Photo by Walter J. Pilsak, Waldsassen | Wikimedia Commons

The Floyd Farmers Market will be open on Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. with strawberries and asparagus and more early spring produce. Warmer weather will allow more of these products into the market next Saturday.

Good Food — Good People will be back with tons of large, red strawberries and crisp baby kale, spinach, and baby lettuce of excellent quality. They received a new shipment if maple syrup, in small to large containers, and hard and soft cow cheese, including: Gouda, baby Swiss, and Colby and feta, ricotta and mozzarella. They hope to have more asparagus next week as well.

We expect to see Kester Clark Farm in the market with their garden greens, gourds and fairy stones. They expect to have plenty of strawberries as well.

Lynette and Bryan Vest will be in the market with their Old Millstone Farm products. They will offer pasture raised, grain fed beef and pasture raised pork. They expect to offer NY strips, rib eye and sirloin steaks as well as ground beef. Also, they will have pork chops and sausage. We look forward to their debut at the market on Saturday.

Kathy Dulaney of Highland Farm will add chickens to her Highlander beef and Tamworth pork products on Saturday. She will have whole and parts. She has had very good production this year, which Kathy attributes to an exceptionally protective rooster of whom she is very proud, and should have plenty of chicken on offer as well as eggs. Kathy has excellent pork sausage and chorizo to offer.

Black Water Loft will offer pour-over coffee, espresso and other coffee and teas. And they are wonderfully HOT! They also offer non-caffeine beverages as well as pastries. They will bring more of the larger pastries next week as well as a dynamite lemon cinnamon roll with lots of nuts and icing.

Maya and Lara will be in the market representing the Floyd Market Collective. They will offer herbal products, aromatic handmade soaps, delicious pastries and cakes, and a wider range of vegetable and herb transplants.

Last week we had Tim Pak provide our musical entertainment. As always, Tim received plenty of clapping and dancing. He is one of our favorite musicians. This Saturday, we will have another of our much appreciated bands, David Simpkins and the KGB. They have a distinct style and sound. WE look forward to having them play for us!

There is plenty to see and do at the market this Saturday and we are opening earlier than last year. Come on down to the Pavilion!

What a great time of year. Seeds and seedlings are going into the ground, and our Community Market is springing back to life on Fridays and Saturdays.

The Floyd Artisan Market opens from 6 pm – 9 pm Friday night in downtown Floyd under the Community Pavilion. There, you’ll find a full slate of local vendors offering local hand-craft, art and local organic food fare.

Remember, Sunday is Mother’s Day. Honor your mother by taking her out dancing at the Friday Night Jamboree, then come across the street and find a one-of-a-kind item from Floyd County artisans and crafters at the Floyd Artisan Market.

Then, come back on Saturday for the Floyd Farmers Market. The official opening with our EBT and SNAP benefits isn’t until May 25, but already many of our 16 local vendors are out selling the offerings of spring.

Here’s a report on last week’s market from Market Manager Marsha Krigsvold:

Hi Everyone!

Here we are in the Floyd Farmers Market today, May 4rth! We will be here every weekend until the end of October, with a Grand Opening on May 25th, followed by our Breakfast in the Market fundraiser for Sustain Floyd.

Floyd Farmers Market

Today, several of our vendors braved the weather and are out in the market selling their products while we enjoy Erica Joy’s Sound.

We have Good Food Good People with beauteous turnips, radishes, and early spring greens. Also the reddest tomatoes that are “the best tasting tomatoes this side of July” as Tenley told me-and they look it!

Riverside Farm is in the market providing CSA member their shares and offering fresh pork, lamb and beef as well lovely colored eggs and crispy fresh garden greens.

Floyd Market Collective members, Maya and Lara, are here representing I-Tal Acres (vegetable transplants), Lara’s Handmade Soaps, Mountain Song Herbals and Sweetwater Bread. The soaps are freshly made and the artful combinations of aromas are wonderful. Maya has malabar spinach, purple tomatillo, and a number of varieties of tomatoes and cucumbers to offer.

The Blackwater Loft and Red Rooster tables are steaming HOT!They have fresh coffee, espresso, and hot teas to offer cold hands and pastries for the empty stomachs!

Mary Fox is here with her mother, Charlene, tending their Mary’s Bread Basket table loaded up with a wide range of spelt flour products, including brownies, cinnamon rolls, Milk and Honey loaves, coconut granola, and cookies.

Penny Lane joined us for the day with her turkey tail wood fungus earrings, jewelry and big smile.

Kathy Dulaney of Highland Farm offering Highland beef and Tamworth pork cuts. She will be in the market with her poultry on the 18th so mark our calender to be ready to come pick up some fresh chicken then!

We started at 830 am sharp and will be here until 1 pm so come on down to stock up on fresh vegetables, bread, pastries (we have three different cinnamon rolls and chocolate brownies-all just delicious!), and a variety of meats.

We hope to see you at the Community Market this weekend!

Second graders watch as Bryan Vest covers a row of planted potato seed.

Last week two classes of 2nd graders from Check Elementary School field-tripped out to Old Millstone Farm for SustainFloyd’s fourth annual Potato Planting.

The students took Kennebac potato seed and planted them in three beds that had previously been prepared by Bryan and Lynette Vest, who own and run the farm. This fall, the same students will return as 3rd graders to harvest the potatoes, which will subsequently be taken to, prepared and served in the school cafeteria.

The Vests also sell all-natural beef and pork, so the students also got a brief tour of the livestock side of the farm. They got to grind corn and feed the pigs and pet a six-week-old calf.

The students are taught by Diann Conner and Annette King.

The potato planting and harvest field trip is a longstanding cornerstone of SustainFloyd’s Farm to School program, which we carry out in partnership with Floyd County Schools, NRV Community Services, Plenty!, Virginia Cooperative Extension and others.

The Roanoke Times’ Burgs also published photos of the field trip.

“Money & Life is debuting in communities throughout the nation,” says SustainFloyd Director Mike Burton.  “We feel fortunate to be hosting this premiere for our area and hope everyone turns out to see it and enjoys a potluck dinner with friends and neighbors.”

“Money & Life” is a passionate and inspirational documentary that makes a provocative proposition: Can we see the economic crisis not as a disaster, but as a tremendous opportunity? The film was produced by independent filmmaker Katie Teague, along with Michelle James, who has been an associate producer for such networks as the BBC, MTV and Nickelodeon.

A $5 donation for the movie will be requested.  The doors of the Floyd Country Store will open at 6 p.m. for the dinner.  Beverages will be offered for additional donations.

SustainFloyd is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that assists the community of Floyd County, Virginia in sustainable, local growth. To learn more about SustainFloyd and its mission, go to www.sustainfloyd.org.

Details:

What:    SustainFloyd premieres new documentary, “Money & Life” following potluck dinner

When:   Doors open at 6 p.m.  Movie begins at 7 p.m. April 20th, 2013

Where:  Floyd Country Store, 206 South Locust St., Floyd, VA

Who:     Everyone invited!  $5 donation/Movie and donations for beverages

SustainFloyd is working to leverage and preserve Floyd County’s existing assets and traditional strengths in agriculture and craftsmanship to help build a resilient rural local economy.

Our efforts now need your support. Your tax-deductible contribution gives you a direct connection to a groundswell of local artists, farmers, school kids and underserved residents who benefit from our programs. Your support is an investment in creating and developing systems to link local farmers and artists with the emerging regional customer base in ways that will benefit Floyd County.

Take a look at what we’ve done since 2009:

The Floyd Farmers Market has grown by leaps and bounds, and our SNAP Double-Value Coupon programhelps make healthy food available for low-income families. Our Mobile Farmers Market brings local food to people in their own neighborhoods. The SustainFloyd truck provides our clients with an affordable way to transport and deliver their products. Our Farm to School program brings locally grown food to the cafeteria at Indian Valley Elementary School, and this fall it will expand to include all four county elementary schools.

Our free workshop on our “pocket farm” model attracted more than 160 people, and more than 50 people subsequently filled the related, 6-week class to capacity. We hope to see at least a few of those go into farming full-time; others may not use the full model but will apply the lessons to produce  off their land, all plugging into the regional markets we are creating. Both groups will help diversify the county’s agricultural base and keep more wealth at home, here in Floyd County. Meanwhile, we’re ground-testing the Pocket Farm template on our own working model farm, which we’re calling Blue Valley Organic.

Linda Osborne demonstrates her craft to young learners on the Floyd Artisan Trail Tour. Photo by Colleen Redman.

We have two highly-energetic and qualified full-time staff diligently working each day toward keeping Floyd rural yet prosperous, preserving what we hold precious about our home before other, outside forces make these decisions for us. They bring the sweat equity to our programs

For that work to continue, however, we need your support. We invite you to be an essential part of this effort by nurturing our efforts in these early phases.

If you agree with this vision, please consider joining SustainFloyd as a member. If you’re already a member, please make a donation or become a Pledge Donor with a monthly contribution that will help support us year-round. We also want your ideas and feedback. Contact us at mailto:info@sustainfloyd.org.

We’re inspired by the support from our members, friends, volunteers and partners in the Floyd community and beyond. We’re a community-based organization, and your assistance makes our work possible.

Sincerely,

SustainFloyd Board of Directors