PT Wednesday and Chimacum Farmers Market Openings Around the Corner

Willow Wind Farm, Photo of Artisan Food Festival Market by David Conklin, http://www.conklinphoto.com/. Thank you, David!

Willow Wind Farm, Photo of Artisan Food Festival Market by David Conklin, http://www.conklinphoto.com/. Thank you, David!

The Port Townsend Wednesday and Chimacum Farmers Markets opening days are less than a week away! Starting this weekend, our market season is in full swing with our Saturday Farmers Market at its usual time and place, and our Chimacum Farmers Market opening this Sunday, June 3 at the Chimacum Corner Farmstand, 10am to 2pm. On June 6th, our Port Townsend Wednesday Farmers Market opens at its new location, the Jefferson Transit Haines Place Park and Ride, 2 to 6pm.

We have some new as well as fabulous returning vendors this season. New vendors at the Chimacum Farmers Market include: Northern Thai food vendor, Who Sells the Chicken Eggs?; Sweet Seed Flower Farm; Honeyhoney Soap; Duckabush Mushrooms; Hurricane Hills Winery; Sativa Valley Essentials; Jacobs' Fleece; Dietrich Farms; Scarlett Leather; Avantgardenz; and artist, Brendon Hohmann. We are pleased to offer you a variety of new products while continuing to bring you the fresh farm produce, meat and, soon, berries, from farms, including: Finnriver, Midori, Onatrue, Red Dog, and Egg and I Fuchsias. Don't forget the coffee and pastries! Java Gypsy Coffee House and Pane d'Amore Artisan Bakery will also be at market with yummy treats to start your Sunday on the sunny side.

With our new Haines Place Park and Ride location, our Wednesday Farmers Market can be easily accessed from anywhere in the county. Try transit to the farmers market or walk, bike, hop or drive to the new location of our mid-week farm and food market. We have plenty of parking and you can stroll from uptown through Kah Tai Lagoon to get to the market.

This season we have more vendors registered for the Port Townsend Wednesday Farmers Market than we have had in years! Here are 15 reasons to visit us on opening day: Mountain Spirit Herbal Company, Duckabush Mushrooms, SpringRain Farm & Orchard, Fiddlehead Creamery, Finnriver Farm, Serendipity Farm, Midori Farm, Hopscotch Farm + Cannery, Chimacum Valley Dairy, Bob's Bakery, River Run Farm, Cape Cleare Fishery, Golden Harvest, Onatrue Farm, and Hurricane Hills Winery. Do you need any more reasons? Here are a few more: We are hosting a red ribbon cutting with the Port Townsend and Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce as well as chef demonstration with Arran Stark at our opening day market.

Kids, registration for our new Power of Produce (POP) Club starts this Sunday at the Chimacum Farmers Market. This season we are hosting weekly POP Club activities at our Port Townsend Wednesday and Chimacum Farmers Markets in partnership with the YMCA, Organic Seed Alliance, Port Townsend Public and Jefferson County Libraries, 4-H, Red Dog Farm, Jefferson Healthcare and the Resort at Port Ludlow. Through play, food tastings, and hands-on activities, children will be introduced to where our food comes from, how it grows, and who grows it as well as fun ways to eat local. While club registration is restricted to children between the ages of five and 12, kids of all ages can participate in the activities. After participating in kids activities, registered POP kids will get $2 weekly for fresh fruit and vegetables good at any of our county farmers markets. Thank you First Federal Community Foundation, Port Townsend Chiropractic, and Chimacum Corner Farmstand for your POP sponsorships. Kids, bring your parent or guardian, sign up for POP Club, and come play with your food with us!

See you at the Market! ~ Amanda

Upcoming Events

  • June 2, 9am-2pm, Port Townsend Farmers Market, Tyler St, 10am live music by Cheyenne Skye followed by the Port Townsend High School Band
  • June 3rd, 10am-2pm, Chimacum Farmers Market Opening
    • The first day of POP Club, registration for kids 5-12 years old
    • 10:30am Storytime with the Jefferson County Library
    • 11:30am Live music with Harmonica Pocket
    • 12pm Kids' menu tasting with chef Dan Ratigan, Port Ludlow Resort and Fireside Restaurant. Dan will offer samples of a spread made with Mystery Bay goat cheese, fresh herbs, local vegetables and Red Dog Farm roasted carrots for dipping.
    • Red Dog tractors and farm-fresh food all day!
  • June 6th, 2-6pm, Port Townsend Wednesday Farmers Market Opening at Jefferson Transit's Haines Place Park and Ride
    • Red ribbon cutting with the Port Townsend and Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce
    • POP Club registration and activities with the Organic Seed Alliance
    • Chef demo with Arran Stark

From Our Vendors

Mt. Townsend and Mystery Bay join forces in cheese making!

Mt. Townsend and Mystery Bay join forces in cheese making!

Mt. Mystery is back! This mixed milk (goat and cow), soft ripened cheese is made each spring when Mt. Townsend Creamery and Mystery Bay Farm team up. We made one, and only one, batch. Don't miss this decadent collaboration of our county's milk and cheese makers.
 

Red Dog Farm is excited to be at both the Port Townsend Saturday and Chimacum Farmers Markets this weekend! We’ll have radishes, carrots, basil, garlic, cilantro, kales and more! Our veggie plant starts are still on sale, plus lots of herb and flower starts to choose from as well.

Artisan Food Festival This Saturday

The 5th Annual Artisan Food Festival is this Saturday, May 26th, 9am to 3pm! Here in Jefferson County we have a unique diversity of local farms and food artisans. This weekend we will celebrate all of the artisan and farm food that our market has to offer, learn what to do with it from talented local chefs, as well as taste market food in new combinations and preparations. Kids, we will also make food art and play on the grass. We are open an extra hour for Artisan Food Festival, 9am-3pm. Join us for the day! More details about the event below.

Get your raffle tickets this Saturday for a room voucher at the Ravenscroft Inn, one of our uptown market neighbors and sponsors. Funds collected from the raffle will support our food assistance matching program, Gimme5. Locals, have you heard of a "staycation?" This is your chance to enter to win a relaxing night's stay at this beautiful bed and breakfast, and to support local food access for community members with low incomes. Come by the market booth to get your raffle ticket, $2 per ticket or $5 for three tickets. What a deal! The raffle drawing will take place on Saturday at Artisan Food Festival. You don't need to be present to win.
 

Farm Bill Fails

 

The House voted down the proposed 2019 farm bill last week. This bill would have resulted in significant cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamps) affecting more than a million households.  It would also have eliminated the Women Infants and Children (WIC)/Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Assistance Program (FMNP). At the same time, it would have reduced spending on programs serving farmers such as the USDA's value-added producer grants, which have benefited local farms by providing matching funds to start value-added farm food production.


What does this mean for you and your farmers market? Market shoppers using SNAP will not see reductions in their federal-funded food assistance benefits through the Farm Bill in 2019. Shoppers who qualify for WIC and Senior FMNP will still be able to access these programs through the Jefferson County Public Health WIC office and OlyCAP, respectively. JCFM is committed to continuing our SNAP and FMNP matching programs next market season to ensure healthy, local food access for our community and to support local farms through farm-direct sales to shoppers utilizing SNAP, FMNP and our matching programs.
 

See you at the Market! ~ Amanda

PS Hey job seekers! Market sponsor, Aldrich's Market, is hiring a Produce Manager. Interested? Stop by Aldrich's for more information.

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Special Food Happenings


Chef Demos
9:30am Tasty Teas with Denise Joy, Mountain Spirit Herbalist. Denise shares, "What a great time to be in the Northwest as so many of the herbal plants are ready for harvest. There is peppermint, comfrey, mullein leaves, thyme, oregano, lemon balm, late nettles, and many more. All of these herbs can be used for herbal tea, for flavor and for health benefits. I will be honored to show you simple ways to incorporate these herbs into tasty drinks for your friends and family."
10am Omelettes with Deb Taylor, Finistère featuring fresh market eggs and produce.
11:30am Chicken butchery with Arran Stark, Jefferson Healthcare featuring chicken from SpringRain Farm and Orchard.
12:30pm Salish Succotash and Salmon with Jesse Rose, Silverwater Restaurant featuring Cape Cleare salmon, locally sourced seaweed and fresh market produce.
Market Meal at Aldrich's: the chefs at Aldrich's will be shopping the farmers market on Saturday to purchase ingredients for a market meal. After the Artisan Food Festival Market, stop by Aldrich's to see what they cooked up with farm-fresh produce.

Throughout the Day

66 vendors: 15 artisan food vendors serving Northern Thai sausage, paella, salmon sandwiches, burgers, crab cakes, BBQ, raw and prepared shellfish, coconut ice cream, pies and pastries, coffee and more!; three artisan cider and wine makers; three cheese makers; 20 farms with fresh produce, meat, seafood, plants, tinctures, body care products and mushrooms; 20 arts vendors; massage with Oma, henna skin painting, and calligraphy. 

Kids Activities: Bag painting and vegtable print-making as well as bubbles on the Rec Center/Community Center grass with the YMCA and Port Townsend Farmers Market.  

From Our Vendors

In Celebration of Artisan Food Festival, Johnson and Gunstone Shellfish will serve raw oysters, barbecued oysters with your choice of toppings, and Asian-inspired steamed clams. They will also sell Manila clams by the pound as well as one or two varieties of oysters by the dozen.

In Celebration of Artisan Food Festival, Mt Townsend Creamery, Port Townsend Vineyards and Sweet Lamb Baking Company are joining forces to offer cheese, wine and home-made cracker pairings.

Barbarian Fine Cuisine celebrates one year this weekend at Artisan Food Festival! Our mission is to build community through real food. Our dishes bring together local foods from amazing small business owners that, through their everyday work and ethics, make our burgers taste so good. All we do is put these delicious flavors together. This Artisan Food Festival we are featuring One Straw Ranch and their incredibly tasty lamb with two recipes in addition to our vegetarian falafel burger. The Khan - lamb kafta burger, Mt Townsend jack, tzatziki, tomato, carrot and beet salad and organic greens on a Bell Street Bakery brioche bun. The Vlad - lamb kafta burger, Mt Townsend jack, mint pesto, grilled onions, tomato and organic greens on a Bell Street Bakery brioche bun. Khan (V) -  falafel burger, tzatziki, carrot and beet salad, tomato and organic greens on brioche bun. 

Red Dog Farm is bringing some new spring produce this week, including garlic scapes, baby carrots, cilantro, and the first of the kales. For plant starts, our 4-pack veggie sale continues, plus we have tomato starts on sale!

It is the LAST WEEK FOR FRESH RICOTTA from Mystery Bay Farm!  Yes, our season for fresh Ricotta has come to a close. Come and get your last bite of spring goodness.

Visiting vendor, Lioness Organics, joins us for Artisan Food Festival with handmade delicious drink mixes with nourishing mushroom extracts and other superfoods. We use only organic, non-GMO and fairly-traded ingredients, which are herbalist formulated. Mother and daughter foraging partners, we are lovers of fine food and practitioners of natural medicine. This is our offering to encourage health, which feeds our ability to follow our hearts, to live our dreams. Visit us this weekend only at the market.

Upcoming Events

  • June 2, 9am-2pm, Port Townsend Farmers Market, Tyler St
  • June 3rd, 10am-2pm, Chimacum Farmers Market Opening
    • The first day of the Power of Produce (POP) Club, registration for kids 5-12 years old
    • 10:30am Storytime with the Jefferson County Library
    • 11:30am Live music with Harmonica Pocket
    • 12pm Kids' menu tasting with chef Dan Ratigan, Port Ludlow Resort and Fireside Restaurant. Dan will be sampling a spread made with Mystery Bay goat cheese, fresh herbs, local vegetables and  Red Dog farm roasted carrots for dipping.
    • Red Dog tractors and farm-fresh food all day!
    • WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program check distribution at market
  • June 6th, 2-6pm, Port Townsend Wednesday Farmers Market Opening at Jefferson Transit's Haines Place Park and Ride
    • Red ribbon cutting with the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce
    • POP Club registration and activities with the Organic Seed Alliance
    • Chef demo with Arran Stark
    • WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program check distribution at market

Taste Fresh Spring's Best at Your Local Farmers Market

By David Conklin

By David Conklin

Last Saturday the first of the asparagus grown by SpringRain Farm and Orchard made it to market. Rhubarb, rabb, purple-sprouting broccoli, salad greens, leeks, carrots, beets, potatoes, fresh herbs, shiitake mushrooms, eggs, artisan cow and goat's milk cheese, pasture raised meat, and more are abundant and in season at the Port Townsend Farmers Market.

These precious, sunny spring days almost beg us to eat dinner outside, spread a blanket on the grass and enjoy the tastes of the season. Can you hear the first of the asparagus calling you to market? If you make it to market early, grab some asparagus. If you miss the asparagus, rabb is similarly tender and a great addition to a warm salad.

Warm salad? While there is still a chill in the air but the days are brilliantly sunny, it is the perfect time to combine raw and cooked veggies for a spring feast. On a bed of fresh salad greens, try adding baked asparagus or rabb, roasted herbed potatoes, soft goat cheese, a hard boiled egg or baked salmon. Voilà, you have a warm salad!

Baked Asparagus

Ingredients:
Fresh asparagus
Olive oil or another cooking oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: fresh garlic and/or other fresh herbs
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Break off the tough ends of the asparagus or rabb. Place the asparagus/rabb on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, then toss to coat the asparagus/rabb completely. Spread the asparagus/rabb in a single layer and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Add garlic and fresh herbs as desired. Roast the asparagus for 25 minutes or until tender but still crisp. Enjoy as a side dish or on top of a salad.

VegRx Clarification

I am thrilled with the level of interest in our new fruit and vegetable prescription program, VegRx. Based on the number of phone calls received by Jefferson Healthcare and the great questions about the program at the Market Info Booth, it is clear that our community is ready for a program that responds to local food insecurity with a monthly prescription redeemable for nutritious, locally grown fruit and vegetables.

An important point of clarification is that JCFM, Jefferson Healthcare and the Food Co-op are in a trial phase with the VegRx program. This market season, we are working with a single team of provider champions who are able to prescribe VegRx. The Jefferson Healthcare Orca Pod, Drs. Mattern, Parker, Harris and PA Sarah Irick, can prescribe VegRx. The screening for need will happen during routine well-child check-ups. Proof of income status is not required.

Nationally, basic food assistance, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP/EBT, formerly food stamps) and the WIC and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Assistance Programs (FMNP) are in a precarious state. The proposed 2019 Farm Bill if passed would cut SNAP by more than $213 billion over the next ten years, nearly 30%. It also calls for the elimination of WIC and Senior FMNP. If passed, the majority of households receiving SNAP would see reductions to their food assistance funds. At the same time, SNAP eligibility changes would cause at least 4 million people to loose their food benefits altogether. More than $260 billion in food purchasing benefits would be moved from individual households to the government. Instead of letting households that receive more than $90 a month continue to use their SNAP benefit to buy food at their local grocery store, the USDA would use about 20% of all remaining SNAP benefits, or $130 billion over ten years, to give qualifying households a box of non-perishable food products. If passed budget cuts would affect some 34 million people in 2019 — almost 90% of SNAP participants. Here in Jefferson County, these cuts would impact some 4,400 people who receive SNAP.

Budget cuts would also reduce the USDA budget for farm programs by some 25%, especially in the areas of crop insurance and conservation programs. Additionally, it would eliminate value-added producer grants, which have helped local farms including SpringRain Farm and Orchard and Finnriver Farm and Cidery with one-time investment for the development of infrastructure for value added food production. Read more here, here and here.

If the proposed budget is passed, reductions to USDA funding for basic food assistance may affect the amount of matching funds JCFM has available through our Fresh Bucks program. USDA funded Fresh Bucks are given to SNAP/EBT shoppers at the Port Townsend and Chimacum Farmers Markets as well as at farmers markets in Kitsap, Clallam, and Mason counties, when farmers market shoppers use their SNAP/EBT card to purchase food.

Regardless of the national budget, JCFM is committed to supporting locally grown food access through our Gimme5 program this and in future years. Local individuals and businesses fund Gimme5 and VegRx.

As grant and community support allows, JCFM hopes to grow the number of Jefferson Healthcare clinicians who are able to prescribe VegRx next season as well as the number of people served by this program. This trial period will give us an opportunity to modify the program for the best future success, begin to identify the level of community need, and fundraise to expand the program next season.

Community support is critical to the future of programs like VegRx and Gimme5. While we depend on congressional representatives to uphold programs like SNAP and FMNP, it is up to us-- you and me, our community-- to sustain and grow services like VegRx and Gimme5. Need for these programs may be even grater next and in future years, depending on our national budget outcome.

Contact Market Director, Amanda Milholland, with your VegRx questions or to make a donation to support community access to nutritious, locally grown food.

See you at the Market! ~ Amanda

Upcoming Events

  • Saturdays Weekly, 9am-2pm Port Townsend Farmers Market, Tyler Street
  • April 21, 10am-1:45pm Homemade Music at the Port Townsend Farmers Market
  • May 26th, 9am-3pm, Artisan Food Festival at the Port Townsend Farmers Market: 70+ local farm, artisan food and arts vendors; chef demonstrations; raw and prepared shellfish by Johnson & Gunstone Shellfish, cheese and wine tasting with Mt. Townsend Creamery and Port Townsend Vineyards; kid's activities; more!
  • June 3rd, 10am-2pm, Chimacum Farmers Market Opening and the first day of the Power of Produce (POP) Club. Stay tuned for more information about our new weekly kids club at the Port Townsend Wednesday and Chimacum Farmers Markets.
  • June 6th, 2-6pm, Port Townsend Wednesday Farmers Market Opening this season at the Haines Place Park and Ride  

From Our Vendors

Red Dog Farm is bringing tomato and basil starts this Saturday! Additionally, we will have 60 varieties of other vegetable, flower and herb starts to fill your garden. The tulip parade continues with some of the most popular varieties- flaming parrot, salmon parrot and red peony types, plus a wide array of colors, shapes and sizes. For produce- greens and roots are the highlights for this perfect salad season.

Opening Day 3 Weeks Away!

Opening day of the 26th Port Townsend Farmers Market season is only three weeks away! Mark your calendar for our grand season opening on April 7th from 9am-2pm, uptown on Tyler Street. In this newsletter I am going to share a little more about a couple of our new vendors to ignite your excitement.

Duckabush Mushrooms is actually a returning market vendor from Brinnon, WA. They offered delicious, big and beautiful cultivated mushrooms at a handful of markets last season. Over the winter months the family team, Jeff, Jason, and Christina Maloney, honed their mushroom growing techniques. It takes the right balance of humidity, temperature, and environment to successfully grow mushrooms. Now they are ready to join all three Jefferson County Farmers Markets this season. They plan to bring shiitake, blue and white oyster mushrooms, as well as mushroom grow kits to the Port Townsend and Chimacum Farmers Markets.

Johnson & Gunstone Shellfish is a family-owned and operated shellfish farm. Located in Discovery Bay, WA, the Johnson and Gunstone family have grown and harvested their own shellfish since 1918. They produce and sell several different species and sizes of clams and oysters. Their business depends on healthy ecosystems for their shellfish to grow, thus they are very concerned with clean water issues. The Johnson and Gunstone family test the waters they harvest shellfish from to ensure the cleanest and freshest product. They keep their beaches isolated to ensure minimal human influence for a healthy shellfish environment. One of the company's co-owners, Andrew Gunstone, shares, “We harvest all of our shellfish by hand, not by using machinery or other forms of harvesting. We hope to continue to farm our tidelands for another 99 years!”

Opening Day:

  • 9am, the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce and Port Townsend Mayor, Deborah Stinson, open the market season with a red ribbon cutting
  • 9:10am, goat parade with baby goats from Harmony’s Way and Mystery Bay Farms. Come in animal costumes for a chance to win a $20 Flora Market token.
  • 9am-2pm, farmers market with 70+ local farm, artisan food and arts vendors
  • 10am, Chef demo with Jefferson Healthcare's Executive Chef, Arran Stark
  • 11:30-1:45, live music

Stay tuned next week for more market updates and vendor profiles. Contact Director, Amanda Milholland, with questions: info@jcfmarkets.org, 360-379-9098. 

See you at the Market! ~ Amanda

Opening Day One Month Away Port Townsend Farmers Market Opens April 7

26 Years Fresh

Port Townsend Saturday Farmers Market
April-October 9am-2 pm, November-December 15 10am-2pm

Port Townsend Wednesday Farmers Market
June-September, 2-6pm

Chimacum Sunday Farmers Market
June-October, 10am-2pm

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Step outside. Feel the crisp air and sun on your cheeks. Look around. Flower bulbs are starting to bloom and leaves are unfurling, announcing that spring is near. Listen closely. Beyond the bird song you might hear the bleating of baby goats. They are getting excited for the Opening Day of the Port Townsend Farmers Market. 

Mark your calendar! Opening Day of the 26th season of the Port Townsend Farmers Market is fast approaching. The nonprofit, Jefferson County Farmers Markets (JCFM), will officially kick off the farmers market season on April 7 from 9am to 2pm, uptown on Tyler Street. Here is the event line up:

  • 9am, the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce and Port Townsend Mayor, Deborah Stinson, open the market season with a red ribbon cutting
  • 9:10am, goat parade with baby goats from Harmony’s Way and Mystery Bay Farms. Come in animal costumes for a chance to win a $20 Flora Market token.
  • 9am-2pm, farmers market with 70+ local farm, artisan food and arts vendors
  • 10am, Chef demo with Jefferson Healthcare's Executive Chef, Arran Stark
  • 11:30-1:45, live music

JCFM warmly welcomes new vendors to Market this season. In addition to the Market’s returning farm, artisan food and arts vendors, a total of nine new vendors will join the Port Townsend Saturday Farmers Market this year. Some of these vendors plan to be at Market for Opening Day while others will attend later in the season. New vendors this season include: BluJay llc, Carnahan Woodworks, Diamond Day Bouquet, Duckabush Mushrooms, Heartwood Center for Spiritual Pursuits, Johnson & Gunstone Shellfish, artist Lindsey Wayland, Port Townsend Vineyards, and Who Sells the Chicken Eggs. Some of the products these vendors will be bringing to market include: kombucha, Northern Thai sausage, cultivated and foraged mushrooms, shellfish, and new arts and crafts to market. Like other JCFM vendors, new Market businesses share a commitment to sustainable practices and sourcing.

We are pleased to thank our new and returning market sponsors. Market sponsors help JCFM offer food assistance matching funds to low-income shoppers using SNAP/EBT and WIC/Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program vouchers. Our sponsors also help us offer new programs like our Power of Produce (POP) Club and fruit and vegtable prescription program (VegRx). I will share more about these in future newsletters. Last but not least, our sponsors help us supplement our operations budget so we can keep vendor fees low to incubate new and growing local farms and small market businesses. Our 2018 sponsor include: Jefferson Healthcare, the First Federal Community Foundation, 1st Security Bank, Kristin Manwaring Insurance, the Port Townsend Food Co-op, the Port Townsend Arts Commission, Gaiaceous Gardens, Port Townsend Chiropractic, Port Ludlow Resort, Organic Valley, the Port Townsend Windermere Real Estate, Kitsap Bank, Kitsap Credit Union, the Rose Theatre, the Starlight Room, Ravenscroft Inn, Blue Heron Construction, Peninsula Credit Union, Fountain Chiropractic, and the Chimacum Corner Farmstand. We also have partnerships with Jefferson County's 5210 campaign, and, new this year, with Jefferson Transit. Our deep gratitude goes out to each of these sponsors and partners as well as to our individual donors, market members, and to you for your support of local farms, food and art. Thank you!

Stay tuned for more information about our new vendors over the coming weeks. Contact Director, Amanda Milholland, with questions: info@jcfmarkets.org, 360-379-9098. See you at the Market! ~ Amanda

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Annual Review and Thank You!

25 Years Fresh

Port Townsend Saturday Farmers Market
Open April-October, 9 am-2 pm, November-December 10 am-2 pm

Port Townsend Wednesday Farmers Market
Open June-September, 2-6pm

Chimacum Farmers Market
Open June-October, 10 am-2 pm

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Thank You For a Fabulous 25th Market Season


Happy Solstice and New Year. On this, the darkest day of the year, I am thankful for the community, local farms and food that help make Jefferson County a vibrant place to live. On Saturday, December 16th we wrapped up our 25th farmers market season. Thank you for your support! By shopping locally at the Port Townsend and Chimacum Farmers Markets you helped us break our sales record, strengthen local farms and small sustainably-minded businesses as well as bring our community together in celebration. I am pleased to share some of the successes of the season with you as well as updates about new programs coming to market in 2018.

It is with your support that we broke our total sales and Port Townsend Saturday Farmers Market sales records this year. In 2017, sales at the Port Townsend Saturday Farmers Market were nearly 10.5% (over $100,000) greater than any previous year. Together, our market vendors exceeded $1,170,000 in sales at our Saturday Farmers Market. Sales were also up from 2016 by 21% at the Chimacum Farmers Market and 7% at the Port Townsend Wednesday Farmers Market. Jefferson County Farmers Market sales growth ripples out to benefit our whole community as it supports nearly 80 market businesses, including more than 30 local farms. Direct sales between market vendors and community members also support hundreds of local jobs, and keep money circulating in our local economy. According to the Farmers Market Coalition, for every $100 spent at local farmers markets, approximately $68 stays in local communities and $99 in the state. This means that by shopping at our three markets this season, you helped keep more than $902,000 in our local economy and $1,32,000 in our state economy this year. Wow!

JCFM increased local food access this market season by providing shoppers who use federal food assistance dollars at market with over $12,000 in matching funds for fresh, local food. As a result, local families, senior citizens and individuals who are low-income brought home about $34,000 in nutritious, farm-fresh food from market this season. Support from community members and market sponsors make our food assistance programs possible. Our thanks go out to the individuals who contributed $5-$1,000 in support of local food access for low-income community members as well as to our 2017 Gimme5 Sponsors: Jefferson Healthcare, Kristin Manwaring Insurance, the Port Townsend Food Co-op, United Good Neighbors, and 1st Security Bank. We also receive a small Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) grant from the USDA in support of our Fresh Bucks food assistant matching program.

This season, JCFM hosted monthly chef demonstrations with Jefferson Healthcare's Executive Chef, Arran Stark. In total, we hosted 13 cooking demonstrations at the Port Townsend Saturday and Wednesday Farmers Markets. These include the chef demonstrations which took place during the Port Townsend Artisan Food Festival, Tomato Taste Off, and Squash Tasting. Through these demonstrations, Chef Stark, as well as chefs Kelly Bell of Gray Wolf Ranch and Gabriel Schuenemann of Alder Wood Bistro, introduced us to delicious new ways to prepare local vegetables.  

We tried out a new Chimacum Farmers Market location at the Chimacum Corner Farmstand this year. While we missed the relaxed atmosphere of the grass, we saw significant sales growth. We are still deciding on the location of the Port Townsend Wednesday and Chimacum Farmers Markets for our 2018 season. That said, the Chimacum Farmers Market will stay at the Corner Farmstand in a location that best supports market visibility, sales, and our growing kids program.

While we hosted a monthly Kids' Day at the Chimacum Farmers Market in 2016 and 2017, next season we are going to expand this program to offer weekly kids activities at the Port Townsend Wednesday and Chimacum Farmers Markets. Our new Power Of Produce Club (POP Club) will help transform our markets into a welcoming learning environment for children. Through games, produce tasting, and hands-on activities, children will learn about the local food system, nutrition, the seasonality of local food, and related topics. This program, supported in part by a grant from the First Federal Community Foundation and by our sponsor, Port Townsend Chiropractic, will also provide participating children who are five to 12 years old with $2 vouchers for fresh produce at the market when they participate in POP Club activities. We welcome additional support for this program as well as volunteers to lead kids' activities.

One more exciting thing to look forward to in 2018 is the trial of a fruit and vegetable prescription program. In partnership with Jefferson Healthcare and the Port Townsend Food Coop, JCFM is working to expand local food access in 2018. While the scope of this program will be small at first, we hope to develop a model that we can build upon in future years. Stay tuned for more information about the fruit and vegetable prescription program and POP Club in 2018.

These successes are ones we can celebrate together. It takes a community that values local food and invests in local businesses to grow a thriving farmers market. Thank you for shopping locally, eating seasonally and creating community at our farmers markets this year! Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to JCFM in 2018 to further support our three farmers markets, local food access for low-income community members, and/or POP Club. Thank you again for a great season and contact me with your questions.

See you at the market in 2018! ~Amanda Milholland

PS: Our application for vending at the Port Townsend or Chimacum Farmers Markets is now available on our website. Click here to review our vendor guidelines and apply.

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Closing Day Farmers Markets & Magic

Closing Day Market this Saturday
 

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This Saturday, December 16th, we celebrate the end of the 25th Port Townsend Saturday Farmers Market season with our Closing and Winter Holiday Farmers Market. Join us on Tyler Street and inside the Port Townsend Community Center from 10 am to 2 pm for your final chance to stock up on locally grown produce, meat, artisan breads, pastries, cider, wine, hand-made gifts, and more from the farmers market this year.  We will also have live music by Aimée Ringle, Gretchen Sleicher and friends inside the Community Center.

EBT shoppers, please note that Fresh Bucks expire at the end of the market season. Bring your Fresh Bucks to market on Saturday and use them up on delicious, local produce. If you end up with extra Fresh Bucks at the end of the PT Farmers Market season, look on the back for a list of participating farmers markets. We are still offering our $20 in matching for farm-fresh food to EBT shoppers when you purchase $25 in EBT tokens on your card. This means you get $45 to spend at the market and your food dollars stay in our community supporting local farms. We also offer $2 for fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs for each $5 you spend on your EBT card. Extra money for local food! What a deal!

Thank you for supporting our local farmers, artists and artisan food makers this season by shopping at the Jefferson County Farmers Markets. Together, we are building a strong local food system and enhancing our local economy through direct sales at the farmers market. Stay tuned next week for my close of season newsletter with a recap of our 25th market season.

See you at the market! ~ Amanda
 

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Feel the Magic; Tomten Village Natural Toys
Andrea Blair, Tim Kubica

Tomten Village Natural Toys inspires belief in magic and play with beautiful, creative and hand-built toys. These Waldorf-style toys incorporate natural materials, including wood and wool with rainbow bright colors. Artist Andrea Blair sources many of her materials from the beaches and forests near her Port Townsend home. Andrea, in collaboration with her husband, Tim Kubica, creates each felted cloud, crown, gnome doll, gnome home, and wooden game with the hope of encouraging children’s imaginations. She describes Tomten Village toys as “open ended,” meaning they don’t have to be played with in just one way.
 
The magic of Tomten Village Natural Toys is a reflection of the artists who make them. As a family, Tim, Andrea and their three children, have woven a path that celebrates the power of the mystical with wonder, song, and dance. Andrea has lived many lives leading to her work as an artist. The dedication she developed as a competitive child gymnast, the love of color she adopted living in the Dominican Republic, and her sense of adventure inspired by a childhood in the wilderness are all visible in her art.
 
Andrea, like her husband, lived somewhat of a nomadic lifestyle before planting roots in Port Townsend in 2010. Her father’s work with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) brought Andrea and her family around the Western United States, where she lived in and near national parks during her youth. His work on the Oregon Trail and with BLM greatly inspired Andrea's life and future travels.

Andrea trained as a competitive gymnast from early childhood. She worked with diligence on mastering her sport with the goal of reaching the Olympics. At age 14 she split her kneecap. While her injury ended her dream of competing in the Olympics, it did not stifle her dreaming or adventurous spirit.
 
Andrea majored in Spanish and International Affairs at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, OR. She then lived in the Dominican Republic for several years. There, Andrea fell in love with color, singing, dancing and the vibrant culture of her new home. The Dominican colors and cultural influence stayed with Andrea as she transitioned into her work leading cultural exchange programs, and, later, into her life as a mother of two, living blocks from the Washington DC capital building.

While Andrea’s husband at the time worked as the spokesman for the Secretary of Defense, a vivid and, ultimately, life-changing dream called her toward a different world. Andrea dreamed that she met a fairy healer who, she later learned in a conversation with a friend, bore remarkable resemblance to real life Scottish fair healer Robert John (RJ) Stewart. Steward happened to be presenting at an upcoming Fairy and Human Relations Congress in Twisp, WA and Andrea decided to attend. Since then, the Fairy Congress and its sister event, Singing Alive, have become integral parts of Andrea’s life.

While attending Singing Alive, Andrea and her two young sons were out early one morning on a walk in the forest. They happened upon a band of wild horses who wanted to pass them on a narrow trail. Before they knew it, the horses were biting and kicking them. Tim, who was walking in the same woods, chanced upon this dangerous scene and proceeded to fight off the horses. This valiant deed sparked Andrea and Tim’s friendship, which slowly blossomed into romance.

In 2010, Tim and Andrea joined forces in life and as collaborators in the creation of the colorful and imaginative Tomten Village Natural Toys. Tim brings his woodworking skills to the partnership while Andrea knits, felts and paints Tomten Village toys to life from her home art studio. 

This Saturday, for our Winter Holiday and Closing Day Farmers Market, visit the Tomten Village market booth to meet the artists and find heirloom-quality toys. It is the perfect time to share some magic with friends and relatives and what better place to find it than at the Tomten Village market booth. You can also find Tomten Village toys in Port Townsend at Bazaar Girls and soon at Finnriver Cidery in Chimacum as well as Propolis Brewing in Port Townsend. Learn more about Tomten Village in this Leader Article.

Tim with Tomten toys.

Tim with Tomten toys.

From Our Vendors

Crust is back at Market! We will be bringing COOKIES! but no pies. Lots and lots of cookies all tied up with string. It's the tastiest present ever--for yourself, your friends, your relatives. We can't wait to see you all--nice and warm and dry INSIDE the Community Center.

SpringRain Farm will have delicious, local gift ideas and ethically-raised meat for your holiday feasts. We will have our organic pasture-raised chicken, turkey, and duck.  As well, we have farmstead jams made by Roxanne with our own organic fruit and sweetened with honey. You can also pick up a gift certificate for someone who loves local organic food good for use at our farm stand and the 2018 farmers market. Look for us outside with all the other hardy farmers. 

Newquist Forge is back after a two month hiatus from the market, during which time we created and installed garden gates and outdoor railings in PT and PA. New to the forge is our small forest axe, "small enough to travel, big enough to chop", and our botanically-themed paper towel and toilet paper holders. We will also have an assortment of small iron gift items like barbecue tools, key chains, bottle openers, candle-holders and more. 

Red Dog Farm is so very thankful for all of your support this year! We are bringing spinach, salad mix, greens, carrots, potatoes, squash, popcorn, and, of course, more to the last market of the season. We are still offering our Stock-up Special: Save 20% when you purchase $40 or more. We hope you will take advantage of this offer and fill up your home with local, Red Dog produce for the winter months ahead. Wishing everyone a warm, nourishing and happy wintertime!

Nonprofit partner, Swan School, will be at our last farmers markets of the season selling their Plantathon cards. These cards offer a great alternative gift for friends and family. The purchase of each card goes to support Swan School students in planting trees in support of salmon habitat. Visit the Swan School market booth for more information.