Info & Resources

Leaf
 

You are seeing this full list of pages because your browser does not appear to support Javascript or it is disabled.

Info & Resources

There's a lot of great food right here in Perth County. The information below is intended to help you source that food for your family.

Perth County Farmers Markets

Milverton Farmers Market - Thursdays from 3pm-7pm  June-September

Mitchell Farmers Market - Fridays from 9am-1pm  May-October

St. Marys Farmers Market - Saturdays from 8am-12pm  May-October

Stratford Farmers Market - Saturdays from 7am-11am   Year-round

Slow Food Perth County Market - Sundays from 10am-2pm  Year-round

 

 

Buy Local! Buy Fresh! Map

This map is updated yearly and distrubuted by Huron Perth Farm to Table. Click here for 2010-2011 map.

 

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

Over the last 20 years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a "membership" or a "subscription") and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.

This arrangement creates several rewards for both the farmer and the consumer. In brief...

Advantages for farmers:

  • Get to spend time marketing the food early in the year, before their 16 hour days in the field begin
  • Receive payment early in the season, which helps with the farm's cash flow
  • Have an opportunity to get to know the people who eat the food they grow

Advantages for consumers:

  • Eat ultra-fresh food, with all the flavor and vitamin benefits
  • Get exposed to new vegetables and new ways of cooking
  • Usually get to visit the farm at least once a season
  • Find that kids typically favor food from "their" farm – even veggies they've never been known to eat
  • Develop a relationship with the farmer who grows their food and learn more about how food is grown

It's a simple enough idea, but its impact has been profound. Tens of thousands of families have joined CSAs, and in some areas of the country there is more demand than there are CSA farms to fill it. The government does not track CSAs, so there is no official count of how many CSAs there are in the U.S.. LocalHarvest has the most comprehensive directory of CSA farms, with over 2,500 listed in our grassroots database. In 2008, 557 CSAs signed up with LocalHarvest, and in the first two months of 2009, an additional 300 CSAs joined the site.

From http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

We hosted a CSA Info Session in February. Thanks to all who attended. If you were unable to attend, please click here to download the document that was handed out at the session, which includes a list of CSAs in Perth County. Please contact us if you have further questions. For pictures from the Information Session, click here.

 

Farm Gate Sales

While you may be reluctant to drive onto a farmer's property to inquire about their product, it is the best possible way to source locally grown food and to get a first-hand glimpse of the farmer's practices. The next time you see a roadside stand or a sign at the end of a farmer's driveway, resist the urge to just keep driving. Give in to curiosity. Chances are you'll be glad you did, coming away with not only fresh produce, flowers, eggs, meat and/or cheese, but also a better understanding of farm life, with all of its pleasures and challenges.

 

Recipes

Below are recipes and ingredient source lists from previous Adults and Kids Cooking Classes. 

March Break 2011 - Macaroni & Cheese