Providing free checking to any farmers enrolled in the farmersfreshmarket.org initiative.
August 2008
Welcome to the first edition of what the Foothills Connect staff intends to be a regular communication with the farmers and associates of the FarmersFreshMarket.org Initiative.
Farmers’ Fresh Market Initiative Video
In May, during a site visit of two chefs, a video was made of the FarmersFreshMarket.org Initiative by a group out of Western Carolina University. That video can be observed on You Tube. The address is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLkMJQD6zp0
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The video gives a pretty good idea of how Foothills Connect intends to rebuild the local economy. Feel free to share this link with your friends and neighbors.
F.A.C.T Classes
In July, Foothills Connect graduated, in conjunction with ICC, the Small Business Center and the NC A&T and local Cooperative Extension programs, its first F.A.C.T. (Farmers Adopting Computer Technology )class:. 8 students completed the course. The second class will be taught by Tim and will start on September 8th and continue every Monday and Tuesday from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. until October 13th. The course will count 40 hours towards the 120 hours needed to receive a free recycled state computer. The FACT class will held in the public Internet access site in the rear of the Foothills Connect Building in Rutherfordton. It is a basic beginner course and will be concentrate on the function of the desktop computer equipment and how to use it to access the Internet. It will be in an informal setting and should be fun.
Tailgate Market
Back in early 2007, Foothills Connect and Liz Rose at the Café on the Mall planned to open a Tailgate Market for the exclusive use of the farmers associated with the Farmers Fresh Market Initiative. Once the volume of food production permitted, the Tailgate market opened at the Tri-City Mall in June of 2008. The market has proved to be very successful with the number of customers increasing each week. Produce not sold to restaurants in Charlotte can be sold at the Saturday Tailgate Market thus opening an additional revenue stream to the farmers. If you are not participating and would like to, call Kirk.
Chef’s Meeting
On Tuesday, August 13th, Kirk, Tim and two Foothills farmers met with four chefs in Charlotte to discuss the fall and winter crops that the chefs would be interested in purchasing. The discussion with the chefs led to the following conclusions:
- Fall and winter, not summer, are the busiest seasons for the upscale restaurants in Charlotte. This means that the chefs could potentially buy more in the winter than they are now.
- The chefs said that farmers should inform the Foothills staff whenever they are in danger of disposing of unsold food so that it can be brought to the chef’s attention.
- The chefs would definitely like to see the Foothills farmers extend the growing season so they don’t have to buy food from California. They are looking to buy the following food items during the fall and winter. Kirk has compiled a list of season extending farm techniques.
- The chefs mentioned the following vegetables as those that they buy in the fall and winter:
-Cabbage -Savoy -Kale
-Collards -Spinach- baby or curly
-Carrots Parsnips -Swiss chard
-Brussels sprouts, red and green
-Mustard greens -Celery root
-Potatoes -Sweet Potatoes
-Beets -Apples -Onions All colors
-baby carrots
-Garlic -Shallots
-Broccoli Ramps
Fennel -Acorns
-Kudzu leaves -Grape leaves
-Sweet potatoes Pumpkin/seeds
-Butternut squash -Chestnuts
-BarleEndives, red and white
-Beans- fresh or dried -Fava beans
-Cauliflower- orange & romanesco
-Chicory Faisee Lettuce -Arugula
-Mescun blend lettuce
-Radicchio
-Leaf Lettuce Green -lettuce
-Deer tongue lettuce
-Beets, yellow
-Leeks -Salsify (white Asparagus)
**Check with Kirk before you decide to plant to make sure that the farmers are not all growing the same vegetables.**
Finally, in a very positive sign, the chefs asked that we create a link from the Farm Fresh Market Initiative website to the restaurants’ websites.
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