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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 Hā Penny 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 in 2008. Market Days are every Saturday May 17th through October 18th, *8am to 2pm, Rain or Shine. (*9am—2pm after Labor Day and our Traditional Christkindlmarkt on 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 May 7, 2008 edition of the Frankenmuth News
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The following article appeared in the April 30, 2008 edition of the Frankenmuth News
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Your Mark on Your Market
The excitement of last Saturday’s Earth Day Extravaganza honored our growers and providers while offering a sneak peak of your Market’s upcoming season! Thank you to those who attended (and remember to water your free white pine seedlings well). All remaining seedlings have been donated to the City. Everything is greening up and growing, including plans for another great Market year. There is still time for you to get in on the action as we unveil our fourth season. First, sponsor your own day at your Market with a donation of $50, or show your support with $25 for a mention in our 2008 Market Magazine hitting homes in mid-May. It takes a community to make the Market, and we could not entertain, educate, and enrich without your patronage, the support of the local businesses advertising in our Magazine and the generous donations of individuals such as yourself to help defray Market expenses. These contributions are investments to strengthen our local food system, economy, heritage, and environment while magnifying the benefits of local food. For $50, you will be mentioned in our Market Magazine and have one Market day named in your honor (or whomever you wish to honor). Just think: Your very own day at the Market! A $25 donation will show your support and your name in our Market Magazine. Please mail donations to the Frankenmuth Farmers Market, 11585 King Road, Frankenmuth, MI 48734. Donations must be received by May 6 for inclusion in this year’s Magazine, but subsequent donations will earn a spot in our 2009 Magazine. We can’t wait for the thousands of eyes to read through the publications’ pages, and we are so thankful for the area businesses advertising in it. Take note of these businesses and visit them often, for their civic-minded commitment and contributions truly show their interest in improving their community for the enjoyment of everyone. Also, to get the most out of your Market, you'll want to join our email newsletter list for weekly updates, tips, shopping lists of what’s at the market, recipes, exciting offers, and more. Email dbronner@chartermi.net to join. (You can opt out at anytime.) Finally, anyone who tasted the incredible flavor of Lawrence Farms’ organic arugula, butterhead, or mixed spring greens on sale last Saturday will certainly hunger for more home-grown goodness. We encourage everyone to sign up for the Lawrence Farms CSA (community-supported agriculture), and to do so before spots are sold out! For joining, you will receive a weekly delivery during the entire growing season of the freshest organic produce around, including the eye-popping, unique varieties and the long-standing traditional favorites Lawrence Farms are known for. Please contact Greg and Tina Lawrence at 989-871-2060 or gl4393@tds.net as soon as you can for more information or to sign up for some seriously good food! (You may want to inquire about spots for 2009 too!) So, how can you grow your local food system and get the most out of your Market? 1. Grow your Market with a $25 or $50 donation to honor your local heroes—the farmers who feed you! 2. Email dbronner@chartermi.net an exciting e-newsletter with the inside scoop (or shovel) on Market matters and more. 3. Get a load of local food each week by joining the Lawrence Farms CSA today! We will see you when your Market opens on May 17!
Graham Crackers Just in time for campfire season, skip the hyper-processed, preservative-pumped, plastic-packaged version of these s’mores essentials. Try one batch and you’ll definitely want s’more!
1 ½ cups Hampshire Farms graham flour (or whole wheat) 1 cup Hampshire Farms all-purpose flour ¼ cup brown sugar 1 tsp. baking powder ½ tsp. baking soda ¼ tsp. salt 9 Tbsp. butter 1/3 cup milk ¼ cup Victoria Farms Eden honey ½ tsp. each vanilla and molasses
Combine dry ingredients. With pastry cutter, cut in butter to form coarse crumbs. Combine milk, honey, vanilla, and molasses and pour into dry ingredients. Mix with fork to form a ball, then knead 12 times on a floured surface until smooth. Divide in half and roll out each half to a 1/8-inch thickness on a floured surface. Prick with fork and sprinkle with additional coarse (raw) sugar, if desired. With a pastry wheel or knife, cut into 2-inch squares and bake on an ungreased, parchment paper lined sheet for 12-15 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Cool on a wire rack.
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Mother Nature’s Day
Moms are pretty important people. It would be pretty hard to keep civilization going without them! Mother Nature is pretty important too. All materials, resources, and fuel we require are obtained from this big green and blue globe as it spins and flies through outer space. When you were a child and your room got messy, you wanted ice cream instead of veggies for dinner, or had to jump on the bed just one more time (before the resulting trip to the emergency room), your mother warned you to get wiser in your ways. Now, Mother Nature is warning us to wise up before she walks out on us! As the ice caps melt, more tornadoes twist apart our towns, global temperatures rise, salmon and other fish disappear from the Great Lakes, half of the world’s frogs suddenly face extinction, and one-third of all bees have died, how many more wake-up calls do we need before we change our impact on the Earth? As modern as our society is, and as futuristic as we may develop, we still are and will forever be inherently linked to the land. While gas prices, the stock exchange, and other woes occupy our mind, we simply cannot go on ignoring that our daily decisions impact our Earth. Every day is an Earth Day. What may seem a daunting challenge can be overcome by taking small steps in your every day life, starting with your food! While your mother fed you growing up, another group of providers do the back-breaking work to put food on society’s table and nourish our civilization. Some of these behind-the-scenes workers will debut their appearance when the Frankenmuth Farmers Market opens May 17! Yes, your friendly farmers who feed you are also the ones who nurture Mother Nature, caressing her with their plows and pitchforks to produce hearty, wholesome foods to fuel us. As the great stewards of our land, farmers have always been there, living off the land for the greater good so we can go about doing our own things. We can do our part in protecting the environment by eating from our farmers. Don’t let chemists or food scientists do your cooking. Instead, eat food grown in Michigan—the hand that feeds you! Local foods from friendly farmers taste better, supply more nutrients, sustain a safe food supply, reduce pollution and gas and oil dependency, protect open space from urban sprawl, and connect communities. Regretfully, it is extremely hard to get local foods at grocery stores or even at local restaurants. We hope this changes, and we encourage and invite all local businesses to source as much as they can locally. Just ask us how! More importantly for Mother Nature, when you purchase local foods at your Market, you can talk to the farmers that grew it and encourage them to use environmentally friendly practices, as many of them already do. Your local growers can tell you about chemical use, organic practices, when the produce was picked, and whether they use good old elbow grease or foreign oil when they farm—information you can’t find at a grocery store on foods flown over on gas guzzling jumbo jets from California, Chile, or China. Most food travels 1,500 miles before it is eaten. Most Market produce travels less than 15! If I were you, I’d buy local food all the time and ask for those 1,500 miles back that someone stole from you so you can take a 1,500 mile vacation! Put your foot down on local ground, take a stand against foreign food and foreign fuel, and do all you can to save every bit of energy. Every bit helps, and future generations might need every bit they can get! Make a difference for Mother Nature with each delicious, local bite she provides us. Now, that’s something your own mother would be proud of!
Manly Quiche for Mother What’s the ultimate “chick” dish? One word: Quiche. And there’s nothing more manly than a guy who can provide for his family—by cooking up a treat mothers and others will love for its filling flavor, especially if it’s a healthier version of the artery-clogging cliché quiche has come to be.
Choose the crust of your convenience to line a greased 9” pie pan: (A) Sprinkle raw oats into the pan. (B) Or, layer in sheets of phyllo dough with a brush of melted butter and bread crumbs and cheese between layers. (C) Or, mix 1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour with ½ tsp. salt; stir in 1/3 cup olive oil and up to 2 Tbsp. orange juice to form a smooth ball; roll out or pat into pan.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a sauté pan on medium heat, cook 1 pound turkey bacon or sausage. Cool slightly and mix into 5 eggs, ½ cup milk, 1 cup shredded cheese of choice, a pinch of thyme and nutmeg, and ½ tsp. each salt and pepper. Sauté 2 to 3 cups of mixed vegetables of choice (onion, spinach, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, etc.) and add to egg mixture. Pour into crust and bake 40 minutes.
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