Working for a vendor at the Downtown Evanston Farmers Market, I’ve learned that you can’t really tell who’s going to use LINK tokens when they visit your stand. Let’s face it; a lot of us have struggled with difficult circumstances in the past several years, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is critical in enabling low-income citizens to have access to the food they need for good health.
At last week’s market, one of my friends at another booth was able to help a couple of customers who had a LINK card but didn’t realize they could use it at the market. As she told me, “… as we talked and the facts sank in, you’d have thought we gave them Christmas.”
You probably know someone who uses the SNAP program. I wonder how many people who participate don’t realize what a wonderful place a farmers market is to take advantage of those benefits. 
Since 2008, farmers markets authorized to process LINK benefits in Illinois have expanded from 9 to 119. In that period (through 2014), SNAP redemptions increased by 23959.9%. That’s not a misprint! The USDA Food and Nutrition Service has that information and much more. You can find it by clicking here.
Our market is made even more appealing because Friends of Evanston Farmers Markets offers a matching program, which doubles SNAP purchases dollar for dollar, up to $50 dollars of matching. In other words, families and Link card users get twice the dollar value when they use their SNAP benefits at the Downtown Evanston Farmers Market.
So, if you know someone who uses the SNAP program, make sure they know about the market and the Friends’ matching program. All that information is right here. And if those friends don’t live near Evanston, they should check out Link Up Illinois. There are lots of markets where SNAP incentives are offered.
You’re doing a big favor for your friend, for the vendors your visit every week at the market and for everyone who benefits from a busy, vital farmers market in their community.
Chef Nell Funk of Now We’re Cookin’ was our guest chef at the Friends’ tent last Saturday and she produced two remarkably tasty and easy to prepare salads, highlighting the intense flavor of several fruits and veggies that are at their peak right now, and available from vendors at the market.
If you missed her demo, or forgot to grab the recipes, here they are, below, ripe for downloading! Get the news about who’s visiting the Friends’ tent every Saturday by signing up for our newsletter. The link is over in the sidebar to the right, or just click here.
Click here for the recipe for Summer Salad with Shiso.
The recipe for an incredible Kohlrabi and Peach Salad is yours. Just click here.
This Saturday, Nell Funk, the owner and chef of Now We’re Cookin’, a culinary center focused on supporting new food businesses, will be joining us at the Friends’ tent!
As a chef, Nell offers many cooking classes there and has been a strong advocate of the Evanston Farmers’ Markets.
“We’re going to be doing two summer salads (which includes a bean and tomato salad) featuring some of the more unusual herbs that can be found at the market we’re going to be featuring Nepitella and Shiso,” she said.
We’re excited to have her as she helps us kick off our promotion of the Harvest Celebration!
A little bit more about Nell:
“After a long and diverse corporate career, Chef Nell made the leap from the corporate world to the culinary world. A lifelong home cook, she honed her skills at the Culinary School of Kendall College, and opened the Evanston-based catering company Fantastic Funktions. It was then that she began cooking up a business plan for Now We’re Cookin’. As originator of the Culinary Service Center concept, Chef Nell has a passion for working with start-up and early stage culinary businesses. Her unique combination of business savvy and culinary finesse is an asset on which her clients at Now We’re Cookin’ have come to rely.”
Selling produce for a farm at the market, I’m always a little sad when a customer has me chop off greens, like carrot or onion tops, and even beet greens. Sure, carrot tops are a little bitter, but not much more than some other excellent and more sought after greens. But they strike many people as a nuisance, and so, “Off with their heads!”
We list off the possible uses when the customer is wavering, but they tend to be a little suspicious of “carrot top pesto” as an option. (Search that term and you’ll find yummy recipes from all the usual suspects. Trust me.)
Well, I just saw an even more epic technique for utilizing all those greens you might otherwise discard: Fried Greens Meatlessballs.
You can find that recipe on Food 52 by clicking here.
You’ll help the cause by storing them properly. Greens on carrots and beets shouldn’t be left attached; they steal moisture from the vegetable. Cut ’em off, wrap in a moist paper towel and store them in an unsealed plastic bag.
For more advice and ideas, check out One Green Planet’s article by clicking here.
The one upside when you do have us remove the greens is that folks with rabbits, some lizards (and the occasional horse) are grateful to be able to grab a bagful of carrot tops for their hungry critters.
Still, the tops can be a flavorful additional to meal and snack time, and it always feels great to reduce the amount of food we waste.
Photo by Liz West
Eating clean is about refreshing your eating habits: eating more of the best options available and eating less of not-so-healthy food. This means embracing foods that can be easily found at your local farmers’ market.
Think of vegetables, fruits and whole grains, plus healthy proteins and fats. Eating clean also means cutting back on refined grains, added sugars, salt and unhealthy fats. And since you don’t have to count calories or give up whole food groups, it’s easy to follow.
