is a victory for Rhode Island farmers and honest food. It’s a victory for all of us who eat here in the Ocean State. We’ve all made it possible and its success is possible through our shared commitment to local producers and their connection with local jobs, healthy communities, and RI land and waters.

4 things we’ve been working on for tomorrow’s market:

• Places to Sit. We’re bringing more chairs and have set aside more areas to sit.
• Places to Park. We heard it got a little backed up on Main Street as people tried to find a space. Here’s a map of parking.
• Better Flow. Wishing Stone Farm is now at the end of the market hall, which will open up room and traffic at the front of the market.
• More RI Farmers! Moonstone Farms will be there with carrots and leeks, Robin Hollow Farm with flowers and wreaths, Moosup River Farm with jams and pies, Earth Essence Herbal with lotions and soaps. The Wintertime Farmers’ Market is the only market of its kind between Providence, Boston, Worcester, and beyond. So we’re happy to include local farmers who want to participate!

See more photos and press bites from the market: Last Night’s Dinner, Projo Fitness, Providential Gardener, Providence Phoenix

See you tomorrow and every winter Saturday 11-2pm!

A few tidbits about the Saturday 12/6 opening (tomorrow!) of the second season of the Wintertime Farmers’ Market.

RI Public Market. This year’s market was layed out with the help of a RISD architecture class. Take a look at the map of the market to the right – better yet, come tomorrow – and you’ll share our vision of what a permanent RI Public Market could be. We know it will happen, because RI farmers, producers and eaters need a place to reconnect.

Directions to the Market. Use our map tool. The Hope Artiste Village location is just over the Providence/Pawtucket line on Main St. It’s also nestled just east of Rt. 95 between exits 25, 26 (northbound only) and 27 but it may be easier for some in Providence to get there via North Main St. and take the left fork at the Pawtucket border. You’ll see the signs!

Parking is Plentiful. The street and the inner courtyard have a lot of parking. There are even more spaces across Main St. as well as at the back of the Hope Artiste Village accessible via Warren Ave.

#99 RIPTA Bus. The bus runs every 40 minutes and goes from Kennedy Plaza along North Main St. past the Whole Foods and up to the Pawtucket border. At that point, the road forks and the bus continues up the left fork on Main St. four blocks to the market.

Holiday Toy Drive at the Market. December 6, 13, 20. Unwrapped new toys can be brought to the Farm Fresh RI table all month. In coordination with the Woodlawn Community Development Corp, the toys will be donated to children from low-income families in Pawtucket. E-mail Christie for more info.

Christmas Trees and Wreaths. Call our friends at The Good Earth at 401-826-3130 to reserve a tree for pickup at the market.

Cooking demos. Johnson & Wales University chefs will use ingredients right from the market!

See you tomorrow and every winter Saturday from 11 to 2!

Buying locally this holiday season will support healthy farms, recycle your dollars in Rhode Island communities, and taste delicious. Buying locally means a lot, especially during these tough times. Without further adieu, here are our holiday party and gift ideas:

Wine & Beer. We’re lucky to have locally produced wines here in RI that are both captivating in flavor and yet quite affordable. Newport Vineyards, Greenvale Vineyards, or Sakonnet Vineyards at most fine wine shops around the state for your holiday party. Also try Narragansett Beer, Newport Storm, Trinity for your beer brews.

Christmas Trees. Buy direct from a RI farm and fill your home with the warm scent of a fresh tree.

Explore the Wintertime Farmers’ Market. Every Saturday 11-2! It’s a great place to get holiday gifts and ingredients for your party.

• Honey for a sweetheart from Mello Family Farm.
• Cheese baskets and party dips from Narragansett Creamery.
• Jams and jellies from Marcia’s Chutneys.
• Oysters, littlenecks and lobster from Matunuck Oyster Farm.
• Chocolates from OceanState Chocolates’ local truffle collection.
• Pesto, creamy with the season’s basil preserved by Besto Pesto.
• Roasted pecans, gingery or buttery by Purple Pear.
• Coffees roasted daily by New Harvest at the market site.
• Teas specially blended by Farmacy.
• Marzipan from New Dawn.
• Breads and pastries baked fresh by Seven Stars, Olga’s, and gluten-free from Chris’s Gourmet Treats.
• Apple cider just pressed at Hill Orchards.
• Crudité (i.e. carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and other veggies!) for your party platter from the many Rhode Island farms at the market.
• Dog treats by Jack’s Snacks and herbal lotions from Earth Essence.
• Farm fresh ingredients for your entrées and appetizers whether it’s Beef Brisket, Pork Chops, Deviled Eggs or sea-fresh Scallop Ceviche.
• Farmers’ Market Gift Coins can be used with any farmer or food producer at any summer or wintertime Farm Fresh farmers’ market in Providence, Pawtucket and Woonsocket. 100% goes to the producer, and they come with gift tags.

Lobsters are at the lowest prices in years and New England lobstermen are hurting this season. If you can’t make it to the docks at Pt. Judith, add a stop to your local fish market. They’ll have local lobster and it will be delicious.

Local art. There are many holiday art sales this December. Complement a flavorful feast with a feast for the eyes, care of Rhode Island’s incredible community of craftmakers.

Caterers. These caterers can put together a classy menu with ingredients fresh from the farm. Just ask.

Make a Donation to Farm Fresh. All year we work to support local farmers and fresh food for all Rhode Islanders. Over the past year we’ve made great strides, increasing year-round opportunities for farmers and expanding access to fresh foods in low-income areas. But we can only continue these programs with your help. If you shop at the markets, if you appreciate good food from local farms, please make a tax-deductible gift today.

Other ideas for the holiday guide? Send them to us and we’ll update this page.

It’s 4 pm on a Thursday evening in October at the Armory Park in the West End of Providence. Over $450 worth of local produce is stacked in bins, bags, and boxes behind the Farm Fresh RI table. Customers at the market stop as they pass by, asking us in a variety of languages what we’re selling and how much it costs. But this produce isn’t for sale. Rather, it’s going to be sorted into 24 bountiful bags for 24 Market Basket shareholders through a program we piloted this summer at the Armory and Downtown Markets.

Our Market Basket model was based on the traditional Consumer-Supported Agriculture (CSA) model in which customers pay farmers at the beginning of a season and then receive a share of the farm’s harvest every week. Shareholders chose one or both 10-week seasons at $200 each, and then came weekly to pick up a balanced mix of fresh produce, eggs and bread from all of the farmers at the market. Farm Fresh staff talked with farmers at markets, by e-mail, and on the phone, learning the latest on current crop harvests, in order to make the final arrangements for the contents of the shares.  Each market arrived with a newsletter, filled with information on farmers, produce storage, preservation and recipe suggestions, and we sorted the produce into canvas bags at the market for easy pick up.

Our goals for the Market Basket program were:

• to strengthen neighborhood markets
• to guarantee farmers’ income
• to give more customers a reason to come by the market every week
• to create an easy way for consumers to get local foods
• to provide customers curious about CSAs with a stepping stone to try it out
• to offer customers hands-on education in seasonal eating

And what a success it was!

• The Market Basket program attracted a lot of attention and more regulars to the markets, and it coincided with a record year for farmers at the Armory and Downtown.
• In this first year, the Market Basket program provided nearly $20,000 worth of produce, eggs and bread to 80 RI households, with 100% of the money going directly to the producers.
• 11 farms were involved in the program: Barden Orchard, Big Train, Cedar Edge, City Farm, Hill Orchard, Maplewood, Moosup River, Red Planet Vegetables, Simmons, Whispering Elms and Young, as well as Olga’s Cup & Saucer and Seven Stars Bakery.
• Thanks to shareholders’ donations, we were also able to offer a few half-price shares, expanding access to fresh food lovers of all income levels.
• Shareholders surveyed at the end of the season were interested in getting a Market Basket next year, or were thinking about joining a traditional CSA.
• Favorite items included apple butter, tomatoes, basil, apple cider, eggs, greens, and hot peppers. Shareholders enjoyed the convenience of the program, being exposed to new foods they’d never tried, and the challenge of eating more fruits and vegetables each week.

We’ve learned so much this season, and are indeed planning to continue and expand the Market Basket program. For next year we are looking to offer more low-income shares, add more recipes and food preparation tips, and offer more choices and variety in our weekly baskets, and maybe even add new market sites like Pawtucket. A big thanks goes out to our wonderful volunteers, and all of participating shareholders and farmers. You made it possible! As one participant noted, “the best part of this program is that it brings neighbors together,” and we couldn’t agree more.  Our weekly engagement with farmers and customers has turned familiar faces into friends, strengthening our community and our vision of a vibrant local food system.

– Christie and Hannah

But a month away, the Providence Wintertime Farmers’ Market promises an incredible selection of locally grown and produced foods every Saturday 11-2pm inside where it’s warm.

The ‘where’ this year is Hope Artiste Village, on Main St., just over the Pawtucket border. We had an awesome run last year at AS220, but we outgrew the space. Plus, parking downtown is always a little tight. Hope Artiste has plenty of parking and is right off Rt. 95, or just 1.5 miles north on N. Main St. from the big Whole Foods in Providence. It’s also a quick ride on the 99 bus line.

The space is beautiful and plenty big. That means we’re back this year with 12 more farms, 5 more food artisans and 3 more specialty food producers so far. (Here’s a vendor application.) Hope Artiste is also where Seven Stars Bakery bakes its bread and pastries, and where New Harvest roasts its coffee. We’re excited to deepen this connection between producers and eaters; both will be at the Wintertime Farmers’ Market. The market will also be amidst a community of small businesses: a bookstore, toy store, game store, art galleries, and many studio spaces. If all goes well, the Blackstone will be serving brunch during market hours and so will Rosinha’s, a new Portuguese / Cape Verdean restaurant at Hope Artiste. All in all, we’re pretty psyched about the spot.

November Farmers’ Markets
More on the Wintertime Farmers’ Market in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, support the outdoor markets brave enough to be open this November:

• Providence: Every Saturday 9:30-12:30pm at Hope High School ’til Thanksgiving
• Pawtuxet Village: Every Saturday 9-12pm at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet ’til Thanksgiving
• Fall River: Every Wednesday 9-1pm at Ruggles Park ’til Nov. 19
• Fall River: Every Saturday 7:30-12:30pm at Kennedy Park ’til Thanksgiving
• Middletown: Saturday, Nov. 22, 9-12pm at Newport Vineyards
• Saunderstown: Sunday, Nov. 23, 10-2pm at Casey Farm

When we vote on Tuesday, what kind of landscape do we want to leave to the next generation of RI eaters?

POST-ELECTION UPDATE 11/5: The Open Space Bond passed with 2/3 of the vote.

With all the excitement over the Presidential Election, it’s easy to gloss over all of the important local issues on the RI ballot. But there are some very important ballot questions in play. And Question 2, the Open Space and Recreation Development Bond, is good news for everyone who wants to support local agriculture, food and farms.

Question 2 will provide funding to protect RI’s open spaces, farmland, watersheds, shorelines, natural parks, and natural resources. Every $1 of state funds invested will be matched by $3-$4 in federal funding, foundation grants, and charitable contributions. In total, a statewide investment of $2.5 million will generate $10 million for:

• Preserving RI’s vanishing farmland – and with it, locally grown foods
• Protecting our communities’ special open spaces and natural areas
• Creating and expanding parks when opportunities arise such as Rocky Point
• Protecting our drinking water and watersheds from pollution

This bond is a critical investment in RI agriculture.  RI has lost 80% of our farmland since 1945.  RI has the highest farmland prices in the nation and there is strong pressure to develop this land into new subdivisions. But we all know the value of a thriving agricultural community - for our health, for our quality of life, for our environment, and for our economy. Farmland cultivates $100 million in RI’s economy each year.

Today, less than 25% of our remaining farmland is protected.  In 1985, the state began a visionary Farmland Protection Program to reign in the loss of farmland, save our agricultural heritage, and keep our agricultural economy viable.  Since 1985, the state’s farmland protection program has protected 81 farms and 6,232 acres of productive farmland.  Over 25 more farmers (nearly 2,000 acres) have applied to protect their farms, been approved by the state program, and are still awaiting funding.  The 2008 US Farm Bill is providing $3-5 million each year to RI for farmland protection, but requires each state to fund a match.  Question 2 will provide some of the necessary matching funds.

If the bond does not pass, RI will not receive any of the matching funds from the federal government, foundation grants, and charitable contributions. Over $7 million in funding from outside the state will be lost. The land conservation programs will end, and the fresh foods and fields we enjoy as Rhode Islanders today may slowly become a thing of the history books for the generations to come.

Whether you’re a child in age or at heart, fall wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch. And if there’s a reason to get excited about the wintry turn that the weather has taken, it’s that frosty nights make for super crisp apples! These are the apples (and pears and quince) you’ve been waiting for since the sweaty days of August.

We recently went apple picking at Dame Farm in Johnston and with the temperature forecasted back up in the 60s, we wouldn’t be surprised to find ourselves out at an orchard this weekend, too. Prepare to go in thinking, as we did, that you know the apples varieties you love best (Macoun and Honeycrisp) only to be sidetracked by new favorites (Mutsu and Empire). An orchard is a succulent playground where tart, sweet and spicy meet.

See the Pick Your Own farms closest to you. Most are open from now into early November, but call ahead to be sure! And of course October is also the time to enjoy family activities from Corn Mazes to Hay Rides out at a nearby farm.

Creamy enough for mashed potatoes, rich enough for chowders, and crisp enough for fries and chips. Vastly superior and freshly dug. Farmers have teamed up with Farm Fresh RI, RI DEM Division of Agriculture and WJ Canaan Produce Co. so that the best potato out there is now at your favorite RI grocery store.

We’re calling them RI Royals
Whether you prefer your potatoes, mashed, fried or scalloped, RI Royal potatoes are up to the task! The RI Royal potato is a creamy, white flesh potato. These potatoes are a favorite of local chefs and consumers alike.

Not too long ago, the fields of Aquidneck and Sakonnet bustled with potatoes that fed New England and beyond. The Ocean State’s coastal climate and soils still are fertile ground for spuds. Our participating farmers have hundreds of years of family farming experience between them.

Where can you find RI Royals?
Look for the purple bags with the Narragansett label in the produce aisle at:

• Belmont Grocery
• Dave’s Marketplace
• Eastside Marketplace
• Ruggieri’s Market

More local groceries coming! E-mail Jen for more info about these superior spuds.

Read all about the RI Royal potato growers

• Ferolbink Farms in Tiverton (circa 1870; 275 acres)
• Lacerda Farm in Portsmouth (circa 1923; 120 acres)
• Quonset View Farm in Portsmouth (circa 1915; 140 acres)
• Sampson Farms in Westport (circa 1850; 75 acres)
• Young Family Farm in Little Compton (circa 1997; 180 acres)

“Just as successful cooperatives like Rhody Fresh Milk and Rhody Warm Blankets, local potato growers have teamed up to cooperatively market fresh local potatoes that are just days from harvest. Buying local keeps family farms viable and ensures a fresh product, and saves on the energy costs farmers would need for storage.  It is good for the economy and environment, and the taste of locally raised spuds can’t be matched”
– Ken Ayars, Chief, RI DEM Division of Agriculture

“We think revitalized farm-to-grocer connections will be a foundation for more secure farms and more secure food that will benefit Rhode Island’s farmers and eaters for generations to come.”
– Noah Fulmer, Executive Director, Farm Fresh Rhode Island

Read more about the RI Royal effort in our previous blog post.