This Week's Farmers' Markets

This Week's Farmers' Markets
Markets in Philadelphia unless noted otherwise.

Rittenhouse Farmers' Market
Walnut Street (south sidewalk), west of 18th St.
Tueday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

University Square Farmers' Market
36th at Walnut St.
Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Girard & 27th Farm Stand Market
Wednesday, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Fountain Farmers' Market
East Passyunk Ave., at 11th St. and Tasker St.
Wednesday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

East Lancaster
Historic Eastern Market
308 East King Street
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Wednesday, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

City Hall Farmers' Market
Philadelphia City Hall
Wednesday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Broad & South Farmers' Market
Broad and South streets
Wednesday, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Cliveden Park
Chew Avenue and Johnson Street
Wednesday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Temple University Farmers' Market
Cecil B. Moore Avenue between Broad Street and Park Walk
Thursday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Weavers Way Farmers' Market
Carpenter Lane and Greene Street in front of High Point Cafe
Thursday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Jefferson Farmers' Market
On Chestnut Street east of 10th Street.
Thursday, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Norristown
Swede and Main streets
Thursday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Oxford Circle
Oxford and Summerdale avenues
Thursday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Clark Park Farmers' Market
43rd Street and Baltimore Avenue
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Thursday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Fairmount Farmers' Market
22nd Street and Fairmount Avenue
Thursday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Schuylkill River Park Farmers' Market
25th and Spruce streets
Wednesday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Palmer Park Farmers' Market
Frankford Avenue and East Palmer Street
Thursday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Germantown Farmers' Market
Germantown Avenue and Walnut Lane
Friday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Roxborough Farmers' Market
Ridge Avenue at entrance to
Leverington Avenue parking lot.
Friday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Overbrook Farms Farmers' Market
63rd Street between Sherwood Road
and Overbrook Avenue
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

East Falls Farmers' Market
Midvale Avenue near Ridge Avenue.
Friday 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Fitler Square Farmers' Market
23rd and Pine streets
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Phoenixville Farmers' Market
Bridge Street and Taylor Alley
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Wrightstown Farmers' Market
2203 2nd Street Pike (Rt. 232)
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Glenside Farmers' Market
Easton Rd. and Glenside Ave
Glenside, Pennsylvania
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Chestnut Hill Growers Market
Winston Road between Germantown Avenue
and Mermaid Lane.
Saturday, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm

Conshohocken
Fayette and West Hector streets
Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Bryn Mawr Farmers' Market
Municipal Lot 7 on Lancaster Ave.
Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm

Catasauqua
Pine Street between Front and Railroad streets
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Manayunk Farmers' Market
Canal View Park on Main St., near Gay St.
Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm

Lansdowne Farmers' Market
Lansdowne Avenue Parking Lot
between Baltimore Pike and Stewart Avenue
Saturday, 9 a.m to 1 p.m.

Collingswood Farmers' Market
Between Collings Ave and Irving Ave.
Collingswood, New Jersey
Saturday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Headhouse Farmers' Market
2nd and Lombard streets
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

North Hills-Oreland Farmers' Market
110 Pennsylvania Avenue near Twining Road
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Swarthmore Farmers' Market
In front of the Swarthmore Co-op
Saturday, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm

Lansdale
Railroad Plaza
Main and Green streets
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

West Reading
500 block of Penn Avenue
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Awesome Article About the Headhouse!!!

In this month's issue of Philadelphia Style Magazine, the Headhouse Farmers' Market is profiled! What an honor to see some of our friends at the Headhouse make it into print! The article profiles the market in general and it's history, but also mentions some of our favorite vendors specifically like Tom Culton from Culton Organics (nice photos Tom), Matt Yoder of Yoder Heirlooms (a vendor we at the Feed highly recommend, everything we have ever purchased from them has been stupendous and Matt really knows his stuff), Ben Wenk from Three Springs Fruit Farm (a Philly Food Feed Friend), and others. Be sure to give this article a read and when you see these vendors next time you are at the Headhouse, give them a shout-out and a hearty handshake. These people are helping put the Philly farmers' market scene on the map!

We actually visited the Headhouse on Sunday morning, which is our custom. We picked up pounds of peaches from Three Springs that have already made it into my cereal and into the baby's food. And speaking of Tom Culton, we purchased some heirloom tomatoes which adorned last night's salad and a cauliflower which we also ate last night with zeal. And even though we aren't Philadelphia Style Magazine (lol), Tom graciously let us sneak a quick pick of him and his pheasant feather crown which Tom explained was made by his girlfriend.
Speaking of last night's salad, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the heirloom sweet chocolate peppers that were also included. We purchased these earthy, attractive, mildly flavored beauties from Yoder's Heirlooms, specifically from Matt Yoder. As stated earlier, Matt always has a variety of exotic heirlooms on hand and will tell you about them with a knowledge that could only come from passion. Visit Matt next time you are at the market and ask him to tell you about what he's got. You will get an education AND some really great produce.

KFC - New Double Down Sandwich - Ugh.

So it seems the citizens of Nebraska and Rhode Island are basking in the glory of a new"sandwhich" from KFC which does more than border on "bad taste" (pun intended...of course). The KFC, "Double Down" "sandwich", has been unleashed into their respective areas. I keep using quotes for the word "sandwich" because most sandwiches I have ever seen require at least two pieces of bread. However, KFC has a new spin. Instead of bread adorning the "meat" (bacon, two kinds of cheeses and sauce) the "sandwich" is being held together by two pieces of fried chicken.

The The Vancouver Sun did an independent calorie analysis for this monstrosity and concluded the "sandwich" will likely contain about 1228 calories.From the Sun:

But if our figures hold true, and KFC won't confirm they don't, the Double Down is more caloriffic than the Wendy's Triple with Everything and Cheese (1700 mg sodium, 960 calories, 26 gms of fat), the Burger King Stacker Quad (1770 sodium, 1020 calories, 69 gms of fat), and compares closely to the fat, salt and calorie totals of three McDonalds Big Macs put together (3060 sodium, 1620 calories, 87 gms fat).

Now why is this important to the Philly Food Feed? Besides the obvious health hazards of this edible edifice, the "Double Down" presents a perfect example of what is wrong with the food system in America. I called a KFC in Middletown, Rhode Island to find out the cost of the "sandwhich" and was informed that all of that Kentucky Fried juicy goodness costs $4.99.

$4.99 for roughly 1200 calories. What is the significance? Well, if you are paying any attention to the news lately, you will see that the health care crisis in America is dominating the headlines and cable news networks. One sixth of the economy is devoted to health care spending. America spends more on health care than any other country, per capita. With that being said, Obesity ranks as one of the biggest factors in health care spending.

Where am I going with this? What does this have to do with a 1200 calorie, 5 dollar sandwich? Well, I did a little research. I went online and looked at various supermarkets in my area and their prices of produce. Then I took their sales and did the calorie counts per pound of what they were offering. Then I multiplied and came out with various equivalents. All that jargon aside, it would take $14 dollars to eat the amount of broccoli that equals to 1200 calories. It would take $16 dollars of squash to meet the same caloric amount. Now I know nobody is going to eat 7 pounds of broccoli (although up until now I didn't think a "sandwich" would substitute fried chicken for bread), but you get the point. For people on or around the poverty line (the ones most affected by Obesity and the ones most likely not to have health insurance), it makes more fiscal and caloric sense to eat a "Double Down" than a double order of broccoli and there is something really wrong there.

If the President really wants to talk health care reform, start with the Farm Bill and corn subsidies. I cannot guarantee this, but that sandwich probably has more corn by-products in it than chicken. Some people who are aware of corn subsidies and their effect on the fast food industry's low low prices say when you are eating fast food, you are actually paying twice - once for the product and then with your taxes that help subsidize the Farm Bill. I think anybody who buys this "sandwich" (see, quotes until the end) are paying three times - with the third time being their health.

Homeade Baby Food Website/Blog

Now that Ethan is 11 months old, I have been searching the internet for recipes for homemade baby food (using local, organic, and IPM foods of course!). I can't tell you how many times we have given him pureed peaches from Three Springs Fruit Farm, but now it's time to diversify his palette a bit! I have found a wonderful website/blog that has recipes galore, as well as how and when to introduce them to your baby. I am going to include a link to this site on the Feed, but I wanted to announce this specifically for all of you parents out there! Enjoy!!!
Homemade Baby Food Recipes and Blog

Awesome Time Magazine Article

In an article published today, Time Magazine offers a primer on the true cost of cheap food in America. While most of us who are reading this blog might already be privy to the myriad of reasons to move to more of a local and organic diet, this Time article is a great tool to spread around to our friends and family who might not yet be on the trolley.

Read and Spread Around!  

President Obama Talks Local Food

At a recent interactive health care strategy meeting, none other than President Obama sang the praises of local food and even discussed the idea of having a farmers’ market outside of the White House! While that might be a lofty goal, it is more than heartening to see the President of the United States acknowledging the benefits of local healthy foods to school children and the need to set up infrastructure to facilitate the distribution of local foods to schools. From President Obama:

When it comes to food, one of the things that we are doing is working with school districts. And the child nutrition legislation is going to be coming up. We provide an awful lot of school lunches out there and -- and reimburse local school districts for school-lunch programs. Let's figure out how can we get some fresh fruits and vegetables in the mix. Because sometimes you go into schools and -- you know what the menu is, you know? It's French fries, Tater Tots, hot dogs, pizza…it turns out that that food's a lot cheaper, because of the distributions that we've set up. And so what we've got to do is to change how we think about, for example, getting local farmers connected to school districts, because that would benefit the farmers, delivering fresh produce, but right now they just don't have the distribution mechanisms set up.

OK Mr. President! Sounds great! The intention is there! So let’s see what we can do about setting up this infrastructure. The other day I wrote about the recent law passed in Illinois that mandates local food purchases from state agencies to the tune of 20% of all purchases by 2020. We already have a National Student Lunch Program, among other federal programs that subsidize student meals at schools and other non-profit agencies. Why not a national law that mirrors the Illinois statute? A mandate that a certain percent of lunches in each state under the federal program come from foods produced locally within each respective state? Perhaps it could be an amendment to the Energy Bill currently being knocked around Washington. There can only be a reduction of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere if this food doesn’t have to travel as far. Furthermore, creating a local food infrastructure can help create jobs that can’t be exported. Local fresh foods for children? Jobs? Sounds good to me.

Wrightstown Farmers Market

Hey there, Stu here.

So my wife and I have been bitten by the local bug, and we've been checking out these places on the weekend. The drive to the Wrightstown Farmer's Market was idyllic to say the least - that is after a local corrected Googlemap's wonky directions. (shakes fist at Googlemap)

When we got there, it literally was a square of stands stretched out over a field. Right off the side of the road! Emily and I decided with our paltry FM (farmer's market) budget this week, we'd window shop before plunking down.

Now me, I love peaches. Peaches (and pears too) have that fine line between sweet, juicy perfection, and feeling like a peach flavored apple. We'd been getting peaches downtown at the Headhouse Farmer's Market, and they had finished their season. Good thing there were plenty of peaches to pick from here.


The price was great! And those peaches were DELICIOUS. But it really is the end of the season; it was a race against time to eat those peaches and frankly, we lost. On a side note, one of those "there's two kinds of people in this world" things... Evidently, I eat peach skins and Emily doesn't. And we both think we're weird for not doing what the other does!

Miss Peach, as I'll call her, was very approachable and friendly, just like everybody here. I think that's part of the charm of the FM crowd - people know you're going out of your way to shop with them - you don't have to, you CHOOSE to. They know it, and so they make it worth your while. It's like night and day compared to the service you usually get at a supermarket. One of my biggest pet peeves is you'll get up to the register, and the entire time you're there, with your $100-$200 order, they are talking "shop" with their coworkers. There's been times where my eyes have not made contact with the cashier during the entire transaction! Not so here. Everyone was really friendly. Here, check this out:

You've gotta try these chips. It's funny to think about chips - you see potato chips as a salty, junk food snack. But a potato is a vegetable. They had Beet chips, um... other chips...

There were tomato and basil chips. It was great to taste flavors you normally don't get in a chip.

I don't think I got a picture of it, but next to Brad's was a bread guy. He made brownie bread! Is it bread? Is it a brownie? It was delicious either way. He'd slice off a bit and offer it up without a second thought.

Here's where we got a lot of our veggie produce. As Em will tell ya, I'm trying to shed a few pounds (who isn't?), and big, juicy salads are the way to go.















Hey, check out the "Ugly Tomatoes"! Calls em likes ya sees em! I've never been one to say a fruit has to LOOK good to taste good. (And yeah, tomato's a fruit.)




But I know that there's a wonderful feeling to seeing the ripe, vibrant colors of fresh fruit, all laid out before you. You can tell this produce hasn't been carted around across half the country, or globe! Check these out:




Isn't that beautiful?














The open field really added to the environment and ambiance. Some just came to enjoy the beautiful day.


































Now another thing I like to grab at the FMs is bread. I've always loved bread, and fresh local bread hits the spot like nothing other! When I was living in Castor Gardens, I would frequent the local bakeries for a good loaf of rye, or some Amaroso rolls. Now, I get my bread treats at places like this! And Wrightstown did not disappoint. This guy was selling tomato pie, and while I didn't have enough to grab one, I made sure to set some green aside for a loaf of Italian bread - seeds included please.



He was selling crab sauce too. Great guy, made friends right away!




















Then we ran into this vendor, who had some of the most colorful produce and flowers on the whole field:

Check out these eggplants and flowers!
Well, we'll definitely be back to the Wrightstown Farmer's Market. It screams summer and it's a fun spot for those seeking a simple pleasure on a beautiful day.

Eat up!!

Stu

Local Food, Farms and Jobs Act in Illinois

This past Tuesday, Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois signed the “Local Food, Farms and Jobs Act” into law. This law mandates that state agencies in the state of Illinois will be required to purchase at least 20% of their food from within the state by 2020 and that state-funded institutions, such as schools, have a 10% mandate. Moreover, when purchasing food, these state and state-sponsored agencies will have the power to pay a little more than the lowest bid if the food they are buying is produced locally.

The genesis of this law can be traced back to a report released in January by the Illinois Local and Organic Food and Farm Task Force. This report stated that essentially, Illinoisans spend 48 billion dollars a year on food, but out of that only about 5% of that number is being spent within the state. The study by the Farm task force further states that by supporting smaller Illinois farmers, $30 billion new economic activity could be generated state-wide each year.

The advantages of this law are numerous. First, the environmental impact cannot be overstated. While 80% of Illinois is farmland, by importing most of their food, the average mileage traveled from farm to table for a vegetable in Illinois is 1500 miles. 1500 miles of shipping and refrigeration that can be avoided from buying from somebody in your backyard. Furthermore, smaller local farmers tend to be more diversified in their crop selection, which lessens the dependence on fossil fuel based fertilizers and pesticides.

Secondly, by granting permission to state agencies to purchase local food, the opportunity for children in the inner-cities of Illinois to have healthy choices in what they eat increases. Unfortunately for some children, food received from state aid is their only source of nourishment. Perhaps if the food is healthier, these children will have a chance at a better life.

While the environmental and moral reasons are obvious, the economic impact of this law is the major catalyst for its passage (isn’t that usually the case?). Creating a local food infrastructure creates jobs that cannot be outsourced. From the March 2009 report from the Illinois Local and Organic Food and Farm Task Force:

“The business of creating and maintaining all the links in the local supply chain— aggregating, processing, packaging, storing, and transporting products— translates into jobs that cannot be outsourced. Right now, such a system doesn’t exist. There is not enough local food to meet the demand, nor enough farmers growing local food, nor companies in the business of processing local food. But there are too many food marketers disappointing their customers. This void is
what’s called opportunity.”

So there it is. We need to watch Illinois closely in the upcoming months to see how this all pans out. If all goes according to plan, Illinois can be a shining example of how environmental, moral, and economic imperatives do not have to be mutually exclusive. Worse comes to worst? Children get access to healthy local food. Sounds good to me.

Huffington Post Local Food Competition

Well, the Huffington Post is at it again! Some of you may remember a little while back, Huff Po asked their readers to submit their favorite farmers' market pictures. The Food Feed actually made an appearance with a picture of the bounty at the Headhouse Market! Anyway, they are at it again, but this time, they want to know the best cities in the country for local food! Farmers' Markets, eateries, microbreweries, festivals - they want to know which city can boast that it's the best. Well we here at the feed know that there can be none better than the City of Brotherly Grub! Come on people! Go to the Huffington Post and submit your favorite local food eatery or tell them Philly needs to be mentioned!

Let's Go Philly!

Welcome Food Trusters!!!

Hello to all of you who have followed the link from the Food Trust newsletter! This is The Philly Food Feed! We are explorers who venture throughout the Philadelphia area in search of fresh food, friendly farmers, convenient Co-ops, etc.! Please take a look around, look at some of our older posts, and leave a comment if you are so inclined. Thanks for stopping by and WELCOME!!!

This Week's Farmers' Markets

This Week's Farmers' Markets
Markets in Philadelphia unless noted otherwise.

Rittenhouse Farmers' Market
Walnut Street (south sidewalk), west of 18th St.
Tueday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

University Square Farmers' Market
36th at Walnut St.
Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Girard & 27th Farm Stand Market
Wednesday, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Fountain Farmers' Market
East Passyunk Ave., at 11th St. and Tasker St.
Wednesday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

East Lancaster
Historic Eastern Market
308 East King Street
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Wednesday, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

City Hall Farmers' Market
Philadelphia City Hall
Wednesday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Broad & South Farmers' Market
Broad and South streets
Wednesday, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Cliveden Park
Chew Avenue and Johnson Street
Wednesday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Temple University Farmers' Market
Cecil B. Moore Avenue between Broad Street and Park Walk
Thursday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Weavers Way Farmers' Market
Carpenter Lane and Greene Street in front of High Point Cafe
Thursday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Jefferson Farmers' Market
On Chestnut Street east of 10th Street.
Thursday, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Norristown
Swede and Main streets
Thursday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Oxford Circle
Oxford and Summerdale avenues
Thursday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Clark Park Farmers' Market
43rd Street and Baltimore Avenue
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Thursday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Fairmount Farmers' Market
22nd Street and Fairmount Avenue
Thursday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Schuylkill River Park Farmers' Market
25th and Spruce streets
Wednesday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Palmer Park Farmers' Market
Frankford Avenue and East Palmer Street
Thursday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Germantown Farmers' Market
Germantown Avenue and Walnut Lane
Friday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Roxborough Farmers' Market
Ridge Avenue at entrance to
Leverington Avenue parking lot.
Friday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Overbrook Farms Farmers' Market
63rd Street between Sherwood Road
and Overbrook Avenue
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

East Falls Farmers' Market
Midvale Avenue near Ridge Avenue.
Friday 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Fitler Square Farmers' Market
23rd and Pine streets
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Phoenixville Farmers' Market
Bridge Street and Taylor Alley
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Wrightstown Farmers' Market
2203 2nd Street Pike (Rt. 232)
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Glenside Farmers' Market
Easton Rd. and Glenside Ave
Glenside, Pennsylvania
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Chestnut Hill Growers Market
Winston Road between Germantown Avenue
and Mermaid Lane.
Saturday, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm

Conshohocken
Fayette and West Hector streets
Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Bryn Mawr Farmers' Market
Municipal Lot 7 on Lancaster Ave.
Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm

Catasauqua
Pine Street between Front and Railroad streets
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Manayunk Farmers' Market
Canal View Park on Main St., near Gay St.
Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm

Lansdowne Farmers' Market
Lansdowne Avenue Parking Lot
between Baltimore Pike and Stewart Avenue
Saturday, 9 a.m to 1 p.m.

Collingswood Farmers' Market
Between Collings Ave and Irving Ave.
Collingswood, New Jersey
Saturday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Headhouse Farmers' Market
2nd and Lombard streets
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

North Hills-Oreland Farmers' Market
110 Pennsylvania Avenue near Twining Road
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Swarthmore Farmers' Market
In front of the Swarthmore Co-op
Saturday, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm

Lansdale
Railroad Plaza
Main and Green streets
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

West Reading
500 block of Penn Avenue
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Links

I sure hope that when you come here to read about local food, you are taking time out to check out the links posted on the right. Or the left, I can never really tell if it's my left or the computer's left. Regardless, if any of you want to learn more about the local food movement, click on some of the links and get an education.

George Schmidt Berry Farm

A friend of mine from Middle School and High School, Faith, just turned me on to a cool "pick your own" out in the Lehigh Valley. While I have not seen Faith in over 15 years, through the magic of the internet (Facebook) we have reconnected and are now able to share local food hot spots. And now I can share them with you! Go internet!

George Schmidt Berry Farm sits out in New Tripoli, Pennsylvania, on Berry Drive (lol). Evidently, it's been there for a long, long time. From Faith:

"We hit a PYO place on Friday afternoon in New Tripoli with excellent peaches, blueberries, blackberries, plus a bunch of stuff they already picked, too. It's called George Schmidt berry farm. Apparently my parents took me there exactly 30 years ago because it was when my mom was expecting Mikey and he turns 30 on Sept 2nd."

What a rousing endorsement, with an added family anecdote to boot. We here at the Feed hope that Faith continues on her local food pursuits and let's us know how she is doing. And if you are ever out in the Lehigh Valley and want some "excellent" peaches, blueberries, blackberries or the like, check out George Schmidt's Berry Farm!

Another Roadside Find!

On her recent trip home from the shore, Dana, an old friend of the Philly Food Feed stopped off on rt. 38 in Burlington County at a roadside stand, and boy was she impressed. Check out the bounty she hauled in for 15 bucks!



While we don't have a name of the stand, this type of find is just a testament to the fact that you don't have to look all over for fresh local food, most of the time, it finds you! Thanks to Dana for the info! If anybody out there in Philly Food Feed land ever visits a market, CSA, Co-op, etc., and wants to share...please feel free! E-mail us at benjamin82877@gmail.com and we will be sure to mention you! Thanks!

This Week's Farmers' Markets

This Week's Farmers' Markets
Markets in Philadelphia unless noted otherwise.

Rittenhouse Farmers' Market
Walnut Street (south sidewalk), west of 18th St.
Tueday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

University Square Farmers' Market
36th at Walnut St.
Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Girard & 27th Farm Stand Market
Wednesday, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Fountain Farmers' Market
East Passyunk Ave., at 11th St. and Tasker St.
Wednesday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

East Lancaster
Historic Eastern Market
308 East King Street
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Wednesday, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

City Hall Farmers' Market
Philadelphia City Hall
Wednesday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Broad & South Farmers' Market
Broad and South streets
Wednesday, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Cliveden Park
Chew Avenue and Johnson Street
Wednesday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Temple University Farmers' Market
Cecil B. Moore Avenue between Broad Street and Park Walk
Thursday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Weavers Way Farmers' Market
Carpenter Lane and Greene Street in front of High Point Cafe
Thursday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Jefferson Farmers' Market
On Chestnut Street east of 10th Street.
Thursday, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Norristown
Swede and Main streets
Thursday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Oxford Circle
Oxford and Summerdale avenues
Thursday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Clark Park Farmers' Market
43rd Street and Baltimore Avenue
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Thursday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Fairmount Farmers' Market
22nd Street and Fairmount Avenue
Thursday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Schuylkill River Park Farmers' Market
25th and Spruce streets
Wednesday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Palmer Park Farmers' Market
Frankford Avenue and East Palmer Street
Thursday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Germantown Farmers' Market
Germantown Avenue and Walnut Lane
Friday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Roxborough Farmers' Market
Ridge Avenue at entrance to
Leverington Avenue parking lot.
Friday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Overbrook Farms Farmers' Market
63rd Street between Sherwood Road
and Overbrook Avenue
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

East Falls Farmers' Market
Midvale Avenue near Ridge Avenue.
Friday 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Fitler Square Farmers' Market
23rd and Pine streets
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Phoenixville Farmers' Market
Bridge Street and Taylor Alley
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Wrightstown Farmers' Market
2203 2nd Street Pike (Rt. 232)
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Glenside Farmers' Market
Easton Rd. and Glenside Ave
Glenside, Pennsylvania
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Chestnut Hill Growers Market
Winston Road between Germantown Avenue
and Mermaid Lane.
Saturday, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm

Conshohocken
Fayette and West Hector streets
Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Bryn Mawr Farmers' Market
Municipal Lot 7 on Lancaster Ave.
Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm

Catasauqua
Pine Street between Front and Railroad streets
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Manayunk Farmers' Market
Canal View Park on Main St., near Gay St.
Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm

Lansdowne Farmers' Market
Lansdowne Avenue Parking Lot
between Baltimore Pike and Stewart Avenue
Saturday, 9 a.m to 1 p.m.

Collingswood Farmers' Market
Between Collings Ave and Irving Ave.
Collingswood, New Jersey
Saturday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Headhouse Farmers' Market
2nd and Lombard streets
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

North Hills-Oreland Farmers' Market
110 Pennsylvania Avenue near Twining Road
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Swarthmore Farmers' Market
In front of the Swarthmore Co-op
Saturday, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm

Lansdale
Railroad Plaza
Main and Green streets
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

West Reading
500 block of Penn Avenue
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Media Attention for the Vendors at Headhouse Farmers' Market

As most of you who frequent The Philly Food Feed already know, we usually spend our Sunday mornings perusing the local fare at the Headhouse Farmers' Market on Lombard Street in Philadelphia. While the freshness and taste of the food was validation enough for our weekly visits, a recent article in the August 5th edition of the Philadelphia Weekly has only added to the stellar reputation of the Headhouse. In an article entitled - Philly's 50 Must-Eats, four Headhouse market vendors are listed! This is quite an accomplishment that almost 10% of the list comes from the one farmers' market (Thanks Food Trust!). These vendors are -

Patches of Star - the PW has a penchant for the black raspberry pastured goat's milk ice cream dished out from Patches of Star. This is some of the Headhouse fare that we at the Feed have yet to try. You would think that after spending week after week here, we would have. Needless to say, we will be next Sunday!

Wildflour Bakery - PW highlights the sourdough from Wildflour. You can pick some of this up at the Headhouse. Wildflour is what I would call superlocal - right in Northeast Philadelphia!

Hilacres Pride - while Hilacres already offers Raw Milk at the market, PW pays special attention to their butter made from pastured cows. This is yet another of Headhouse's offerings we at the Feed have yet to try. It makes me wonder what we are doing there every Sunday! This is on our shopping list for the next time, that's for sure. PW compares it to Banana Ice Cream. Wow!

Three Springs Fruit Farm - Finally, kudos to Ben Wenk and the rest of the people at Three Spings Fruit Farm! The Philadelphia Weekly sings the praises of their cider. We at the Philly Food Feed have not yet partaken in this liquid bounty but will be sure to do so post haste. And not just because Ben mentions us on his website either...lol. We at the Feed are constantly snacking on Three Springs' peaches and nectarines. How we have not already tried the cider, I don't know. Thanks PW for turning us on to this...and thanks to Three Springs in advance for cider that, if it's anything like the donut peaches, will be nectar from the heavens!

SIW Vegetables

Well, another busy weekend for the Philly Food Feed has passed. National Farmers’ Market week was a success as far as we at the Feed are concerned. We visited 4 different markets last week, one of which we have never been to before and the bounty from these visits is still being enjoyed. This past Saturday, Sarah was taking Ethan and I on a scenic tour of the Brandywine Valley where, as their website states, Southern Chester Pennsylvania meets Northern Delaware. This area is full of natural and historical landmarks which alone are worth the trip. However, what most impressed me (the burgeoning locavore that I am) was a detour that Sarah took that found us at a roadside farm stand – SIW Vegetables.

Now I have been to some roadside markets before, but this one is special. Heirloom tomatoes, various melons - more than I could count, squash, okra, Lima beans…the selection was amazing and everything looked as fresh as if it was still in the ground. This is not to mention the baked goods that I saw, or the Canadian Strawberries that looked like they belonged in a commercial. This was beyond any roadside stand I have ever seen, and after a conversation with the owner Mr. HG Haskell, it was obvious why. SIW uses organic and pest management techniques on most of their produce. Furthermore, SIW also participates in Community Supported Agriculture. Moreover, their pickers bring food to the stand right from the fields. You can’t get any fresher than that! These are people that obviously care about the soil, the produce, and the people who buy and eat their goods!

SIW is open from early June until October 31st, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week. They are located on 4317 S. Creek Rd. Chadds Ford, PA 19317. If you are in the area or just want to take a beautiful scenic drive, I implore you to stop here. We bought some Okra for Sarah’s dad which he devoured and Sarah and I are still chomping on the Sugar Baby Watermelon we purchased. That melon, what a thirst quencher!

Fresh Picks

It is my pleasure to crow about the Philly Food Feed's recent appearance in "Fresh Picks", the weekly newsletter from the Lansdowne Farmers' Market. While we at the Feed blog purely for the joy of finding and eating local food (wink, wink) it is always nice to get kudos from those who appreciate our work. Incidentally, if you live in the Lansdowne area, you should definitely subscribe to this wonderful newsletter. Not only does it have news about the market, it has news about other various happenings in Lansdowne. After you read it, give a second to subscribe!

By the way, one of the blurbs from the newsletter mentions Mark Skinner and Natural Meadows Farm. You might remember me mentioning Mark before; we at the Feed buy our eggs and ground meat from him when he's at the Headhouse on Sundays. We talked to Mark last week during our visit to the Lansdowne market. It seems that it was his first appearance there, but not his last! Look for him there on Saturdays for the forseeable future.

Besides the obvious fact that grass-fed animals are treated better because it is their natural way to eat, the health benefits of pastured meat and eggs cannot be stressed enough! Animals raised on grass are then to be richer in antioxidants; including vitamins E, vitamin C, as well as beta-carotene. Also, no antibiotics!!! Moreover, because of their grass diets, pastured animals are higher in "good fats", Omega-3s. People with high amounts of Omega-3s in their diets are 50% less likey to suffer from heart attacks! There are many other benefits as well! Check out eatwild.com for the full run down; you won't be disappointed and you will learn something to boot. And don't forget to look for Mark Skinner and Natural Meadows Farm at Lansdowne and at the Headhouse! It just tastes better!

From The Food Trust

Vegetable Party

What: A free celebration of edible education. Visitors will learn about the origins of their food, methods of healthy and sustainable urban agriculture, and how they can get involved. Plus: Meet Food Trust staffers and learn more about The Food Trust.

When: Friday, August 7th, noon to 4 p.m.

Where: Outside the National Constitution Center, 5th and Arch streets.

New Email Address

Our e-mail address has changed. We are no longer at benjamin828@comcast.net. The new address of the Feed is benjamin82877@gmail.com. Thanks!

This Week's Farmers' Markets

This Week's Farmers' Markets
Markets in Philadelphia unless noted otherwise.

Rittenhouse Farmers' Market
Walnut Street (south sidewalk), west of 18th St.
Tueday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

University Square Farmers' Market
36th at Walnut St.
Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Girard & 27th Farm Stand Market
Wednesday, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Fountain Farmers' Market
East Passyunk Ave., at 11th St. and Tasker St.
Wednesday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

East Lancaster
Historic Eastern Market
308 East King Street
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Wednesday, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

City Hall Farmers' Market
Philadelphia City Hall
Wednesday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Broad & South Farmers' Market
Broad and South streets
Wednesday, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Cliveden Park
Chew Avenue and Johnson Street
Wednesday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Temple University Farmers' Market
Cecil B. Moore Avenue between Broad Street and Park Walk
Thursday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Weavers Way Farmers' Market
Carpenter Lane and Greene Street in front of High Point Cafe
Thursday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Jefferson Farmers' Market
On Chestnut Street east of 10th Street.
Thursday, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Norristown
Swede and Main streets
Thursday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Oxford Circle
Oxford and Summerdale avenues
Thursday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Clark Park Farmers' Market
43rd Street and Baltimore Avenue
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Thursday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Fairmount Farmers' Market
22nd Street and Fairmount Avenue
Thursday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Schuylkill River Park Farmers' Market
25th and Spruce streets
Wednesday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Palmer Park Farmers' Market
Frankford Avenue and East Palmer Street
Thursday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Germantown Farmers' Market
Germantown Avenue and Walnut Lane
Friday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Roxborough Farmers' Market
Ridge Avenue at entrance to
Leverington Avenue parking lot.
Friday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Overbrook Farms Farmers' Market
63rd Street between Sherwood Road
and Overbrook Avenue
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

East Falls Farmers' Market
Midvale Avenue near Ridge Avenue.
Friday 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Fitler Square Farmers' Market
23rd and Pine streets
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Phoenixville Farmers' Market
Bridge Street and Taylor Alley
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Wrightstown Farmers' Market
2203 2nd Street Pike (Rt. 232)
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Glenside Farmers' Market
Easton Rd. and Glenside Ave
Glenside, Pennsylvania
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Chestnut Hill Growers Market
Winston Road between Germantown Avenue
and Mermaid Lane.
Saturday, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm

Conshohocken
Fayette and West Hector streets
Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Bryn Mawr Farmers' Market
Municipal Lot 7 on Lancaster Ave.
Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm

Catasauqua
Pine Street between Front and Railroad streets
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Manayunk Farmers' Market
Canal View Park on Main St., near Gay St.
Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm

Lansdowne Farmers' Market
Lansdowne Avenue Parking Lot
between Baltimore Pike and Stewart Avenue
Saturday, 9 a.m to 1 p.m.

Collingswood Farmers' Market
Between Collings Ave and Irving Ave.
Collingswood, New Jersey
Saturday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Headhouse Farmers' Market
2nd and Lombard streets
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

North Hills-Oreland Farmers' Market
110 Pennsylvania Avenue near Twining Road
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Swarthmore Farmers' Market
In front of the Swarthmore Co-op
Saturday, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm

Lansdale
Railroad Plaza
Main and Green streets
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

West Reading
500 block of Penn Avenue
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

SUPPER Farmers' Market Tour and Supper

During Sunday’s trip to Headhouse, I had the pleasure of meeting Chef Mitch Prensky, Executive Chef and Proprietor of Supper Restaurant, located on 926 South Street in Philadelphia. Some of you may already be familiar with Chef Prensky through his catering of the pancake breakfast fundraiser at the Headhouse in June. We discussed the virtues of local food and I found out that Supper will be offering a Farmers’ Market Tour and a “Three Course $38 Sunday Supper” on Sunday, August 16th, Saturday, September 5th (tour on Saturday, meal on Sunday), and Sunday, October 5th. For a $20 dollar supplement to the dinner, you can actually tour the Headhouse Market with Chef Prensky and help him plan the monthly menu for this supper! This is something I recommend people – you have to admire a chef that appreciates the nuances of fresh, local food and incorporates it into his cuisine. Plus, by taking the tour, you can learn the tricks of the trade! Who better to learn from than a chef - especially with the credentials of Chef Prensky! Check out his website and take a gander at the various articles gushing over his food and when you are done, call him and make a reservation for the supper!

Call 215-592-8180 or contact Chef Prensky via twitter@SupperPhilly

National Farmers' Market Week - What a Weekend!

It’s National Farmers’ Market Week! This week when you attend your local market, make sure you let the people there know how much you appreciate what they do for you and your community! With the help of local farmers, consumers have the choice of purchasing fresh, healthy, food which benefits both the consumer AND the local food shed. We here at the Philly Food Feed love the farmers and the farmers’ markets so we kicked of the Farmers’ Market Week early this past weekend and wow…what a weekend!

The Philly Food Feed made its presence known at two farmers’ markets this weekend, one of which was for the first time! On Saturday the Food Feed made our first appearance at the Lansdowne Farmers’ Market and we are better for the experience.


Not only did this market offer a plethora of fresh, locally grown, fruits and vegetables, this market also has the added benefit of live music! So there we were, Sarah, Ethan, and I grooving from vendor to vendor, checking out all the local wares. Kudos to the market manager, Rick Grocottt, who obviously manages this market with an extra dose of TLC. You can tell this by the organized set-up of the marketplace, as well as his amiable disposition and his willingness to impart as much information as we needed about the market I took a picture of Rick for the Feed but his eyes were closed and I didn’t want everyone’s first impression of him to be from a sleepy looking photo. Sorry Rick!

Vendors of note include Louise Bierig from Lupine Valley Veggies. We bought some organically grown fresh parsley from Louise which we put on our salad yesterday. The fresh taste really spruced that salad up, that’s for sure! We will definitely be visiting Louise again for more herbs; she was very gracious AND affable. What a combo!

Another vendor we at the Feed are really excited about is Fruitwood Farms out of Monroeville, New Jersey. Beautiful Peaches, Nectarines, Blackberries…all huge and all purchased. Those blackberries were delicious on Vanilla ice cream last night. A little confectioner’s sugar and BOOM – delectable! What impressed me most about the fruit (besides the ultimate taste – the white peaches we bought bordered on the ethereal), was the size. Big, luscious, local, fruit. And if all that wasn’t enough, the fruit from Fruitwood is grown using Integrated Pest Management. For those unfamiliar with IPM, it is a common sense approach that favors a variety of techniques to control pests as opposed to total pest annihilation. I think this would be a good time to explain how IPM works. I took this from the EPA website:

IPM is not a single pest control method but, rather, a series of pest management evaluations, decisions and controls. In practicing IPM, growers who are aware of the potential for pest infestation follow a four-tiered approach. The four steps include:

• Set Action Thresholds
Before taking any pest control action, IPM first sets an action threshold, a point at which pest populations or environmental conditions indicate that pest control action must be taken. Sighting a single pest does not always mean control is needed. The level at which pests will either become an economic threat is critical to guide future pest control decisions.

• Monitor and Identify Pests
Not all insects, weeds, and other living organisms require control. Many organisms are innocuous, and some are even beneficial. IPM programs work to monitor for pests and identify them accurately, so that appropriate control decisions can be made in conjunction with action thresholds. This monitoring and identification removes the possibility that pesticides will be used when they are not really needed or that the wrong kind of pesticide will be used.

• Prevention
As a first line of pest control, IPM programs work to manage the crop, lawn, or indoor space to prevent pests from becoming a threat. In an agricultural crop, this may mean using cultural methods, such as rotating between different crops, selecting pest-resistant varieties, and planting pest-free rootstock. These control methods can be very effective and cost-efficient and present little to no risk to people or the environment.

• Control
Once monitoring, identification, and action thresholds indicate that pest control is required, and preventive methods are no longer effective or available, IPM programs then evaluate the proper control method both for effectiveness and risk. Effective, less risky pest controls are chosen first, including highly targeted chemicals, such as pheromones to disrupt pest mating, or mechanical control, such as trapping or weeding. If further monitoring, identifications and action thresholds indicate that less risky controls are not working, then additional pest control methods would be employed, such as targeted spraying of pesticides. Broadcast spraying of non-specific pesticides is a last resort.

Some food for thought there. I read it while eating a Fruitwood Nectarine so it went down nice and easy! With all of the delectable produce offered at Lansdowne, I can’t understand why Ethan feels the need to eat his foot. Try a blackberry for cripe’s sake!!!


So that was Saturday. We will definitely be back to Lansdowne again, that’s for sure! Moving on, what weekend would be complete without our obligatory visit to the Headhouse Farmers’ Market in Philadelphia! Although the weather resembled impending doom, there is nothing that can hinder the Feed’s pursuit of the freshest, tastiest, local food. Check out what we had to go through on our way home!



And from the size of the crowd at Headhouse, we weren’t the only ones!
I spoke to Katy Wich, the benevolent market manager who informed me that the market now carries Raw Milk, a coveted item among local foodies. If Raw Milk is your bag, be sure to pick some up at Hillacres Pride. Katy also has informed me that Griggstown Farm will be bringing 4 types of quiche made from eggs from their chickens as well as the chickens from a neighboring farm. Looks like I’ll be back on Sunday! (As if I wasn’t going to anyway).Incidentally, managing a large farmers’ market like Headhouse can be really hard work. Every week that I’m there, I see Katy flying around, making sure everyone and everything is situated. She works her tail off to make sure we have access to the wonderful food at the Headhouse. If you see her there, make sure to say hello and thank her for all of her hard work!

As I mentioned before, this week is National Farmers’ Market week. If you are so inclined, take the time to make a donation to the Food Trust. While purchases at the markets do help support the farmers, the Food Trust counts on donations to help support the management and operations of the those markets. In other words, without them, we don’t get our peaches, quiches, eggs, etc! So let’s give them a hand, shall we?