Is all produce at the Matthews Community Farmers' Market organically grown?
No. Our growers range from those who have gone through the USDA organic certification process and can legally call their farms and produce "organic" to those growers who offer "naturally grown"* produce and are not federally certified to still other growers who use conventional growing methods that include the sparing use of pesticides and/or chemical fertilizers.
The market leaves it to each grower to explain his or her growing practices to customers. Feel free to ask farmers how they grow their crops. It's one of the many advantages of buying produce at a growers-only farmers market where you buy directly from the local farmers who grew your food.
* The US Department of Agriculture enacted standards applying to the use of the word "organic" in produce and other products. This means many of our growers who have always grown organically can not legally call their produce or farms organic unless federally certified as such. Getting USDA certified as organic is a lengthy and expensive process that has been prohibitive for many of the small farmers and backyard growers who sell at our market.
Why can't I find all fruits and vegetables at the same time at the farmers' market?
We are a "grower-only" market where all crops are grown within 50 miles of Matthews. Not all crops can be grown in this area at any given time. For instance, carrots and spinach are cool weather crops that our farmers harvest in May and June. Because these crops don't grow here in the heat of the summer, you won't find them at market in July and August. You will, however, find hot weather crops like corn and watermelon during those months because that's when they ripen.
Our commitment to locally grown produce ensures you are buying the freshest, best looking, best tasting, wholesome and nutritious produce directly from the farmer who grew it and who harvested it just a few hours before your purchase.
And don't forget, when you buy directly from a local farmer, you also support local agriculture as a viable part of the community.
How do I get a booth at the market to be a vendor?
The market has specific rules governing who can sell and what can be sold, as well as an application process.
Applications are reviewed by the market's board of directors once each year and are only accepted between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28. No waiting list is maintained nor are applications kept on file. Please note that handmade farm craft vendors sell at market by invitation only.Click on the Information Center page to download a copy of the 2010 Matthews Community Farmers' Market rules, fee information and application form. Contact Market Manager Pauline Wood at (704) 821-6430 or by e-mail at matthewsfarmersmarket@earthlink.net if you have questions.
What do donations and fundraisers help pay for at the market?
We hope you agree that the experience you get shopping for locally grown food at the Matthews Community Farmers' Market is pretty unique. But maintaining and operating the area's largest and most diverse growers-only farmers' market isn't inexpensive.
We carefully spend the funds we have to keep the market running well and growing wisely while providing our customers with a blend of fresh market place and community gathering spot we believe is an asset to downtown Matthews.
Fees from vendors and money raised by selling t-shirts, tote bags and beverages cover a portion of the market's operating budget. Money raised through our peach fundraiser, barbecue and silent auction each year fills in the difference.
Specifically, the money raised helps pay the market's monthly rent on the Community House; cost of market tents and supplies; repairs; insurance; part time market manager; taxes; site maintenance; website and e-newsletter; utilities bills; cost of cooking demonstrations; and various minor expenses.
The farmers' market is operated by a non-profit corporation - Matthews Community Farmers' Market, Inc. - which is run by a board of directors made up of farmer members. A market manager oversees the day-to-day operation of the market.
Did You Know……that the farmers’ market has such a wonderful location through the generosity of downtown property owner Frank Renfrow and Renfrow Hardware store owner David Blackley? Mr. Renfrow, a third generation Matthews resident, and Mr. Blackley, property manager for Mr. Renfrow, have provided the market free use of the site since it’s inception 19 years ago. When more parking became a necessity for our ever-growing market, the pair made the grassy lot across Cotton Gin Alley available for our customers to use. Without that generosity of both men in so many ways, we doubt the market would have grown and thrived as successfully as it has.
Did You Know……that the Community House building is about 100 years old and was once an open structure under which cotton farmers used to congregate while their cotton was being ginned? There used to be a cotton gin on the grassy lot the market now uses for parking (hence the street name Cotton Gin Alley). Eventually the open structure was closed in and used to house a cotton gin worker and his family. In more recent years, the structure was rented out to a variety of businesses. In recent years, the market has rented part of the building in the rear of the market from Mr. Renfrow. Renovations by the market transformed part of the structure into the market’s Community House, featuring market information and fundraising items like beverages and t-shirts.
Did You Know……that while some of our vendors are full time farmers and bakers, others grow or bake for market in addition to working as teachers and engineers, landscapers and nurses, business owners and builders, flight attendants and computer specialists? Others are retirees and still others are homemakers. All have a passion for the products they produce and bring to market and all contribute their unique talents to help make the Matthews Community Farmers’ Market the special place that it is.
Did You Know……that the market is run by a private non profit corporation made up of farmers members that oversees the operation of the market. A market manager is in charge of day-to-day operation of the market.
Did You Know……that the market’s board of directors conducts farm inspections before new growers are allowed to sell at market to ensure they grow the products they intend to sell and that they grow them within 50 miles of Matthews. We allow only locally grown produce and meats sold by the farmers who grow them so you know where your food comes from.
Farmers' market customers responded generously last October when they heard that Art Institute Chef Joseph Bonaparte and his wife, Christine, needed reading material to send to Christine's brother, Lieutenant Colonel Gregory Meyer, (fourth from the right) and his troops in Iraq.
Lt. Col Meyer, the commander of the 14th Military Intelligence Battalion in Baghdad, wanted to set up a reading room on the base. Reading material was limited and the troops didn't have much to do when they had down time.
Within a few weeks, market customers donated hundreds of books and magazines.The books were shipped by the Bonapartes in November and arrived at the base in Baghdad around Christmastime.
At right are a few of the 100 enlisted
Donated Books Make It To Iraq
servicemen and women and officers of the "Viper Battalion" holding some of the donated books.
Lt. Meyer sends word that he and his unit are very thankful for the deluge of books. The Bonapartes were touched by the generosity of market customers, who have come to know Joe through his numerous cooking demonstrations at market over the last few years.
Four inches of snow kept some vendors and customers away, but 10 vendors and dozens of customers made it to market on Feb. 13 to pick up the fixin' for Valentine's weekend meals.
US SENATE BILL S 510 - The U.S. Senate's food safety bill S 510, soon to come up for a vote, would give the Food and Drug Administration broad new authority over farming and food production. The bill treats small farms, organic agriculture and local food businesses the same as giant corporate food companies. The sustainable agriculture community believes the proposed regulations will crush the community food movement under devastating regulations unless significant changes are made.
While we normally don't get involved in political issues, this bill, if passed as currently written, would touch us directly because it would greatly affect the farmers at our farmers market.
We are urging our customers to contact North Carolina Senators Richard Burr (202) 224-3154 and Kay Hagan (202) 224-6342 and ask them to defend small farms and local food by seeing to it that S 510 is rewritten before it comes up for a vote.
For more information about why U.S. Senate Bill S 510 is bad for small farms click file to the right.
What a wonderful Opening Day! The weather was beautiful and it was great to see so many of our wonderful customers come out to celebrate the start of our new season. Thanks to all of you for your enthusiastic support. Click on the photos above to enlarge.
Meet Two Of This Season's New Vendors
Christina Rose of Simply Sweet is the market's newest baker. The sight of her luscious baked goods may draw you over to her booth, but talk with her for a moment and her passion for what she does will make you want to linger.
A long-time pastry chef currently working as an extern pastry supervisor and teacher's assistant at Johnson & Wales University, Christina has had a love for baking all her life. "When I was a little girl I loved my easy-bake oven and I was always making mud pies," she says. "I was passionate about it even then."
That passion has taken her a long way from Saratoga Springs, NY. She trained at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, where she was also a baking fellow . Her culinary career in the Charlotte area includes pastry chef positions at Ballantyne Country Club, Dean & DeLuca, and the Charlotte City Club.
Yurii and Irina Korotkov come to market with quail eggs and apple croissants, but how they came to be here, producing these products is worthy of a novel. Here's the condensed version:
"In the area where we lived in Ukraine, it was highly radiated from the Chernoble nuclear explosion. The food and soil were poisioned," says Yurii. "My oldest son, Dennis, was born in 1995. He was highly allergic. The radiation affected him. He couldn't eat anything besides oatmeal. He couldn't even drink any juices or go in the sun. The doctors in Russia said they could not treat him. His liver wasn't working and he was at the point where he was starting to develop a blood cancer. They told us we should leave to save our son."
Yurii and Irina sold everything they had. Because of their son's condition they were quickly able to get visas to come to the United States. Dennis was treated
Christina, who lives in Waxhaw, aspires to open her own bakery someday, but for now is intent on exposing her baked goods to a wide audience and becoming better known in the community.
at a Los Angeles hospital for six months and recovered completely, though he still has asthma.
The Korotkovs were granted permission to stay in the country and looked for a place to live. Through a friend, they found Indian Trail and settled down. Dennis is a teenager now. Younger siblings Michael and Anastasia were born in the U.S.
Yurii and Irina are both from farming families where it was traditional to raise quail along with other farm animals. Quail eggs, he said, are part of his family's daily diet and are valued for their tremendous health benefits. Though small, they are packed with many times the vitamins and minerals of chicken eggs.
Yurii has 200 quail producing eggs with 100 more quail hatching. He plans to lease land near their house and hopes to eventually raise up to 2,000 quail.
Irina, meanwhile, makes apple croissants according to an old family recipe. The apple butter inside them is made from North Carolina apples and the tops are brushed with a glaze of beaten quail eggs before they go into the oven.
"Everything happened just right that we are here," said Yurii, who, with his family, is looking forward to being part of the community at the farmers' market. He is also studying to become a U.S. citizen
Our Annual Baking Competition on May 1 focused on pound cake this year. A judging panel led by master baker and author Chef Peter Reinhart of Johnson & Wales University and Charlotte Food critic and writer Heidi Billotto tasted its way through entries and chose Leah Wagner's Coco Pound Cake for the 1st Prize Award. Rachel Miller's entry of Banana Pound Cake with Brown Butter Glaze came in second and a Chocolate Pound Cake by Elizabeth Hardin came in third. A Southern Butter Pecan Pound Cake by Bernadette Franco was the People's Choice Tasting winner. Our thanks to all who participated! Recipes...
