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Oasis in da hood

Posted in food, location, market, photo, tagged , , on January 25, 2011| 4 Comments »

Liberty City Farmers Market

Due to to City of Miami permitting issues, this Thursday, Feb. 2nd, the market will take place at:

Jessie Trice Center for
Community Health
5361 NW 22nd Ave
Miami, Florida 33142
305-637-6400

Map to Jesse Trice Community Health Center here.

Nestled in a park in North Miami-Dade County is a new grower-supported farmers market. You could say that it’s the best kept secret in town. On Thursday afternoons from noon to 6 pm, a steady trickle of neighbors and foodies have been finding their way to the Liberty City Farmers Market located at the Belafonte TACOLCY Center park on NW 62 St and 8th Ave. The shoppers come for the wide assortment of locally grown organic, sustainable (and some conventional) produce from five different farms and other local growers, set out under a big tent in the middle of the park.

Melissa Contreras, market manager

Fruits and vegetables are just as good and fresh as what you’d find at other grower supported markets in town. On a recent visit, I found Melissa Contreras, market manager and founder of Urban Oasis Project, under the big tent spraying fluffy heads of green leaf lettuce with water to keep them fresh. The lettuce, zucchini, pattypan squash, dill, spring onions, and collard greens (to name a few items) were trucked in from Worden Farm. Art Friedrich, Urban Oasis co-founder, was excited to be at market and proudly pointed out papayas he had grown in his yard. He said that backyard gardeners were welcome to come sell their extra crops at the market.

A handful of other local food vendors and artisans are also at the small market. Among them, you will find Lake Meadow Naturals fresh eggs and honey sold by Seriously Organic (the same vendor also at the South Miami Farmers Market on Saturdays and Pinecrest Gardens Green Market on Sundays). You can get Pan De Vida, a delicious whole wheat bread with raisins baked by Juliana, and Georgia collards from Thomas’ Produce, and Higher Heights natural body care products crafted by OmeJah. Fans of Nature Boyz juices will be glad to find Clive and his juicer making fresh squeezed drinks while you wait. The last time I was there, local chef Aria Kagan gave a cooking demo using ingredients from various vendors. After school teacher Erin Healy of Youth L.E.A.D. guided a group of kids around the big produce tent, showing them the different fruits and vegetables.

Erin Healy gives the lowdown on roselle.

It’s been a long road and a lot of work and hope to make this little gem of a market become a reality. Last year, Roger Horne and James Jiler of Urban GreenWorks made a community needs survey, where they mapped out every food store in the area complete with GPS coordinates. They discovered that most stores had very limited fresh produce on their shelves, mostly apples and bananas. Chantal Herron got a small grant from Dade Community Foundation for several green festivals held at the Jesse Trice Community Health Center last year. But that wasn’t enough to conquer the food desert. A farmers market was desperately needed to bring fresh fruits and vegetables to the community. “This market is a very important addition to the neighborhood,” said Chantal. “It can have an impact on the health of the community by changing the way they eat. Most markets in the area don’t have healthy food.”

Urban Oasis Project: Melissa Contreras, Art Friedrich, Nick Reese and Antonio Guadamuz

So a number of non-profits big and small banded together to support the new Liberty City Farmers Market with the “Breaking Ground” initiative.* The organizers were inspired by last season’s successful Roots in the City Farmers Market five miles to the south. To make this particular market actually happen, Urban Oasis Project was tapped for their leadership and collective food raising skills. Melissa Contreras was hired as market manager, based on her market experience while working for Redland Organics last season. She takes local food very seriously. Almost half the food for sale was fresh picked that morning from several backyard microfarms tended by members.

Three weeks after the market opened, Melissa took the “leap of faith” and quit her full time job in Special Events at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. (She was principal organizer of Edible Garden Festival and Food & Garden Festival, as well as childrens’ educational activities.) She had been torn with one foot in each world and had to make a decision. She chose the market, and wants to concentrate her energy on making it a success. Melissa told me, “Failure is not an option. We’ve got to make this happen. People believe in us.”

Linda McGlathery found out about this market through the Food Policy Council.

Part of that belief comes as support from the Health Foundation of South Florida, which contributed $1500 to match funds for SNAP/EBT purchases. (If you buy $10 worth of food with SNAP, you get an additional $10 credit good for purchases at the market.) Private donations to maintain the matching funds program are very welcome. Gifts of $500 and over are channeled through the Health Foundation, a 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor. It passes 100 per cent of the gift to the market, and allows donors to get a tax donation. If your donation is less than $500, you may give directly to Urban Oasis, which has its own 501(c)3 application in the works.

So far, about 60 shoppers come to the market every Thursday afternoon, including a growing number of regulars. Chef Michy Bernstein has come to shop, and so has Ali, the forager from Michael’s Genuine. Some people were getting Market in a Box, an assortment of produce available that day. Limited delivery is also available. Melissa is hoping the number of shoppers will grow, and is getting the word out to nearby Midtown, Miami Shores and Upper East Side. “It’s safe here,” Melissa said, when I suggested that some shoppers might be afraid of venturing into da hood. “We’re in a fenced park next to a butterfly garden and a day care.” The market is located two blocks west of the 62 St. exit off I-95, and there’s plenty of free parking inside the park and on the street.

Liberty City Farmers Market
at the Belafonte TACOLCY Center
6161 NW 9th Ave., Miami FL

* Non-profits in the “Breaking Ground” initiative: Urban GreenWorks, Youth L.E.A.D., Belafonte TACOLCY Center, Urban Oasis Project, Jessie Trice Community Health Center, The Miami Foundation, Health Foundation of South Florida, Urban Paradise Guild, Curley’s House Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity Miami, Hands on Miami, and the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center.

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Plant your tomatoes

Posted in market, photo, tagged on January 23, 2011| 2 Comments »

Assorted heirloom tomato plants at the Pinecrest Gardens market.

If you have an empty spot in your garden, fill it with heirloom tomato plants! Farmer Margie has over 30 varieties of larger plants in one-gallon pots. Some of them are Green Grape, Matt’s Wild Cherry (like the Everglades tomato), Cherokee Purple, Costoluto Genovese, Speckled Roman, Lollipop, Sugary, Sun Gold, Italian Red, Homestead 24, Black Cherry and many more. Come pick out your favorites while they’re still available. While I was taking this picture at the Pinecrest Gardens market last Sunday, a family came up and snapped up three plants. I’m just sayin…

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Farmers markets get press

Posted in events, market, tagged on January 16, 2011|

Several farmers markets opened up in December. Check out the press the markets and growers have been getting.

Farmers’ market opens in Losner Park

By Christina Veiga

published Tuesday Dec. 7, 2010

Sweet, organic honey. Mediterranean dishes like baba ghanoush and tabbouleh. And fresh goat-milk ice cream, flavored with locally-produced passion fruit wine.

The Homestead Farmers Market opened Monday with a variety of locally-grown, organic — and yummy — offerings. The market is the first in a city known for growing fruits and veggies.

Read more here in the Miami Herald, Homestead/South Dade Neighbors.

Overtown farmers market promotes food that’s cheap, nutritious

By Karina Chavarria

published Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010
Vivian Dunn stands proudly behind three large serving tables filled with steaming collard greens, fresh sweet potato pies and trays of baked ziti.

As patrons approach, she points out a signature dish.

“This right here is Mulligan soup,” she said, scooping up a heaping plate of the mixed vegetables and chicken stew. “I put everything in it that’s good for you.”

Her husband, LeVon Dunn, chimes in from the background.

“We don’t use grease or pork, and all the produce is fresh,” he said. “This is not a fly-by-night thing. We’re committed to helping make this area healthier.”

The Dunns were one of almost a dozen vendors who took part in the re-launching of the Roots in the City farmers market Wednesday afternoon.

Read more here in the Miami Herald.

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Fun at the farm

Posted in agritourism, events, farm, food, location, market, photo, tagged , on December 22, 2010| 13 Comments »

A farmer’s life is not always hard work. The farmers I know like to take time off to party, and they always have good food! This past Sunday was Farm Day, the annual open house at Bee Heaven Farm.  The weather was glorious, sunny but not too hot and not too humid. CSA members and friends of the farm were invited to hang out for the afternoon. Over 100 people showed up, mostly families with children, to eat good food, listen to live music, build scarecrows and go on hay rides, and socialize with fellow fans of the farm. For hard core locavores, this was a rare chance to visit the very place where their food comes from.

Lining up at Dim Ssam a GoGo.

New this year was Dim Ssam a GoGo, the food truck from Sakaya Kitchen. Chef Richard Hales and two assistants were on board filling orders as quick as they could. Chef Richard worked his pan-asian magic on various vegetables provided by Farmer Margie. I recognized eggplant, radishes, cucumber, bok choy and garlic chives from the heavy boxes delivered to his restaurant a couple days before. They reappeared grilled and roasted, and in the form of kimchee. The line at the truck was crazy! It went from here to way over there! Later, I saw various people going through the line a few more times. Maybe the truck had to be empty before it could leave?

Grant Livingston

People sat on bales of straw and ate at tables in the sun outside the barn. It was close to the food and the coolers full of homemade herbal teas — lemongrass, roselle, and allspice berry. From there you could watch kids building scarecrows and listen to live music. Grant Livingston was back to charm us with his songs and stories about life in Florida. He sings and plays guitar in a laid back folk style, and his catchy tunes have gentle humor and poetic turns of phrase.

It takes a village to build a scarecrow.

Scarecrow building was popular from previous years, and you never know what kind of straw people kids and parents will create. Lengths of pvc pipe and connectors, plus old clothes and lots of straw were set out. First you make the skeleton out of pipes, and then you build the body by stuffing clothes with straw. The challenge is to make a head somehow. Bags usually work. The best part was that you could take your scarecrow home with you to protect your garden.

Hayride around Bee Heaven Farm.

Farmer Margie gave hay rides with the green tractor and a trailer loaded with bales of straw. People sat on the bales and watched the farm go by at three miles per hour. Margie circled the property and pointed out different things growing here and there. The ride was extremely popular this year. As soon as it was over, more people climbed aboard the bales and staked out their spots. Yes, they sat there waiting for 20 minutes until the next ride! More, more!

Raw food chef Pam Molnar admires watermelon radishes.

Inside the barn, a small farmers market was set up. If you haven’t been out to Homestead, Overtown or Pinecrest Markets, it was a fair representation of what you’ve been missing. A long row of tables zig-zagged along one wall, loaded down with produce. Fruit was on one end — passion fruit, tart “tangy-rines”, starfruit, avocados, red grapefruit, black sapote, and papaya. Greens and herbs loaded down the other end — yukina savoy, mixed salad greens, lettuce, arugula, garlic chives, dill, sage — and interesting vegetables in the middle — eggplant with funny appendages, watermelon radishes that have white flesh with a red center, globe radishes, dragon tongue beans, and maybe the last of the green beans for a while because of the last freeze. A lot of this stuff you just won’t find in the stores.

Wings, grilled eggplant, kimchee, pulled pork sandwiches and crispy duck wraps.

Back to the food from Dim Ssam… It was amazing! I tasted a variety of things. Juicy chicken wings with a soy-honey-ginger-pepper sauce that was not too hot but definitely flavorful. Kinchee made with French breakfast radishes, cucumber, bok choy and cilantro provided by the farm, and chunks of garlic, pickled in a peppery sauce that had a slight fermented kick. Grilled eggplant with garlic chives and a soy-based sauce. Pulled pork sandwich with a pinkish, zippy “kimchee” sauce. Crispy duck wrap with crunchy veggies, amazing sauces, and wreathed in fresh cilantro. Everything was so delicious, I wanted one of each from the truck, but my belly ran out of room. So leftovers went to James, the farm’s Intern Composter, who was wandering around hungry for food scraps, and happy for a taste of Sakaya cooking, yum!

Happy winners of the coveted composter.

The afternoon wound to a close with the raffle. A Smith & Hawken Biostack Composter was up for grabs. There were a fair number of entries, and people were excited and hopeful to win it. (Apparently this particular composter does a good job, but is rare as hens teeth.) The Sebesta family won the composter, and Nancy B. won a box of produce. Winners, enjoy your prizes in good health!

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RITC market opens for second season

Posted in events, farmer/grower, food, location, locavore, market, photo, tagged , , , , , , on December 21, 2010| 2 Comments »

Dr. Marvin Dunn surveys the Roots in the City garden and market.

The Roots in the City Farmers Market in Overtown opened on Wednesday Dec. 8th for its second season. You may remember that it ran for a couple months, March and April, earlier this year. Now it’s back at the same corner of NW 10 St. and 2 Ave. in Miami, and it’s grown a bit bigger with two new vendors, Gardens of TROY and Nature Boyz. The same growers from the first time are there also — RITC Gardens, Teena’s Pride, Redland Organics and Hani’s Mediterranean Organics.

The first day of the season called for Grand Opening festivities and VIPs. It wasn’t as crazy a party as last spring, but all the important people were there — chef Michael Schwartz, chef Michel Nischan, a PBS video crew, Farmer Margie and her intern Liberty, students from nearby Phyllis Wheatley Elementary, Dr. Marvin Dunn, Teena and Michael, an assortment of foodies and neighborhood shoppers, and most of the food bloggers in town.

Market co-founder and chef Michael Schwartz  brought his food cart, and his crew dished out grilled rosemary chicken garden vegetable chopped salad, which was quickly devoured. The recipe was created by a student from Phyllis Wheatley Elementary, where chef Michael recently visited, as part of the new Chefs Move to Schools program.Schwartz’s market partner, chef Michel Nischan, loped up and down the row of tents, stopping to greet growers and shoppers. Michel’s foundation, Wholesome Wave, donated matching funds to use with SNAP aka food stamps, good for up to $20 per person per day. Last season, a large number of people used the matching funds tokens to supplement their shopping.Chef Michel Nischon (plaid shirt) is trailed by producer Jon Crane and his crew, while farmer Margie Pikarsky looks on.

Michel was trailed by a PBS crew shooting a segment about him for the AARP show “My Generation.” He was speaking passionately about food and urban farming with producer Jon Crane. “You can be poor but still grow food and be sustainable. Brooklyn had gardens and chickens years ago. There are so many great stories in this community,” he said, looking around. “Food gives a person a sense of place, self esteem and security, and it reaches across all socio-economic strata. All differences melt away with good local food.”

Chef Michael Schwartz chats with Ben Thacker, Jepson Jean-Pierre and Antonio Moss from TROY Academy, while Alexandra Rangel videotapes.

Michael Schwartz stopped by to chat with two TROY Community Academy students and Ben Thacker, their gardening program director. Some of the things for sale at their tent were callaloo, carrots, passion fruit, aloe plants, and garlic chives. “Each kid has his own garden,” Ben said, “and they get to keep the money from selling their crops. All the kids are eating it.” Michael replied quickly, “Don’t eat it, sell it!” Ben said, “We’re trying to get them to eat more fruit.” “Ok, eat it!” Michael responded. The students laughed. Videographer Alexandra Rangel hovered nearby with her camera, capturing the conversation for a promotional fundraising video for TROY.

Several large, perfect cabbages at Teena’s Pride tent caught my eye, along with exotic looking pattypan squash. There were red round tomatoes, cucumbers, and an assortment of other veggies and fresh herbs. All those and more can be yours on a weekly basis if you join the Teena’s Pride CSA. It’s not too late to sign up, and there are about 100 spots left. For prices and details, email farm@teenaspride.com or call 786-243-1714.

Marguerite the Nubian goat hangs out with Hani Khouri and his wife Mary Lee, while customers sample fresh goat cheese.

Over at the other end of the market, Marguerite the Nubian goat was hanging out with her humans, ice cream and cheese makers Hani and Mary Lee Khouri of Hani’s Mediterranean Organics. Of course everybody had to come over to take pictures of the goat… pet the goat… sample the ice cream… maybe get a falafel wrap… At the next tent, Farmer Margie had a large array of fruits, vegetables and herbs. She’s also set up to take SNAP funds and credit cards.

It was a pleasant afternoon in the neighborhood, and the most important people there were the people who live in the area shopping for fresh food. During the spring, the beginning of market was slow but by the end of the second month, a good number of regulars from the neighborhood came by. If things go like last season, every week will draw more people out of their food desert to partake of locally grown bounty.

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