A Community that Cooks Together…
Farmers markets play a special role in our communities. They are spaces of health, nutrition and community building. As we say goodbye to 2019, we celebrate our amazing season of collaborations and look forward to a new year bursting with inspiration.
The Next Generation of Eaters
At Kids Cook, Food Scouts and our DIY Kids Booth, we invite our youngest market-goers to help us explore and taste fresh market ingredients with hands-on activities. Kids Cook participants learn about the seasonality of food, meet local farmers, and prepare ingredients purchased fresh from the market. Food Scouts are inspired to make healthy food choices and become environmental stewards plus receive $2 in market tokens to spend on fresh produce. Our DIY Kids Booth flipped omelets, grated vegetables for fritters, made zoodles and pitted cherries for cherry-cheesecake bites.
Inspiring Home Cooks
Through recipe demonstrations, including Chef in the Market and Oregon State University (OSU) Extension Services SNAP Ed programming, we collaborate with farmers, educators and chefs to celebrate height-of-the-season market ingredients. Thousands of market-goers watch, sample and share ingredient knowledge at events throughout the market season. A few of our favorites: Yuri Baxter-Neal & Sakiko Setaka, of LIFE Sampling and SS Shaved Ice (pictured above), shared Temari Sushi and Shaved Ice with us, twice! Katherine Deumling, of Cook With What You Have, prepared and served a delicious Salsa Verde and Spring Vegetable Ragout. Farm Spirit + Fermenter PDX presented their Tempeh Sandwich at the Chef in the Market stage. Market-goers also delighted in OSU’s Strawberry Salsa demo and Portland Farmers Market’s Persimmon-Spinach Salad made with Portland Fruit Tree Project’s gleaned persimmons.
Cooking Together
Disco was the theme of a new collaboration with Slow Food Portland and Cook First Portland at our farmers markets. Disco Soup, a Slow Food International Youth Network initiative, offered our market community a “peel good solution to food waste” and a bowls of soup to share! Volunteers sliced and simmered vegetables gleaned from the market to make delicious soups while youth DJs spun a party atmosphere. Disco Pickle, our free quick-pickling event was kind of a big dill. At PSU and Lents International Farmers Markets over 85 market-goers purchased 57 lbs of produce and 25 heads of garlic then tucked it into 131 jars of brine. Now that’s some Disco Pickles. Learn more about the impact of Disco Pickle here.
You don’t want to miss what we have planned for next year. Look for more inspired recipes, more Disco days, and more collaborations with our community. Sign up for our newsletter to stay in the loop!
