A Letter From A Farmer...
It was 7 am this Saturday morning and I took one look around me and was impressed. I arrived at the Bristol Farmer's Market and set up my booth with my fellow woman farmer, Jennifer Cooper who sells pasture raised lamb. Earlier at 5:30 am, it hadn't seemed worth it, but now as I took one look around, I felt refreshed. Here were some of Bristol's most dedicated small farmers setting up their wares ready to welcome each person that arrived. They were smiling and joking, working together as if they had known each other and me for years. Farmers were helping farmers. Two great big guys helped my friend Jennifer get her small freezer of lamb out of her truck and over to our table. My neighbor Rick smiled and welcomed us newbies back. Farmer greeted farmer as they milled around setting up their tables and waited for the first customers to roll in.For the next four and one half hours I spent one of the most relaxing and yet invigorating mornings of my week. Customers that had shopped with us for the past two weeks came back and were treated like long time friends and called by their first name. We heard stories from new customers and told a few of our own. Susan, the increbile Italian cook that had retired here in Bristol several years ago offered us family recipes (yum!) and an wonderful story of a baby rabbitt named Franklin that stowed away in her house for a month. Johna, a new vendor, arrived for her first week with the farmer's market with local range fed beef and I left with some of the most beautiful rib eyes I'd ever seen. Margaret, one of our customers, returned for the second week in a row and purchased local lamb from Mane View Farm. Marie, another customer, stood and talked at our booth for at least 20 minutes about how different food combinations help with digestion. Josie, one of the crafters that paints on fabric, made a custom fabric piece for our booth that featured — what else — sheep. Andy, one of the oldest customers and supporters of the Farmer's Market that has been attending since it opened, came by and introduced himself to us. It was a real honor to meet someone so dedicated to our area.
All in all, it was a wonderful morning. For those of you that haven't had the opportunity to come on down, give it a try.
The hours are Saturday from 7 am (yes, it's early but the best time for first choice of everything) to 11:30 am. Right now we have two local beef vendors ( both women farmers, by the way), two fresh local lamb vendors (also both women farmers, by the way), fresh beautiful farm eggs from Fern Valley Farm , a commercial vendor that supplies all kinds of fresh veggies, craft vendors, fresh bread vendor, several plant vendors, tomato plants, basil plants, fresh greens from a local farm, and much more to come as the season progresses.
All you part time farmers out there know that it's still a little early for those home-grown tomatoes and cucumbers but they are still represented by our commercial vendor, Rick, and will arrive soon from our other smaller farmers. But don't wait. Enjoy the wonderful products that are represented now. (Fresh Rhubarb, anyone! I have an incredible strawberry rhubard recipe I'd be happy to share! Larry's favorite!)
Come out and help support your local small farmers and your local economy. The more we support each other the faster we will all recover. And there's nothing like fresh produce, plants, eggs, and meat. It's great to know how your food was produced and who is behind all that hard work. I mean, any group that can get up at 6 am to meet together and still have fun — well, they are my kind of people.
Join us! The Farmer's Market is located just off State Street. Come by and say hello at our booth! We promise a heartfelt "good morning" and we'll probably (definately ) try to sell you eggs and lamb! I might even share a story or two about our ten new Fern Valley Farm ducks that still reside in our bathtub...
Hope to see you soon,
Lynn
Fern Valley Farm
19310 Rollins Drive
Bristol, Virginia 24202 "Where we are thankful for all kinds of animals — large and small."
10th Anniversary Cookbook
The State Street Farmer's Market has received a grant from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture's Farmers Market Promotion and Retail Grant program for 2009. A Farmer's Market cookbook will be produced with the grant funding. The market will be celebrating its 10th year of operation in 2009. The board of directors considered many worthwhile projects that would outlive just the 12 months of the anniversary celebration. The directors and staff made the decision to create a cookbook that would highlight the farmers and gardeners of the region, the produce they raise and the way in which they prepared these fruits and vegetables for their family tables."Please send us your favorite recipe that includes fruits or vegetables you have purchased from the market or canning tips you have found successful over the years", Terrie Talbert, Director of Community Relations asked. "The best recipes that result in the most success in preparation usually come from our parents or grandparents. The people who had to cook because there wasn't a fast food restaurant down the road" continued Talbert.
Please include your name and the city you live in with the recipe. A phone number that will not be printed in the cookbook but would be available to staff in the event there are questions about the recipe sent in would also be appreciated. "You can even add a story to your recipe if you would like, "I know in my family, everyone knows how they came about a recipe; who passed it on to them, or where they found it or how they created it" said Nancy Sluder, State Street Farmer's Market Master.
You may mail your recipe to the State Street Farmer's Market, PO Box 3563 Bristol, Tennessee 37625. Deadline for entries will be March 15, 2009. For more information call 423-764-1879.
What's Growing In Your Back Yard
What Are You Growing In Your Back Yard?The State Street Farmers Market would like to invite anyone interested in being a vendor at the Market this season to join in. If you think just because you don't have a farm you can't participate as a vendor you are ....wrong! A small garden that is all you need.
We are also looking for artisans and crafters.
If you have any questions or are in doubt about anything you would like to sell at the market, please don't hesitate to contact us at 764-1879. We look forward to seeing you at the Market this season. Oh, and don't forget about our 10th Anniversary Cook Book that will be available for purchase. You wouldn't want to miss out on all the local recipes from many different generations.
Exciting Things Happening at the Market
May 2009We are so lucky to live in an area where you wake up everyday to such beauty and an opportunity to share our lives with such great people.
This year the role of the Community Relations Department at the market has changed. You will be seeing regular updates such as this on market activities and plans for the market. The department will be writing grants on the state and federal level for the market as well as doing advertising design, placement and marketing duties as before. Statistical information and surveys will be gathered by the department for use in our efforts to apply for other grants, so if someone comes looking for information, please help us out. Terrie Talbert's role as the Farmers Market Advisory Committee liaison will continue as well. The department will continue to update the website www.statestreetfarmersmarket.com and produce a market newsletter, so make sure and get us any information you want to see on the site or in the newsletter.
Parks and Recreation is now providing set-up and maintenance of the market along with clean-up of post market activities. They are also providing concessions for the market, but the same friendly face will still be greeting you. Mrs. Glenna Thomas our longtime concession sales associate will remain at the market in that role. 
This year the market opened with lots of new faces, including new vendors, farmers and most of all a brand new Market Master. Mr. Freddy Hickman took thereins of the market this year. Let's all make him welcome. Freddy is a local fellow and has been involved in the community his entire life. He has worked part time in Parks and Recreation for a number of years and has been nice enough to take on market duties as well. Make sure and look him up while you are at the market and get any information you want in the newsletter or on the website to him and he will forward it to us. Freddy will also be responsible for getting the information for the weekly updates on the market produce. His report will be available on this site too. This year the market received a grant from the Tennessee Agriculture Department's
TAEP program. The grant was for approximately $10,000 and is being utilized to purchase banners for State Street, new on-site market flags, and new re-useable tote bags, along with our 10th Anniversary Cookbook. We are forever grateful to the Tennessee Agricultural Department and Commissioner Ken Givens for the funding over the years of approximately $30,000 that would have not otherwise been available. We have purchased tables and chairs; developed this website; created a market poster series; brochures; banners; flags; cookbooks and totes.
We applied for and received a grant this year from the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Development Grant in the amount of $15,000. The market's grant was the first to be approved in the State of Tennessee. This grant will be used for advertising on TV, Radio and Print along with some additional direct marketing pieces. More information will be coming out about this grant very soon.
Even with all this in place we still have a few surprises left up our sleeves.
We have applied for support from each of the local subsidizing governments again this year. We attended the Sullivan County Commission's Administrative Committee's hearing recently and received many positive comments about the market. Our request for funding was approved by them, but of course this must go before the complete commission for final approval. The City of Bristol Tennessee has approved the request for funding for the year. Bristol Virginia and Washington County Virginia have not completed their budget process for the year, but we feel confident that our request will be approved there too.
This year should be one of the best the market has had since its inception. We have such a selection of new products and produce. Everyone seems to be excited about the potential of the market it can't be anything but great!
Who Grows Your Food?
Knowing where your food comes from means you can find out how it's grown, whether the farmer uses pesticides, and if so what kind. Buying local foods from local farmers means you're not paying extra for your food to be shipped in from Californina, Florida or Mexico. Plus you're supporting your local economy.
It's food you can feel good about.
No Farms No Food
It's summer time, and an abundance of fresh local food is available at your favorite farmers markets. But did you know every hour we're losing 125 acres of farm and ranch land? Spiking fuel prices and the ever-present threat of development are pressuring America's farmers adn ranchers.
Fortunately, farmers markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms, food cooperatives, and even your local foodshed all have one thing in common; they all require healthy local farm and ranch land to be part of the local food solution. That's why supporting farmers markets and local farms is more important than ever!
