Wintertime 2009-10

Hello All!

HELP US PRESERVE AGRICULTURE LANDS IN ALASKA
Only 4% of Alaska’s farmland is accessible and viable for farming, and less than 5% of food consumed in Alaska is locally grown. Here is a great way to make your voice heard and it takes less than a minute. Please go to http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/Help-save-Alaska-Farmland to learn more and help us reach the 1,000 signatures needed! 

It is official, the Saturday South Anchorage Farmers’ Market is closed for the season.  We look forward to seeing you next spring! We will send you an e-mail next spring when the market starts up again.

WHAT OPTIONS FOR FRESH PRODUCE DO YOU HAVE NOW?
Glacier Valley Farm CSA produce boxes might just be your answer!  Have you ever considered joining a CSA? Community Supported Agriculture not only gives you some motivation to eat what is good for you, it also helps your local farmers.  You also won’t be going to the grocery store as often.

Check out www.GlacierValleyCSA.com The website has lots of information and pick up spots are growing all around Anchorage and the Valley.  And of course it has recipes! Sign up is easy and there is no monthly commitment.

Another option is asking your local grocery store produce managers to help you find the Alaska-grown items.  Do they look perplexed?  Tell them how you would really like to see local produce!  The more people ask for it, the more likely it will happen. 

Would you like to see some videos about the vendors and farmers who sell their produce at the South Anchorage Farmers’ Market? Check us out!

Rise & Shine Bakery: Owners Alison Arians & Dan Schwartz bake their whole-grain sourdough bread in the small commercial kitchen attached to their house on Anchorage’s lower Hillside.



Transplanting Lettuce at Vanderweele Farms: Vanderweele Farms employee Teresa Reel talks about getting plants in the ground during the spring planting near Palmer, Alaska in May 2009.



Strawberries: Arthur Keyes of Glacier Valley Farm talks about his experiment growing California strawberry varieties on his Palmer, Alaska farm.



Harvesting Corn at Glacier Valley Farm: Alaska farmer Arthur Keyes talks about growing and harvesting, corn in Alaska.



Onions from Stockwell Farm: Vern Stockwell perfected the art of growing onions in Alaska.

Thank you everyone for support the Wednesday and Saturday South Anchorage Farmers’ Market.  We are excited about the new things we want to do to improve it and make it even better next year! 

For more information about the market, contact Arthur Keyes, South Anchorage Farmers’ Market Manager, at 907-354-5833, or at .

Please respond to this email if you’d like to be removed from the newsletter list.

Cheers! And see you next spring!
Nancy Lampman
South Anchorage Farmers’ Market Reporter