Meet Me at the Market

The mission of Meet Me at the Market is to bring adults and families to the Wasatch Front Farmers’ Markets to enjoy healthy exercise, experience the beauty and ambiance of our locations, and to appreciate and patronize local businesses.

Although participants are not required to check-in, in order to qualify for our MMM Rewards Program (free t-shirts, breakfast, farmers’ market produce, etc.) and FREE RAFFLE each week, you need to check-in at the Meet Me at the Market Booth! Route maps will be posted soon, and will be available the day of each walk/run.  All participants under the age of 18, must be with a parent/guardian.

Meet Me at the Market – Gardner Village | Saturdays, starting June 1st
Check-In Time: 8:00am  -  9:00 am
Group Warm Up: 8:45 am | Run/Walk Start Time: 9:00am
Free Raffle for Gift Certificates and Rewards Program: 10:15am
Make sure to stay after the run/walk and enjoy the Market and use your MMM discounts!                     

Meet Me at the Market – Wheeler Farm | Sundays, starting June 2nd
Check-In Time: 8:00am – 9:00 am
Group Warm Up: 8:45 am
Run/Walk Start Time: 9:00 am
Free Raffle for Gift Certificates and Rewards Program: 10:15am
Make sure to stay after the run/walk and enjoy the Market and use your MMM discounts!

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Utah has a wide variety of farms. There are many farms that raise fruits and vegetables, flowers and herbs, and animal products of all kinds. Our farmers are dedicated to stewardship and committed to quality. And while they love what they do, they aren’t doing it for entertainment. They need to make a living. Consumers that value fresh food and a working landscape should support local farmers by buying their products.

Here are TEN reasons why:

1)  Locally grown food tastes and looks better. The crops are picked at their peak, and farmstead products like cheeses are hand-crafted for best flavor. Livestock products are processed in nearby facilities and typically the farmer has direct relationship with processors, overseeing quality – unlike animals processed in large industrial facilities.

2) Local food is better for you. The shorter the time between the farm and your table, the less likely it is that nutrients will be lost from fresh food. Food imported from far away is older and has traveled on trucks or planes, and sat in warehouses before it gets to you.

3) Local food preserves genetic diversity. In the modern agricultural system, plant varieties are chosen for their ability to ripen uniformly, withstand harvesting, survive packing and last a long time on the shelf, so there is limited genetic diversity in large-scale production. Smaller local farms, in contrast, often grow many different varieties of crops to provide a long harvest season, an array of colors, and the best flavors. Livestock diversity is also higher where there are many small farms rather than few large farms.

4) Local food is safe. There’s a unique kind of assurance that comes from looking a farmer in the eye at farmers’ market or driving by the fields where your food comes from. Local farmers aren’t anonymous and they take their responsibility to the consumer seriously.

5) Local food supports local families. The wholesale prices that farmers get for their products are low, often near the cost of production. Local farmers who sell direct to consumers cut out the middleman and get full retail price for their food – which helps farm families stay on the land.

6) Local food builds community. When you buy direct from a farmer, you’re engaging in a time-honored connection between eater and grower. Knowing farmers gives you insight into the seasons, the land, and your food. In many cases, it gives you access to a place where your children and grandchildren can go to learn about nature and agriculture.

7) Local food preserves open space. When farmers get paid more for their products by marketing locally, they’re less likely to sell farmland for development. When you buy locally grown food, you’re doing something proactive to preserve our working landscape. That landscape is an essential ingredient to other economic activity in the state, such as tourism and recreation.

8)  Local food keeps taxes down. According to several studies by the American Farmland Trust, farms contribute more in taxes than they require in services, whereas most development contributes less in taxes than the cost of required services. Cows don’t go to school, tomatoes don’t dial 911.

9) Local food benefits the environment and wildlife. Well-managed farms provide ecosystem services: they conserve fertile soil, protect water sources, and sequester carbon from the atmosphere. The farm environment is a patchwork of fields, meadows, woods, ponds and buildings that provide habitat for wildlife in our communities.

10) Local food is an investment in the future. By supporting local farmers today, you are helping to ensure that there will be farms in your community tomorrow. That is a matter of importance for food security, especially in light of an uncertain energy future and our current reliance on fossil fuels to produce, package, distribute and store food.

Food for Thought!

Maryann

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CAGE FREE vs. PASTURE RAISED

Until this past week, I truly believed that Cage-Free meant that the chickens were all clucking about in grassy fields without a care in the world, laying their eggs in peace, and grazing all day long. Thus, I went on a mission of finding out what Cage-Free really means.

Here is what I found via my good friend, Google:

How Does Your Chicken Cross the Road?

The “why” is easy: We love to brunch. We love our omeletes rich, our yolks runny. But it’s the “how” that’s truly puzzling. We’ve become accustomed to the new carton slogans: cage-free, organic, free-range, pasture-raised. They evoke images of grassy plains and frolicking animals; but what do they mean? Amidst these vague descriptors and seemingly innocuous imagery, understanding how a chicken is raised is confusing—and often so on purpose.

So, now we know the difference between pasture-raised eggs and cage-free. But, can a new term change how we think about and purchase our eggs? I think: yes. A few years ago, cage-free was not an option found at the grocery store. But we voted with our forks and forced the egg industry to meet our demands. Will this occur once more when the public learns the truth about pasture-raised organic eggs? It’s only a matter of time.

Information courtesy of www.good.is.

With this information, we have decided to sell Clifford Farm Eggs. Julie Clifford is Utah’s fore-mother of pasture-raised chickens!

Happy chickens lay tasty eggs!

Maryann

Director, Wasatch Front Farmers Market

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Wheeler Farm Barn 6351 S. 900 E.

Dates: December 1st and 2nd, Hours: 10am-3pm

Event Schedule:
- Pancake Breakfast (9am – 12pm)
- Milk and Cookies and Gingerbread House Building (11am – 3pm)
- Visit Santa Claus (11am-1pm on Saturday, 12pm – 1pm Sunday)
- Shop (10am – 3pm)!

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Just a few of the terrific costumes we saw at Wheeler Farm this weekend!

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