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Off-season/Year-round Farmers' Markets

Off-season/Year-round Farmers' Markets
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  • Off-season/Year-round Farmers' Markets

    Post #1 - October 19th, 2017, 3:17 pm
    Post #1 - October 19th, 2017, 3:17 pm Post #1 - October 19th, 2017, 3:17 pm
    We have a few threads about specific farmers' markets or specific aspects of them, but I didn't see one about the aspect I want to comment on today, so I've started this new thread. I hope the moderators will merge it with an existing thread if they see fit.

    Today was the last day for the Libertyville farmers' market, so I made a point of asking each of the vendors I talked to whether they would be at any off-season/year-round farmers' markets. I didn't hit all the vendors, but I learned some interesting things I thought I'd share.

    1. Gretta's Goats - spreadable chevre and goat milk soaps. A goat farm in Pecatonica, Illinois (near Galena). See the website (http://www.grettasgoats.com) for lots of pictures of their adorable little goats! and info on products, farm visits, etc. Their soaps (not sure about chevre) are sold at several nearby stores, including multiple Sunset and Whole Foods stores.

    2. Leider's Honey - Libertyville -- honey, beeswax, candles, etc. Products also sold locally at, among other places, The Spice Shop on Milwaukee Ave in downtown Libertyville. I talked with the vendor about having heard of the health benefits of eating local honey vs mixed honey from a variety of sources. http://www.leidershoney.com/

    3. Sitka Salmon Shares -- I was surprised to see this stall. I told them I got their emails but didn't know if our small household could justify a share, so I was glad to see they were selling on site. Although today was the last Libertyville FM of the year, they will be selling at other markets in Chicago and some surrounding counties (McHenry for one; none in Lake, I don't think) and in Kenosha and Racine. The lady I spoke to said to check the website in another couple of weeks to see what winter markets they'd be at. I saw some of their share boxes on the table alongside prices per pound for various products, and I was afraid that meant you could only buy products at FMs in multi-pound boxes, but that was not the case. She had a large cooler full of individually shrink-wrapped pieces of frozen fish and prawns. I bought a piece of wild Alaskan dusky rockfish for $7.60.

    4. The Little Bison Company - Salem, Wisconsin - http://www.thelittlebisonco.com, grass-fed bison, but also grass-fed pork and lamb and other products. They will be at the Palatine FM for another few weeks and other places, and the lady stressed to me that they do home deliveries, usually a 2-day turnaround.

    I gather that the Green City Market in Chicago is year-round, but I'm not likely to be able to go into the city often for it. Here in Lake County, Grayslake has the only year-round FM that I know of. Palatine's (is that Cook County?) appears to be year-round too; today was the first I'd heard of it.

    I thought a thread on off-season farmers' markets and what they have to offer would be useful, so I hope others will post with info they have.
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  • Post #2 - October 19th, 2017, 8:15 pm
    Post #2 - October 19th, 2017, 8:15 pm Post #2 - October 19th, 2017, 8:15 pm
    Hi- Evanston's outdoor market is still going on through 11/4, and one of the churches in Evanston, Emmanuel Lutheran puts on a market every year the Saturday before Thanksgiving. There are probably 15 farmers that show up for that. There are also two indoor markets that take place in Evanston starting the first Saturday in December. The market at the Evanston Ecology Center takes place every Saturday morning. I believe it runs from 9:00-1:00. Emmanuel Lutheran also runs a market 2 Saturday mornings per month from December through April. The church was approached a few years ago by several of the farmer's who were coming to the market at the ecology center and were unhappy there. There was not enough space at the ecology center for all the farmers, and it was really crowded. The only disadvantage of the market at Emmanuel Lutheran is that you either have to haul everything on the one elevator, or carry it up the stairs. The market that takes place there in November is partly held outside.

    There is also a group called Faith in Place, which consists of a consortium of churches in the state, with the great majority of them being in the Chicago area. They foster churches to become more green, and they show environmental documentaries, and just had a green summit recently in Chicago. They also put on a bunch of farmer's markets in various churches that have a membership in their organization. All of their farmer's markets take place on either a Saturday or Sunday. They are still trying to finalize the schedule for their winter's markets. I know they always have a market at the Unitarian Church in Deerfield sometime in the wintertime. If you sign up for their emails they will let you know where they will be any particular weekend. Some weeks they have markets on both Saturday and Sunday. The markets take place from December through April. I've been to a few of their markets. River Valley Ranch is usually at all of their markets, and there are people selling apples and cider, but it is more centered on meat, baked goods, honey, other prepared foods, and homemade soap. Here is a link to their website were you can sign up to receive emails from them.

    https://www.faithinplace.org/our-progra ... rs-markets

    Hope this helps, Nancy
  • Post #3 - October 20th, 2017, 10:51 am
    Post #3 - October 20th, 2017, 10:51 am Post #3 - October 20th, 2017, 10:51 am
    The Logan Square (Chicago) farmer's market is outdoor through Oct 29. The Indoor Logan Square Farmers Market Season is hosted by Emporium Arcade Bar at 2363 N. Milwaukee at Fullerton and runs every week there until the outdoor season starts again in March.
    Please note: you'll need to bring a valid form of ID to enter. Those under 21 will need to be accompanied by an adult.
    https://www.facebook.com/LoganSquareFarmersMarket

    "Pick up winter produce, meats, cheeses, fish, and other locally produced goods! Prepared food will be available, highlighting local products. Visitors can get drinks and black coffee from the bar. "
    Leek

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  • Post #4 - October 20th, 2017, 3:22 pm
    Post #4 - October 20th, 2017, 3:22 pm Post #4 - October 20th, 2017, 3:22 pm
    Experimental Station 61st street Farmers Market in Chicago. This is a nice market that I attend regularly.
    Here are some of this Saturday's offerings and highlights from their newsletter for tomorrow the 21st. As you can see it offers a pretty full plate of vendors and activities...

    Mick Klug Farms and Ellis Family Farms will be selling many varieties of apples, pears, and apple cider!

    Growing Power will be bringing salad mix, kale, collards, chard, microgreens, squashes, eggplants.....

    At the Gorman Farm, this week, they are harvesting kale, collards, Swiss chard, fall squashes (acorn, butternut, spaghetti, delicata), potatoes, pickles, cucumbers, yellow and green zucchini, Brussels sprouts, beets, bell peppers, some broccoli, onions, tomatoes, garlic, parsley, mint, and pumpkins for pumpkin pies and for carving!

    The Urban Canopy has promised us collards, lacinato kale, chard, red and golden beets, green tomatoes, black cherry tomatoes, Fairytale eggplants, radishes, bell peppers, Red Mars onions, Spanish sweet white onions, garlic, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, Yukon Gold potatoes, Norland Red potatoes, turnips, oregano and wheatgrass! From River Valley Ranch, they will be selling white button, crimini, portobello, and shiitake mushrooms, as well as River Valley salsas, pasta sauce and granola.

    This week at Mike & Clare's Farm, they are harvesting Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, celeriac, leeks, potatoes and greens!

    Antiquity Oaks will be bringing bok choi, sweet peppers, jalapenos, baby cabbage, French sorrel, fresh sage, fresh oregano, goat milk soaps, wool dryer balls, and sheep and llama blend yarn.

    John Bailey Honey will be selling his delicious seasonal honeys and jams, canned peaches, pickled beets (with and without jalapenos), apple sauces, pickled okra, garlic, beeswax candles and more!

    This week, Sitka Salmon will be offering wild-caught and flash-frozen coho salmon, keta salmon, salmon burger meat (flaked salmon), Pacific cod, black cod, albacore tuna, dusky rockfish, spot prawns, smoked king salmon and smoked black cod.

    To meet your need for organic, pasture-raised meats, the Market offers Faith's Farm and Mint Creek Farm products. You will find pork, beef, chicken, duck, lamb, goat, and more!

    This week, Organic Bread of Heaven will be introducing their NEW 'Heavenly Pumpkin Granola'! You will also find their full selection of organic, vegan breads, sweets and pizzas!

    Build Coffee will again be selling outside and inside. Outside at the Market, Build Coffee will be selling cold brew coffee and an array of Publican Bakery boules and baguettes. Inside (around the corner on Blackstone), Build will offer their full espresso menu and delicious Fabiana's pastries!

    Hearth & Market will be celebrating the season with their Fall Harvest Pizza featuring a pear, ratatouille-style squash and root vegetables topped with Gruyère cheese. They will also be creating a 3-Cheese Heirloom Tomato Pizza with microgreens and maple-smoked bacon, as well as a Meatball Special Pizza with crispy spigarello and Mint Creek organic beef. And, to top it off, the Apples & Cinnamon Dessert Pizza!

    Again, no specifics yet about what Pleasant House Bakery will be bringing, but undoubtedly a variety of delectable breads, pastries and breakfast and lunch pies!

    Throughout the month of October, SenTEAmental Moods will be serving the season favorite—Pumpkin Chai! SenTEAmental Moods roasts Illinois-grown pumpkins and blends them with black tea, chai spices, fresh organic cream, and locally made cardamon syrup—which you can top off with a hand-crafted marshmallow. In addition, you will find your other favorite hot and iced brews. Don't forget to use your rewards cards! Despite last week's abysmal weather, two reward card-users were awarded free drinks!

    From 10am-1pm, at the Market School, it's PUMPKIN CARVING TIME! Come to the Market School tent with your child, pick up a voucher for $5 off on the purchase of a pumpkin from Gorman Farm Fresh Produce, and bring it back to the Market School tent to carve. Experimental Station volunteers will be there with all of the carving tools and assistance you need!

    At 10:30am, stop at the Chef Demo tent and learn how to prepare Jerk Veggie Tacos!

    At 11:30am, join Dr. A of School Girls Rock! for a FREE yoga lesson on the lawn.

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Experimental Station 61st street Farmers Market

    Saturdays from 9AM-2PM
    Outside weekly at 61st & Dorchester starting May 13th, 2017

    In November and December of 2017, and January through April of 2018, the Market goes indoors at the Experimental Station. Entry is on Blackstone Avenue.

    Moving Indoors in 2017 for:
    November 4, 11, 18 / December 2, 9, 16
    2018: January 13 / February 10 / March 10 / April 14

    https://experimentalstation.org/market
  • Post #5 - October 20th, 2017, 4:49 pm
    Post #5 - October 20th, 2017, 4:49 pm Post #5 - October 20th, 2017, 4:49 pm
    leek wrote:The Logan Square (Chicago) farmer's market is outdoor through Oct 29. The Indoor Logan Square Farmers Market Season is hosted by Emporium Arcade Bar at 2363 N. Milwaukee at Fullerton and runs every week there until the outdoor season starts again in March.
    Please note: you'll need to bring a valid form of ID to enter. Those under 21 will need to be accompanied by an adult.
    https://www.facebook.com/LoganSquareFarmersMarket

    "Pick up winter produce, meats, cheeses, fish, and other locally produced goods! Prepared food will be available, highlighting local products. Visitors can get drinks and black coffee from the bar. "


    Small clarification: the indoor market ends in March but the outdoor Market does not begin until May. There is usually a 2ish month gap in between.
  • Post #6 - October 22nd, 2017, 10:20 am
    Post #6 - October 22nd, 2017, 10:20 am Post #6 - October 22nd, 2017, 10:20 am
    I am impressed with Experimental Station's farmers market and other projects going on in Woodlawn. I noticed that Mint Creek Farms sells at the farmer's market there. Mint Creek also comes to the Evanston market, where there is a demand for their product. I was interested in buying some ground turkey from them a few weeks ago, and it was $12 a pound. I realize it is organic, but are there that many people that visit the Woodlawn market who can afford their meat? It sounds like a fair amount of the people who visit the market are on the LINK program. They double the amount you can spend at the farmer's market there if you are on the LINK program, but from looking at their site, it looks like you can only use your LINK vouchers on fruits and veggies, which I assume means you can not use them on meat, and how can anybody that is on food stamps afford $12 a pound meat?

    It sounds like a wonderful market though, and I like the fact that they actually encourage people on the LINK program to come there. They also go into one of the elementary schools in Woodlawn, and try to get kids turned on to fruits and veggies. Evanston also matches purchases made with a LINK card, but they do not publicize it as much as they probably should. I also noticed that Glenview matches purchases, as well as some other suburban markets such as Park Ridge. Thanks, Nancy
  • Post #7 - October 22nd, 2017, 10:49 am
    Post #7 - October 22nd, 2017, 10:49 am Post #7 - October 22nd, 2017, 10:49 am
    NFriday wrote:I am impressed with Experimental Station's farmers market and other projects going on in Woodlawn. I noticed that Mint Creek Farms sells at the farmer's market there. Mint Creek also comes to the Evanston market, where there is a demand for their product. I was interested in buying some ground turkey from them a few weeks ago, and it was $12 a pound. I realize it is organic, but are there that many people that visit the Woodlawn market who can afford their meat? It sounds like a fair amount of the people who visit the market are on the LINK program. They double the amount you can spend at the farmer's market there if you are on the LINK program, but from looking at their site, it looks like you can only use your LINK vouchers on fruits and veggies, which I assume means you can not use them on meat, and how can anybody that is on food stamps afford $12 a pound meat?

    It sounds like a wonderful market though, and I like the fact that they actually encourage people on the LINK program to come there. They also go into one of the elementary schools in Woodlawn, and try to get kids turned on to fruits and veggies. Evanston also matches purchases made with a LINK card, but they do not publicize it as much as they probably should. I also noticed that Glenview matches purchases, as well as some other suburban markets such as Park Ridge. Thanks, Nancy

    I haven't been to the market, but I suspect that a good number of Hyde Parkers shop there as well. My son lives a few blocks away on the HP/Woodlawn border, and he goes every week. Many of the Chicago and suburban markets double the value of SNAP Link card purchases. Evanston's is not among them according to the Illinois DHS listing.
  • Post #8 - October 22nd, 2017, 11:28 am
    Post #8 - October 22nd, 2017, 11:28 am Post #8 - October 22nd, 2017, 11:28 am
    Thanks- I could see people in Hyde Park having the money to buy organic meat.

    The state is wrong. Evanston Farmer's market does match the LINK purchases up to $25. They have a table at the market where they give you your vouchers. According to the Friends of the Evanston farmer's market website, the friends have been sponsoring this since 2011. In 2014, $36,000 in purchases were made at the market by LINK recipients. Apparently you can purchase meat with your vouchers at the market. Evanston Hospital was the group that originally sponsored this for a few years. Here is a link to their website'

    http://evanstonfarmersmarkets.org/friends-link/

    Experimental Station also lists Evanston as being a participant in the program.

    BTW- the friends is going to have a fundraising dinner on 10/30 to help fund this. The tickets are $100. You can purchase tickets through the friends site. It is going to take place at Found, and is going to feature chefs from five different restaurants. The dinner starts at 6:30. Thanks, Nancy
  • Post #9 - November 5th, 2017, 12:50 pm
    Post #9 - November 5th, 2017, 12:50 pm Post #9 - November 5th, 2017, 12:50 pm
    Hi- I am on Faith in Place's email list. They do a winter farmer's market a various churches in the Chicago area starting in November, and ending in April. They usually have one market per week, and the markets always take place on a Saturday or Sunday at a church. The season is kicking off this Saturday. The first market will take place this Saturday 11/11, in Park Ridge and then the following week it takes place at a church in Chicago. The only churches in the North Shore that are participating this winter are the North Shore Congregation on Sheridan Road in Glencoe, and a church in Gurnee. Probably half of the churches that are participating are in Chicago. I've been to a few of these markets, and they are heavy on prepared foods such as salsa, honey, bakery items, and soup mix. There is also a lot of meat for sale. They also have some homemade soap. River Valley mushroom also always show up at these markets. There are a handful of farmers that bring apples, cider and eggs, and there are a few farmers that bring winter veggies, but those are definitely in the minority. Here is a link to their schedule for this winter.

    https://www.faithinplace.org/sites/www. ... 017-18.pdf

    BTW- The Thanksgiving Indoor farmer's market is taking place again at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Evanston on November 18th from 9:00-1:00. You can park in the lot next to the Holiday Inn at Sherman and Lake Hope this helps, Nancy
  • Post #10 - November 5th, 2017, 12:54 pm
    Post #10 - November 5th, 2017, 12:54 pm Post #10 - November 5th, 2017, 12:54 pm
    I forgot to mention that all of the farmer's markets that Faith in Place sponsors will take LINK cards, and will double them up to $25. Emmanuel Lutheran in Evanston also participates in the matching program.

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