Come to Tuesday Market for GiveNOLA Day 2022! | May 2, 2022

Fresh & Local:

Come to Tuesday Market for GiveNOLA Day 2022!

GiveNOLA Day (May 3rd) is tomorrow! Early giving is underway. Click here to donate or start your own fundraising campaign for Market Umbrella.

For over a quarter of a century, Market Umbrella and Crescent City Farmers Market have cultivated the field of public markets for public good. Through our markets, we aim to bring vendors and shoppers together over a shared love of fresh local foods. By creating space and opportunity for farmers and small food businesses to succeed, we elevate the local and regional food system. We also offer free trainings and technical assistance to vendors, to help them bring you the best market experience possible.

We’re more than a market. With the help of our donors, our Market Match program increases food access throughout New Orleans and beyond. Market Match matches dollar-for-dollar purchases made by customers who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In fact all of our programs—Marketeers Kids Club, Market Mommas program, Farmers Market Nutrition Program benefit doubling, and more—rely on your support to grow, expand, and reach new heights. Market Umbrella seeks to create positive change in local and regional foodways, but we can’t fulfill our mission alone.

Now through May 3rd, we ask that you please make a donation in support of our programs and join us in growing a stronger, healthier and more resilient community. Give online today or visit our Tuesday market (Uptown Square, 200 Broadway Street at the River) and check out our Give NOLA Day table. We hope to see you there!

Preserves available from Isabel’s Tamales and Produce

Picks of the Week:

Marketing Assistance to Vendors at Market!

If you have been to the market lately, you might have noticed a few subtle changes around. Perhaps it’s a new label on a jar of jam or salsa, an eloquently designed banner with a new logo for a farm, or even something as simple as a few signs identifying prices and products! Over the past several months, Market Umbrella has been working with vendors to help them boost their farmers market business through assistance with logo and website development, market presence enhancement, label development/compliance, and social media. From bringing in Eric Hassert with Grow NYC to talk about consumer behavior at the farmers market to having vendors work one-on-one with marketing and design professionals to create logos and labels, all CCFM vendors were offered free resources to help boost their business thanks to a Whitney TA grant and our partnership with the LSU Ag Center on a beginning farmer and rancher development and training program. The spring producer training series continues this week with a newly revamped Market Ready training on Tuesday, May 3rd - providing small scale food businesses with guidance from harvest, packaging and pricing to how to sell to restaurants. Find tickets here!

Greaux the Good!

Learn more about the proposed Greaux the Good statewide SNAP match program by visiting the website, and stay connected with the progress of this legislation by signing up for updates!

Keeping those Mother’s Day Flowers Fresh!

Properly caring for cut flowers can make a huge difference in how long they stay fresh. With Mother’s Day right around the corner, here are a few clever tips on how to make your bouquet last longer.

• When you first get your bouquet, use a sharp knife to cut an inch off the stems’ base at a 45-degree angle. This increases the surface area and allows for greater water uptake.
• Fill your vase with clean, cold water stopping just a couple of inches above the stem.
• Cut off any leaves or greenery below the waterline. They can breed bacteria.
• Finally, change the water, realistically, every 2-3 days to keep your bouquet beautifully blooming for as long as possible.

If these tips helped you, stop by the Welcome tent at your next visit to the market to let us know how long your flowers lasted!

Join our team!

Join the Market Umbrella team and help us build a stronger food system and healthier community! Our current Market Manager is moving on to become a farmer(!) and we are looking for someone berry passionate about local agriculture, direct to consumer sales, vendor support and working with an organization with a focus on food access and nutrition education. For more information and to apply, click here!

Vendor of the Week:

White Oaks Farm

Join us in celebrating a big welcome back to White Oaks Farms! As one of CCFM’s very first vendors back in 1995, we are excited to have them back at market after two long years away. White Oaks Farm, located in Folsom, Louisiana, grows a plethora of seasonal flowers. At our Sunday market you can find mother and daughter duo, Shirley and Ann Randon, with snapdragons, zinnias, sunflowers, calla lilies, and countless other spring flowers! As we get closer to summer, keep an eye out for the addition of veggies at their table. In coming back to the market, White Oaks Farm has so appreciated seeing all of the familiar and new faces of the CCFM community!

Recipe of the Week:

Loaded Potato Skins

Potato skins, but with a twist! Our program coordinator, Amanda, loves baking sweet potato skins using fresh and local sweet potatoes from CCFM vendors. Keep reading to find out how to make this tasty appetizer in your kitchen!

What’s your favorite dish to make after visiting the Crescent City Farmers Market? Share your recipes with us on Instagram or Facebook and it might be featured in our weekly newsletter!