Tag: farmers markets

Last summer, Lori Bean and her mother spent hours and hours picking the fruit for her Georgia Jams. Already, she’s a victim of her own success: This year, to keep up with growing demand, she’s resolved to buy in bulk from local farmers—and to sell seasonally. When her 2012 Flavor of Georgia finalist, Summer Berries & Wine jam, is gone, it will be gone.In terms of growth, Emily Myers of Emily G’s Jam of Love is a step or two beyond Bean. This winter, for quality-control reasons, she switched from a co-packer that could work with whole fruit she was able to source locally to a larger facility, still in Georgia, that is less likely to work with local ingredients.“Quality is the most important. I have to have product. If I can get that locally than to me, that is amazing and I am thrilled," Myers says. “But we have to grow outside Atlanta, and I make no apologies. I can’t feed my family by making jam in my kitchen.”No one could blame a local business owner for thriving. The question for farmers market shoppers—and market managers—is, at what point does a company’s methods no longer match the expectations of the consumer?“They get so big and have so much demand that they change the way they’re doing things,” says Lauren Carey, market manager at Peachtree Road Farmers Market. “It’s a wonderful success story. It just means that they’re not appropriate for the farmers market anymore.”Many area farmers markets, including Peachtree Road, require vendors to meet certain standards. Many are “producer-only,” meaning a vendor can only sell what it makes. Others may require produce at farm stands to be grown within a certain mileage, or a certain percentage of ingredients in processed foods to come from local sources.Market managers, too, face economic pressures. Each farmers market competes—for both customers and vendors—with all other markets. A manager may look the other way when a food processor changes production methods that no longer meet the rules of the market.“I think that that’s the hardship, especially with so many small, struggling markets,” Carey says. “‘Do I change my values of being local, to attract something that might get customers in, so maybe they’ll get some kale to go with it?’ I think the questions the managers have to ask is, does that happen?”The local challengeBuying local ingredients for production, Myers says, is easier said than done. Often, the problem is reliability: If you plan to buy all your pears or tomatoes from one grower and the crop fails, then your business is put into instant jeopardy. Sometimes, the problem is competition or availability.When a business partnership collapsed, cheesemaker Robin Schick found herself in possession of a lot of cheese-making equipment and no goats’ milk. She went on to found her own creamery, CalyRoad, but securing a local source—really, any source—of goats’ milk to make her cheeses proved to be extremely difficult. Most goat-herders in Georgia are either already making their own cheese or are not set up to sell milk for human consumption. Out-of-state farmers need expensive certification to transport milk over state lines. To survive, she made two critical decisions. First, she started making cheeses from local cows milk, and second, she determined to make what goat cheeses she could from an out-of-state source of curd—otherwise known as chevre.“When we can, we buy loca

In my house, the dog days of summer are more like the rabbit days of summer.Between our garden, our friends’ gardens, and our weekly CSA box from a local farm, we are absolutely swimming in vegetables. Each day feels like a race to consume or preserve whatever we didn’t get to the day before … because tomorrow, something new will be ripe in the garden.

Marietta Square has long hosted one of the biggest, most bustling Saturday farmers markets in metro Atlanta. This summer, it’s also been quietly holding a second market with an entirely different—but still very likeable—vibe.

I was lucky enough to participate in the judging of a peach cobbler contest last week, and now I’d like to share my good fortune with you.The July 3 contest at Grant Park Farmers Market was part of Peach Jam, a two-market celebration of Georgia’s most esteemed fruit. On June 30, East Atlanta Village Farmers Market held a peach cocktail contest. Both markets featured peach-themed kid activities, chef demos, snacks, and a guy wearing a peach suit.

It’s a big weekend for Atlanta-area farmers markets. Not just because several markets are opening for the season. But also because it’s the first big peach weekend.

Last week, it was Marietta Square. This Saturday, it’s Peachtree Road. Next Wednesday, Dunwoody Green. Soon to follow: Sandy Springs, Alpharetta, Chamblee, East Atlanta, East Lake, Serenbe, Grant Park.

Farmers market fans love their fresh, local produce … and what’s fresher or more local than food grown in your own backyard? The organizers of East Lake Farmers Market know that the line is fine, indeed, between farmers and gardeners. Hence the Farm to Garden Sale.