Market Watch is the tiniest bit under the gun today, so this will be short and sweet.
And hot. It’s going to be hot tomorrow at the Market, but hopefully that won’t stop you from going out there and picking up the best, freshest local produce in the area.
More peaches and apricots this week will be around for sure. I bet it’s also the end of strawberry season, pretty much, though some late varieties will probably still be available — check around.
Cherries, currants, raspberries, maybe some blueberries — it’ll be a good day for fruit, it looks like. Vegetables are boomin’ thanks to this crazy weather we’re having this year. Broccoli, peas, field zucchini and cucumbers, green beans, radishes, some salad greens, fresh herbs (basil! For pesto!), garlic scapes, turnips, radishes, beets, green onions, chard and kale, and maybe even a few tomatoes. MW hears we’ll see more tomatoes next week. Check all five rows, though, because there is always surprising stuff when you look around, and there are a couple produce vendors we haven’t seen yet arriving this week.
MW also hears the Market will be sold out to vendors or very close to it. It’s not just about fruits and veg; there are other farm-raised foods to buy, like meat (if you’re into that sort of thing), eggs, cheese, and honey. Baked goods and prepared foods will be there in force, and surely one of those arts and crafts folks has the perfect something for Dad.
This weekend, Sprouts at the Market, the Market’s kids’ nutrition and farm linkage programming, comes back for another installment. This time they’re offering up a taste of summer for the kids provided by several local growers. The kids will also learn a little about terms that get thrown around talk of food and farmers markets, like “local” and “organic” and “seasonal” and “eating here”. The main Sprouts table is at the NW corner of the Market — you can check in anytime between 9-11 to participate.
The Market continues to tweak its credit/debit/LINK system, which, if you do not already know, is a way for Market shoppers to use credit, debit, and LINK cards at the Market by swiping the cards at the City tent and receiving tokens to shop with any vendor (for LINK users, the tokens are for use to purchase LINK-eligible foods) within the Market. Remember, cash and checks are still most welcome at vendor booths, and some of them take plastic on their own. There is no better place to run out of money buying food, y’all.
Reminder, but worthy of repeating: the Market can be found on Twitter here and on Facebook here. The Market also has a page on the City’s new site — click here to get there.
Coming up at the Market:
- June 26: Art at the Market with artist Brett Bloom
- July 3: Urbana Free Library at the Market