|
|
| July 24, 2014 | Vol 8, Issue 21
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Summer is in full swing, and we couldn't be more excited! From juicy peaches to super-sweet cherry tomatoes, all of your favorite fruits and vegetables will be at the market this Saturday. This Saturday will be Dancing Light Ranch's final week with fresh lavender, so don't forget to stock up on several of their beautiful, fragrant bundles.
If you missed market last week, you missed the return of Kiyokawa Family Orchards and Kimberly Farms! They'll both be back this Saturday, along with on-call vendors Ancient Heritage, Dancing Light Ranch, House Spirits, New Deal Distillery, Olympic Provisions, and Scoop. Dragonfly Forge will also be joining us, so don't forget to bring your knives and tools for Gabriel to sharpen.
 | | Big B Farms |
Last month, we had the pleasure of visiting Big B Farm in Aurora, Oregon (south of Wilsonville). The farm lived up to its name - it's big! (about 40 acres of produce) Big B was a founding vendor of the Hollywood Farmers Market, and is now in their 18th season with us. Luckily, HFM volunteers Lianne and Rollin were able to join us on the visit, and interviewed Frank Battilega, the heart of Big B Farm. The result was the video vendor profile included here; click the above image to watch it!
See you at the market!
|
Vendor Profile: Deck Family Farm
by Amy Wong
|
 A gaggle of heritage pigs rooting around grass and trees served as the welcoming committee as I rambled up the driveway at Deck Family Farm, owned by Christine and John Deck. It was a sunny and crisp fall day and the frisky pigs, nary a docked tail in sight, signaled that I was entering a place where pasture-raised principles prevail.
The farm is situated in Junction City, Oregon and is a model of small-scale sustainability, showcasing land stewardship while also setting a humane example in animal husbandry. The Decks recently built a certifiable ODA poultry processing facility (their other animals are processed at Mohawk Meat Co or Mineral Springs) and also have a raw milk dairy operation. On any given day, interns from around the world and six employees help the Decks run the farm, starting with an early morning milking date with the cows.
On the day I visited, the farm was especially busy as a staffer from the Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) program was also on a documentation visit as part Deck's recent AWA certification for their laying hens, pigs and cattle. (The other farm animals are raised to similarly high standards.) AWA is a food label for meat and dairy products that come from animals raised to the highest animal welfare and environmental standards. AWA only works with pasture or range-raised animals, such as those at Deck Farm, as these farming systems have been shown to have a positive impact on the environment, as well as on the animals' quality of life.
Becoming AWA certified is one of many steps that the Decks have taken as part of their commitment to creating a viable, sustainable farm that also gives citizens product transparency. (Christine prefers to call her customers citizens to reflect the consciousness in which they choose to spend their resource.) While the Decks encourage farm visits to see their animals grazing on grassy pastures surrounded by vineyards, creeks and trees, they realize that this isn't possible for everyone. Discerning consumers still have a right to know how the products they purchase are produced and labeling, such as the AWA, helps fill this need.
And in order to protect those creeks, the Decks undertook a riparian conservation project. This includes fencing to keep their Galloway cattle out of the creeks to prevent water contamination, and also an extensive watering and irrigation system that brings water to the cows. Further project benefits include improved fish passage in the creeks as well as the addition of native willows and other plants. Additional environmental projects on the farm comprehend soil erosion mitigation around the barns and the replanting of over 50 acres of forest.
 The Decks are taking a long-term approach to their farm. Improving the health of the land that houses and surrounds the farm will strengthen their operation while allowing it to exist in tandem with nature. The farm does not use herbicides, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics or synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and creates soil fertility through composting, grazing management and seeding a variety of grasses. They want to create a model that can be replicated and that doesn't harm the planet in ways that are associated with industrial, mono-cropped systems of agriculture.
|
|
 |
|
At the Market
| |
Music:
Jeff Dawson & Cosmic Roots
Community Booths:
Feral Cat Coalition
Slow Food Portland
Face Painting with Crista
Saturday, August 9th and 23rd, 9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Kids' Cooking Demo w/ Joanna Sooper
Saturday, August 9th, 9:30 am - 12:00pm
Market Medicinals cooking demo
Saturday, August 30th, 9:30am - 12:00pm
|
|
Featured Products
|
Kiyokawa Family Orchards
After a few months away, Kiyokawa Family Orchards is back in the market with cherries and peaches! Because of their location high up in the Hood River valley, their tree fruit arrives (and stays) later than most of area farms. So their cherry season will go for a few more weeks, and their peach season is just getting started. Also, thanks to some new certified-organic land they are now growing on, they now have organic Bing and Rainier cherries for sale at the market!
Bratwurst
Buns on the Run
One of the Hollywood Farmers Market's OV, or original vendors - these folks have been serving up market goers since the beginning. The humble bratwurst is the #1 seller, followed closely by the chicken, sundried tomato, garlic, and feta sausage, which Barbara says doesn't even need a bun - it is so good. They also have a chicken, portabella and sundried tomato sausage as well.
Alfajores
Gabriel's Bakery
Dulce de leche sandwiched between decadent Peruvian shortbread then rolled in coconut.
|
|
Lloyd Farmers Market
| |
Looking for a market to buy your midweek groceries?
Tuesday, 10am - 2pm
Year-round!
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Days:
Every Saturday, May - Thanksgiving
1st & 3rd Saturdays, December - April
Hours:
May - October, 8am - 1pm
November - April, 9am - 1pm
Location:
NE Hancock Street between 44th and 45th Avenues (one block South of Sandy Blvd). In the Grocery Outlet parking lot!
For more information, check us out online at www.hollywoodfarmersmarket.org.
See you Saturday!
Hollywood Farmers Market |
|
|
|
|
|
