EBT/Foodstamp incentive at the Newark Valley Farmer's Market

The Newark Valley Farmers Market is in full swing. Produce is flowing in like crazy and we are excited to be bringing local products to the community.

Fresh Connect $2.00 coupon for EBT/Foodstamp users

As you all know we received the Fresh Connect Grant from Governor Cuomo to help cover costs to start up the market. With that comes an EBT incentive program that gives the EBT/Foodstamp customer extra money for free to spend at the market. For every $5 worth of tokens you receive $2.00 Fresh Connect coupon.

If you don't all know about the EBT/Foodstamps and how that works at a farmers market it is quite simple. The market itself has a machine just like a credit card machine and tokens that are provided through the NYS Department of Agriculture ad Markets. It is a program that the vendors have to sign participation agreements that allows all of us to except them.

What you would do is come to the very first tent by the Sidewalk closest to Main St intersection and you would tell me how much you would like off of your EBT/Foodstamp card. I then swipe the card just like I would in a regular grocery store. You enter your pin number and then however much you want off the card I give you in $1 tokens. These tokens can be spent with any vendor that you are purchasing EBT/Foodstamp approved food from. Such as Breads, fruits, vegetables, honey, meats, eggs....and so on. The same as the grocery store. No products that are not food related. If you do not spend all of your tokens you can bring them back to me and get the money put back on the card, or you can save them and spend them at the next weeks markets. You do need to spend them by the end of the season at the market which is October.

Those vendors would then at the end of the market bring the tokens back to me and they get paid through the Farmer's Market account. Which is all tied together with the NYS Agriculture and Markets program.

This program has been created to help initiate EBT/Foodstamp customers in receiving great quality local produce as well.

The farmers market also excepts the "Farmer's Market Nutrition Program" Checks. Also known as WIC checks. They are given out to Seniors as well as women participating in the WIC program. Generally you receive $24 dollars worth I believe per family to be spent at a participating farmers market on Fresh fruits and vegetables only. You have until the end of the market season to use them.

If you participate in WIC or are a senior make sure you contact them to ask about these Farmer's Market Nutrition Checks and tell them that you want them.

 I also figured I would give you a picture update on what is at the market lately!

Anura Liquid Soaps

West Creek Family Farm

Skretta Farms

Providence Farm

Eric Jr from Cross Creek Farm eating a juicy PA Peach.

Blueberries, Blackberries, Peaches...Oh my!

The fruit is finally starting to roll in.

As we all know the weather has been outrageously ridiculous this year! With the early warmth and the late frost that we got we were nervous about how fruit was going to be this year.

There were some reports that stated that 100% of the cherries in NY were destroyed, 100% of the peaches in NY were destroyed. Apples were scarce and many of the other fruits were going to be very minimal.

Of course the year that we get ready to launch a kitchen and try to go big with our fruit butters is the year that the fruit crop is damaged.

Well we immediately spoke with our Cornell Orchards people to see what was going on with their crop. As of 2 years ago that is where we were getting 90% of our fruit from. Speaking with them we found that we would not be able to get our peaches, plums or cherries from them. We would not receive our Paw-Paws and Kiwis that we normally get.

But they were going to start picking berries that they had never sold to us before. Blueberries, Black Raspberries, Red Raspberries, Blackberries and more.

We have had the Blueberries for a couple of weeks now as well as the black raspberries. The Red Raspberries and Blackberries we just got this week.  The blackberries are HUGE!!!

Hopefully next week we will be able to get the Doughnut Peaches that everyone loves so much. They just missed that last frost so we are lucky to be getting those!

Don't get me wrong, this season is still going to be hard for us to find the other fruits that we were hoping to get to make the fruit butters with. We had planned on making a Peach butter and we wanted to bring back our Cherry butter but those were the hardest hit fruits. So we were not able to do the Cherry butter at all, but we did find a peach source in PA.

Some may ask and have asked why we don't just buy "Washington Cherries" to make our Cherry butter with. Well the answer to that is a simple one. We only use local fruit. Local fruit by definition is 100 mile radius from our farm.

This is an important thing to us. Buying locally means keeping the money local. Buying from elsewhere would make it easier from a business perspective because we never really have to worry about not having a source for our fruit.

I guess to some it isn't smart to use ONLY local fruit. But what would make us different? What would make us stand out and make people more apt to buy our fruit butter or jam than the other 15 different kinds?

So this year we are working on getting some other sources that will be able to keep up with our load of fruits that we need.

As of right now we have put 300 + lbs of Blueberries in the freezer as well as black raspberries and will continue to add to that.

The kitchen is still underway we have hit a few snags along the way. Nothing major just having to "hurry up and wait." We are hoping to get rolling on things again this week. We shall see.


For now we will keep plugging along and wait for things to finish.

Kitchen Update With Pictures.

Ready or not.....the building is here and in place.

The building arrived on the farm this week. It was exciting to see it here. Within the past week we have gone from barely anything done because of all the rain and the muddy mess that it created to everything drying out and getting everything leveled, septic in and now the building here.

What's next?

Now we need to finish hooking up the septic. Get the well pipes run to the building and the electrician here. Then our work begins. Dad already measured inside the building to kind of figure out where things need to go and to make sure everything we need in there is going to fit the way we had planned.

We went in and marked out where everything was going to be with chalk so that everyone knew where things were going to be.

Electricity will be hooked up ASAP and then building begins.

I will continue to post updates as they come along.

Septic getting put in place

Waiting for the building to arrive

Building is here!

Eric Jr wants to learn to climb trees so what a perfect time to teach him. He enjoyed being in the tree. We knew this was the only way to keep him out of the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have not written too many blog posts lately and I am sorry for that. Once again we are falling into that busy time when I am not sure what to do when and how to fit it all in. So unfortunately the blog ends up falling a little behind.

Furr-Ever Friend Adoption Day

When I first contacted Stray Haven out of Waverly, NY I was excited to know that they would be coming to market. I was hoping that any little exposure would help them to raise funds for the organization or to adopt some animals out. Many people do not understand the amount of time, energy and space that goes into these animals at shelters that really just need a home.

Liz is currently at Stray Haven.
She is a long haired Calico Cat.

After talking to Stray Haven we had begun to think of ways we could make an event at the market to try to get the animals adopted. So we began to think of a pet food drive, cleaning supply drive.

It just so happened that Hubbards Hounds was going to participate in the market and the date that they were going to be there so was Stray Haven. What better day to have an adoption/ donation drive.

So plans began.

June 24 2012 

Newark Valley Farmers Market will be hosting a

Furr-Ever Friends Adoption Day.

10am-2pm

We will also be having a Cleaning supply and pet food donation drive. For any item that you bring on the list, you will receive a raffle ticket. Each raffle ticket will be entered into a drawing for a gift basket from the vendors at the Newark Valley Farmers Market, Cardinal Cafe gift cards and other items.

Items needed:

Hailey is currently at Stray Haven.
She is a 6 year old pitbull who was raised with young
children. She does well with other dogs and cats.
She is a lover.

Dog food
bleach
dish liquid
laundry detergent
replacement mop heads
garbage bags - 13 gal & 39 gal
antibacterial hand soap
squeegees
heavy duty garden hoses
Lowe's & Walmart gift cards
toys
natural dog treats
blankets


 


Stray Haven will be there with Dogs and Cats as well as other items to sell to raise money for their organization
Hubbards Hounds will be bringing dogs as well as other items to sell to raise money for their organization

Make sure to visit their websites and browse around. Take a look at the animals!

Please come join us. Even if you are not looking for a pet, donate an item on the list. Why not? Chance to win free goods!

Payton is currently at Hubbards Hounds Dog Rescue.
She is a small yellow lab mix.

Chi is a Shiba Inu currently residing at
Hubbards Hounds Dog Rescue.

Why adopt an animal from a rescue?

 Many of the cats and dogs at rescues are strays or pets that were not spayed or neutered and then they ended up pregnant and the owners wanted nothing more to do with them. It is not their fault it is the responsibility of the owners to make sure that these animals are well cared for and spaying and neutering is one of the best things you can do for them. Some of the cats were turned over by their owners for one reason or another, most of the time it because they cannot care for the animal anymore or because they are moving and cannot take the animal with them. Either way it is a sad situation.

A lot of the rescues in the area are over run with cats. Some of them have had to stop taking them in due to the fact that they have so many there is no more room and not enough funds or people to take care of them. These cats are loving, young, old, and just looking for a cuddle and a loving home.

These 3 kittens currently reside at Stray Haven.

We rescued our cat Bugs from SPCA of Tompkins County about 3 years ago.

I urge anyone thinking of getting a new pet to think of adopting/rescuing an animal whether it be a dog, cat, horse, pig there are so many types of rescues out there. Please think about them before you go off and buy one at the store or a purebred. The rescues need love just as much as the others.

Anura Liquid Soap Review

By starting the Newark Valley Farmers Market we have had an honor of meeting a lot of great people that live in our community that we had no clue about!

One of those such people is Robin from Anura Liquid Soap!

What is Anura?


           "Anura is a special formulation of recipes designed by a nature-loving chemist. The balance of ingredients in each liquid soap blend was thoughtfully selected to promote healthy hair and skin. Anura is founded on the philosophy that many of the desirable tactile characteristics of commercialized liquid soaps may be achieved without the use of industrial additives and by using natural ingredients alone."




We have had the honor of being able to test and sample some of her products.

 Liquid Soap:

When she first gave it to us my instant reaction was it was a little watery. The smell was amazing. Very aromatic. We were using it for a few days and it definitely grew on me.


It was not as sudsy as soap you buy in the store. But I know suds don't necessarily mean that it is not cleaning. After using it you could just feel the cleanliness on your hands.


Another thing that SOLD me on this soap was:
  We have extremely hard water and even with cleaning the sink frequently we get a lot of calcium build up. Eric Sr was washing his hands and a drop of the soap got on the faucet. All he did was wipe it off with his hand and I could not believe my eyes. The faucet shimmered. It was cleaner than if I had spent time scrubbing it.


Honey Matcha Facial Soap with Peppermint Oil:


I smelled it first because of course that is what you do with everything.


It smelled of honey.


I took a dab and rubbed it between my fingers and you could feel the stickiness of the honey. Being that it was raw honey you could also feel some of the wax particles from the come that the honey was squeezed out of.


I had been outside all day long and it was 80 degrees or so. I was sweating like crazy and my face was absolutely disgusting. No better time than now to use it.


I wet my face and rubbed it all over. It had this creamy yet exfoliating feel to it. It was sticky on my face which kind of felt weird. It felt like I was just rubbing honey on my face. But I continued to rub it on and let it sit for a little bit.


I then washed it off and it took a little bit more water than normal to get it off because the honey was kind of sticky.


But the feeling after I got it off was absolutely Amazing. It felt like I had just had a facial at a beauty salon. I could feel my pores opening up and my face felt so clean.


I don't like the feeling that I get from facial washes in the store because they make my face feel like it is sandpaper dry after I was it off. I can't stand that feeling.


This left my face feeling clean, my pores open but it was not dry. It was moist and fresh!

Overall thoughts:

I LOVE this stuff. I will continue to buy it over and over again. It is all natural which comforts me with my children using it. It also comes from a local producer which supports our effort in buying everything local.

Great job Robin. I believe your product is awesome and I can't wait to try more and watch your product line grow! 

Project Expansion- Kitchen

As you all know our fruit butters have taken off. When we first started making them it was on a whim and we never expected it to be this great!

Our orders and expansion needs have risen to a point where it is not something we can produce as fast as we need out of our home kitchen.

After long thought, deliberation and financial figuring, we chose to take the "leap" and build a certified/commercial kitchen on our farm.  This is a HUGE commitment and long process, but I think we are all ready for it!

The well has already been drilled. The equipment was dropped off and work has started on leveling and filling in where we need more fill.

We tore down the old shed that was right next to our farm stand last year thinking we were originally going to put it there. But after careful consideration and going back and fort we decided it would be better to move it down the road further. Where the old shed is we will continue our plans of an all local farm store and pavillion to put our plants under. That obviously will be worked on a little here and there but the kitchen comes first!

My hopes are that the kitchen will be finished sometime in July. Now realistically I don't know if that will  be possible or not but my fingers are crossed super tight.

We have huge plans including some NEW products that include our herbs. We will be doing so much more than fruit butters and we are so ready for this great new expansion.

This year seems like the year of new additions. We continuously keep adding new items and projects to our farm. This is our first year of doing the CSA. First year of starting the Newark Valley Farmers Market. And now a HUGE first of expanding our kitchen capacity and building.

Adventures in Sheep!

The beginning of this year we were talking about raising some pigs for meat getting them in spring and butchering them in the fall for meat. Dad has been saying for 2 years now that he wanted sheep. We all just kind of kept brushing it off. But this year we got some. We got 2 lambs one male and one female from West Creek Family Farm. They are a merino cross, I can't remember exactly what she told me they were but either way they are so cute.

The Vanvorce's dropped them off and we had their little shelter made and they went right into the pasture and checked things out. Well sure enough we went back up to the house and just as it was starting to get dark we got a call from mom and dad telling us that the sheep were gone. Oy! So we headed out the door loaded the kids in the car and started searching. I drove up and down the road to check to make sure they had not traveled down the road. Eric headed up into the woods in search of them. When I got back from driving around I headed into the woods with him looking for them. Eric Jr went in with Grandma and Julianna was sound asleep in the car.

Not long after I had headed into the woods Eric had found them.  He got one back in the fence and was herding the other one back in when the one that was in squeezed right under the bottom line of barbed wire. There is 4 strands of wire with the lowest one being only a few inches off the ground. How in the world that lamb squeezed under there we aren't sure.

Now silly me in the hurry that I was to get out the door put on sandals....yes, I was crazy. The pasture where the sheep are is a hillside. The hillside has numerous fresh water springs on it so it is continuously wet. So here I was traipsing through the mud with shorts and sandals on. Eric finally got a hold of one and started carrying it down the hill. The other one wasn't following. Then it finally heard the other start crying and headed down towards the shelter.

So I continued my walking through mud to get out of the woods loosing a sandal here and there and having so much mud on my feet that I might as well not have shoes on.

Dad and Eric got them into the shelter and closed them in for the night. They had decided that maybe until they got used to things we would close them into a smaller area.

Covered from head to toe in mud, Eric and I gathered the kids and headed home to clean up and go to bed.

The next morning we noticed that they both had some red on their coats which meant that they probably got cut at one point. Wasn't too bad but still enough to make sure that we took a look. They were fine.

Two days later we had to go to Cornell Orchards to get some more apples.  We were headed back and we got a call from dad saying that the sheep were gone. UGH! So we flew back to the house to find the sheep.

We got home and asked dad how long he thought they were gone. He said he was weed whacking and looked up and there they were in the pen nice and quite just hanging out. Then he weed whacked some more and looked up and the gate was wide open and they were gone. He had no clue which way they headed. 

Eric headed into the woods in search of the sheep again. I had both kids with me and was searching the lawn and the side of the road to see if I could find some droppings or some footprints. Eric Jr the whole time asking where they were and not wanting to search for them. Julianna was fussing and not understanding what we were doing. Dad was driving around the "block" which for us is huge, looking for the sheep. Thinking maybe they had tried to head back to the Vanvorce's.

After a few hours of searching with no noise and no sightings we gave up. Eric had seen footprints in the woods headed into State Land which meant that we probably had lost them for good. We all came to the notion that they were gone. They would either be attacked and killed by coyotes or they would soon return. We called around the neighborhood telling people that the 2 sheep had gone missing and that if they saw them to give us a call.

So the next day Mom and Dad's neighbor called asking if we had sheep. When Eric said yes he then asked if we had a pasture in back of his house. Eric said no and the neighbor then said that the sheep were behind his house headed towards the house.

YAY!!!!! The sheep had returned!!!!!!

We all decided that night that this pasture was just cursed. When Eric was little his parents had animals in pasture back there and they tended to get out quite a bit. The cows we had a few years ago continuously got out. We double dutied and put barbed wire and electrical wire around the entire pasture. Did not stop them.

So now here we are again with sheep and they have gotten out twice in the 4 days that we had them.

They are now happy and content where they are. The little girl has a sore leg from her gallivanting all over the countryside, but hopefully it will heal soon.

We asked Eric Jr what he wanted to name them and he still hasn't come up with any names yet.

So we have two little lambs with no names who are just as mischevious as ever. They are getting used to us now and get excited when they hear the tractor start up and come out looking around when grandma and Eric Jr head over to see them. Eric Jr picks some grass before he heads over and as he starts getting close he yells, "Here sheepies, have some delicious grass for you!" Too cute!