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Frankenmuth Farmers Market |
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A source for your freshest locally grown produce |
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Location of the Frankenmuth Farmers Market |
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Farmers' markets are an ancient method used by farmers worldwide to sell their produce directly to consumers. As U.S. food production became increasingly industrialized and specialized, farmers' markets were replaced by brokers and supermarkets. In the past two decades, however, farmers' markets in the U.S. have rapidly regained popularity. Farmers find a number of advantages in selling at farmers' markets. By selling directly to their customers without going through middlemen, farmers can charge retail prices for their produce. A farmers' market is a good place for new growers who are perfecting production skills and learning which products customers want most. In addition, many growers enjoy the interaction with customers and other vendors, and say "This is my social life!" For customers, too, the farmers' market is not just a place to buy food, but a social affair. A festive atmosphere helps to bring people to markets, where they can talk with farmers about how the produce was grown and how it can be prepared. |
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The Frankenmuth Farmers Market is located near Cass and Main Streets, between Harvest House Coffee and the Kite Craft Toy Company. Parking can be found behind the Market and is accessible through the Zehnder’s Restaurant entrance on Main Street or via Cass Street. Visitors may also park across Main Street behind the Chamber Platz. |
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We invite you to visit us during our 2009 Season. Market Days are every Saturday May through October, Rain or Shine Your Market is now open every Saturday !!
Also, don’t Forget to Mark Your Calendars for our Traditional Christkindlmarkt held every Thanksgiving weekend ! |
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Web Sites of Interest
www.eatingwell.com www.cooksillustrated.com
“Both periodicals have fantastic recipes! I haven't come across a bad recipe yet. Both magazines overflow with lots of helpful information on cooking and on nutrition and healthy eating habits.”
“Cooks Illustrated - The only twist with this magazine is that they do not allow any advertising of products on their pages. If someone has a question about which salsa is the best, they will get a panel of judges together and run a taste test, plus they will cook with the products in their own test kitchens and find out which salsa is the best. It is really a great magazine.”
Heidi Enge
We encourage you to visit these other informative websites:
· The Frankenmuth News at: www.frankenmuthnews.com
· The Frankenmuth Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau at: www.frankenmuth.org · Michigan Farmers’ Market Association at: www.farmersmarkets.msu.edu · Farmers’ Markets listed by State—useful when planning your trip: www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/map.htm · Local Harvest — Real Food, Real Farmers, Real Community: www.localharvest.org · True Food Network — Community Supported Agriculture: www.truefoodnow.org/shoppersguide/sustainable.html
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“All For” Farmers Markets!
As most farmers markets are nonprofit organizations, they are only able to rely on grassroots marketing efforts and word of mouth to promote the importance of markets. The public’s cooperation in spreading the word is extremely important to markets’ long-term success. Help the volunteer-organized, nonprofit markets in your area, and you will in turn reap many benefits for your community.
Farmers markets positively influence their region in so many ways. Benefits provided include: the freshest local, flavorful produce; affordable, convenient, healthful products; connection to food and nutrition for youth; preserving open space and productive land; social interaction and enrichment; united communities; education and entertainment; reduced pollution and oil dependency; environmental awareness; strengthened local economies; preserving heritage; and many, many more. With farmers markets encompassing so many aspects of life including culture, economy, agriculture, ecology, and society, everyone is able to benefit from them. However, not everyone takes advantage of their local markets. One trip is all it may take to have them returning again and again for the positive experience. Live music, educational and informational booths, cooking demonstrations, children’s events and activities, product sampling, and the exchange of goods and information between producer and consumer enrich a region in a venue and phenomenon unmatched by any other in today’s society. The popularity of markets is on the rise as their number has more than doubled from 1,800 in 1994 to over 3,800 today. Convincing everyone to support their local farmers market is key to the continued survival and growth of these markets.
Farmers markets contribute substantially to the local economy by keeping funds within a region, preventing their funneling to out-of-state agribusiness corporations. For instance, only 22 cents if the average retail food dollar ends up in the hands of the farmers who produced the food. This is not too surprising, considering the average food item travels 1,500 miles before it is consumed. Farmers markets eliminate the middlemen, directing 100% of the food dollar to the farmers while often creating lower prices for consumers, a win-win situation for both sides. The region benefits even more because family farms tend to support other local, family businesses, who in turn support other local businesses, multiplying the power of the monetary flow in a region.
This is especially critical in Michigan’s current state of economic difficulties. With mid-Michigan being a largely agricultural region, farmers markets play an even more vital role in the area’s economic prosperity. While an economy may shift as consumer demands and foreign influences change, such as in the automobile industry, the need for food is a constant one and one that will grow in the future as the population grows. Every major city in the U.S. has its own or several farmers markets, and the trend is now spreading to more rural areas where it can more powerfully influence a greater portion of the local economy.
Farmers work year-round to provide society with three meals a day, every day of the year. We can help give back to them by supporting farmers markets and inviting friends and family members to the market if they have not yet been. Citizens can further support their local economies by frequenting locally owned businesses and restaurants and purchasing locally made products whenever possible, such as Michigan sugar. Please support and shop from your local market, and spread the word about the power of farmers markets. |
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The following article appears in the July 1, 2009 edition of the Frankenmuth News
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The following article appeared in the June 24, 2009 edition of the Frankenmuth News
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Not Yet New Neighbors
by Dietrich Bronner
8am-2pm Saturday in Downtown Frankenmuth:
· Silverwood Bottom Boys Old Time Gospel Music · Frankenmuth Police Traffic Safety · Wild Birds Unlimited Bird Art · Jewelry by Jennifer Lund · The Manors Chefs Ken and Susan Vieau
At our first farmers market this year, we met two very special new friends—Nancy and Gary from Clawson, Michigan—who may be bigger fans of the Frankenmuth Farmers Market than we are! Here is their intriguing story, delivered via interview: If you live in Clawson, what are you doing here at the Frankenmuth Farmers Market? Nancy and Gary: We have been coming to Frankenmuth for over 30 years, usually on Sundays, just to get away and relax, sit by the river, and enjoy all the unique shops. When we decided to eventually retire to Frankenmuth, we subscribed to the Frankenmuth News, where we read that Saturdays were Farmers Market days. We then changed our outings from Sundays to Saturdays to come to the market. We love it so much that we try to come up at least once a month. What do you like best about the Frankenmuth Farmers Market? We love the assortment...the produce, the entertainment, the baked goods, and the friendly people we meet. What do you like least about the Market? Be honest! What can we improve? (This question is mandatory!) About the only thing that we dislike is the hour and twenty minute drive. Sometimes the weather may keep us home. What are your favorite purchases at the Market? We love the Triple Sweet corn and the winter squashes. How do you transport your fresh produce back to Clawson? We use a large cooler in the trunk of our car. Do you have a favorite Market memory? We thought it was really cool the Frankenmuth Police had a safety program for the kids. This would be great for our grandkids. And we love that the market is so kid friendly. Where else do you visit in Frankenmuth? On the Saturdays we come to the market, we start at Satow's for the best breakfast in town! It is so good and the best deal! Then we shop at the market, visit The Harvest Coffee House and Beanery for coffee and buy a few used books. When the weather is nice we take our coffee and books and sit down by the Cass River for a relaxing afternoon, and we usually walk the town before heading home. We love many of the other shops in town, but this is our market day outing routine. Are there any other towns you often like to frequent? Not really. Our destination is almost always Frankenmuth. How often do you visit the Royal Oak Farmers Market? Not as often as we could, but it is usually very busy. Are you “local-vores?” Yes indeed. We try to buy as much locally grown food as we can. I plant a good- sized garden myself so that we can enjoy food right from our back yard. The Clawson area has so many great gourmet food stores and farmers markets. What charms you about Frankenmuth and our Market that entices you to spare some of your food dollars to spend up here? Frankenmuth is the town we plan on retiring to so when we spend our money there, we feel in some small way a part of the community. I guess you could say we are investing our dollars in our future.
Strawberries in Cream (Puffs) Cream Puffs: 3/4 cups water 3 Tbsp. butter, cut in pieces 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. sugar 3/4 cup flour 3 eggs
1 cup chilled whipping cream 1 tsp. plus 2 Tbsp. maple syrup 1/4 tsp. Michigan cherry brandy, eau de vie, or vodka 1/8 tsp. vanilla extract 6 large strawberries, hulled
2 pints strawberries, hulled 3 Tbsp. maple syrup Powdered sugar
For cream puffs: For filling: For sauce: Slice cream puffs in half, filling with cream and then sauce, and replace tops. Dust with powdered sugar.
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Run to Your Market!
by Dietrich Bronner
Frankenmuth Farmers Market 8am-2pm Saturday in Downtown Frankenmuth
This Saturday, run the Volksläufe, then run to your Market! What better way to celebrate the freedoms we enjoy in our blessed country than to get off the couch, get out into the community, and exercise your right to exercise with thousands of like-minded, healthy Americans (and a handful of Canadians)! No matter your level of fitness, this race is for YOU! Run, jog, walk, or wheel 5 kilometers, 10k, or 20k, or tag along with a toddler on the 2k. There’s still time to register at volkslaufe.org (until July 2), at the Spaghetti Dinner and packet pick-up (starting 5pm Friday), or the morning of the race. Bring your family, neighbors, and friends. You are guaranteed to feel better, healthier, and satisfied participating in such a great community event while getting a nice workout too! Have no fear about “racing” against others or the clock. The Volksläufe is a great thrill to enjoy, and you only lose if you don’t participate! The Frankenmuth Jaycees do an outstanding job of offering this opportunity to the community, so support their efforts. Then, run to your Market! From 8am to noon, racers will be running down Rosstal Street (the Market’s “back” entrance) to Gunzenhausen Street and across Main Street, so plan on coming south on Main Street and entering Zehnder’s Restaurant parking lot to find your Market. Or, park across Main Street behind the Chamber. If you’d rather cheer than run, join our Spirit Team at the Market’s back entrance by Rosstal Street, one of the many groups in the Jaycees’ Spirit Team Competition cheering runners on throughout the course. Cheer for runners and your Market while checking out the balloon arch over Rosstal that racers will run through, provided by We Deliver The Fun. The Market and the runners need your support to encourage them those last few kilometers, so cheer along with us for a few minutes or a few hours. Wow! Summer rushed in with a huge hurry, more than quadrupling the varieties of veggies at your Market in one warm week! And somehow, word got out! We were swamped last Saturday by people grabbing goodies left and right—the oh-so-savory, flavorful fresh produce we wait so long for to cherish between two cheeks. The large crowd actually took us by surprise (not that we don’t know that every one of YOU should visit your Market every Saturday)! See what the buzz is about! We have lettuce, sugar peas, snap peas, summer squash, zucchini, cucumbers, pickles, potatoes, kohlrabi, cabbage, green onions, apples, and so much more, plus strawberries and cherries, perfect for your Independence Day shortcake (…a dessert well deserved after the morning’s walk or run!). Warmer weather is welcoming more and more produce to your Market, so swing down every Saturday to see what’s new! Celebrate your freedom—to assemble in public, to speak with friends and neighbors, to feast on fresh food and real flavor, to vote for a sustainable, safe, local food system, and to support our farmers who have supported our nation since its start. Whether it’s your freedom, your health and fitness, your farmers, or your Farmers Market, use it or lose it! Happy 4th of July!
USA Strawberry Sorbet ½ cup St. Julian sparkling wine (or 1 Tbsp. sparkling juice) 1/3 cup Michigan sugar 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 2 pints Market strawberries, frozen (or cherries) Market maple- or honey-whipped cream Frozen/canned local blueberries or preserves from last year’s harvest If using sparkling wine, reduce in saucepan on medium heat until only one flavorful tablespoon remains. Combine wine (or 1 Tbsp. juice) with sugar and lemon juice. Boil; reduce heat to low and stir until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. In food processor with knife blade, blend frozen berries until they resemble finely shaved ice, scraping down side often. Let thaw slightly if needed—fruit must be finely shaved or sorbet will not be smooth. Keep processing while pouring in hot sugar syrup in a thin stream. Process until smooth but still frozen. Package and freeze until firm. To serve, thaw 10-15 minutes; scoop into champagne flutes (with additional flutes of St. Julian sparkling wine alongside!), topping with (an optional splash of sparkling wine and) maple/honey whipped cream and blueberries for a Red, White and Blue finale to your 4th! -Dietrich
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