Farm Fresh Rhode Island blog

We’re proud to announce that summer farmers’ markets run by Farm Fresh held the top 6 spots and accounted for 76% of the WIC (Women, Infants, Children) Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP – alphabet soup!) usage in RI in 2008. That amounts to roughly $88,500 out of the $115,500 that WIC families spent on local fruits and veggies from local farmers. We try to position our markets with times, locations and outreach to serve low-income families, so the markets can connect neighborhoods with sources of fresh fruits and vegetables.

How does WIC work at the farmers’ market? WIC is a nutrition-based federal/state food assistance program that is available to low-income mothers and children. In addition to coupons to use at grocery stores, eligible clients receive $15 in coupons per year for fresh fruits and vegetables at the farmer’s market. Unlike Food Stamps / EBT, Rhode Island has a set budget for WIC. So the more WIC clients, the fewer dollars available per WIC client. As it is, FMNP redemption at farmers’ markets only reaches only about 50% and not all of the 25,800 WIC families follow through to get the coupons. In addition, federal funding available to RI for the WIC FMNP in 2008 was less than half of the available funds in 2003. Tracy Francisco, who coordinates the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program at the RI Dept of Health, must use last year’s usage data and be in regular contact with farmers about current redemption rates to delicately forecast how many coupons to print and distribute. She’s done a great job so that the maximum number of Rhode Islanders can benefit, without going over her shriveling budget.

Why do only 50% of families use their coupons? That’s attributed to myriad factors. Some families mention inconvenient times/locations and others say $15 is too small an amount to bother. If a farmers’ market isn’t a regular stop in a busy family’s routine, and especially if transportation is an issue, the season can slip by before WIC coupons expire on October 31 each year. For that reason, Farm Fresh makes sure our markets are along bus routes in a variety of neighborhoods. Many families also mention an unfamiliarity with produce, a lack of time, or a lack of the equipment or kitchen to cook. In 2008, Farm Fresh started a weekly “Healthy Foods, Healthy Families” education program for parents and kids at the Armory Market. We’ve now received funding from Blue Cross Blue Shield of RI to expand the program to 5 markets in 2009. This culinary and nutrition education program complements cooking demos by Johnson & Wales and URI, and are necessary so every mom, dad and kid feels confident to cook and eat the fresh and nutritious veggies and fruits, from apples to kale to eggplant.

Fresh tidbits to nibble on this week:

1. 2007 Ag Census numbers were just released by the USDA. There is so much RI data, available in a detailed and a summary PDF. Here are a few trends:
   • 1,219 RI farmers were counted, up 42% from 2002. That’s 1.1% of all Rhode Islanders, though it doesn’t include the number of additional farm workers beyond the principal farmer. 51% of counted RI farmers said their farm provides their primary livelihood, which was higher than the national rate of 45%.
   • RI had 69,000 acres of farmland, up 11%, but the size of the average RI farm got 22% smaller, about 56 acres. That’s about 10.3% of the total land in RI.
   • The number of farms run by women more than doubled in 5 years, while the average age of RI farmers jumped to 56.3 from 54.3.

   RI ranks #46 for vegetables (same as 2002), #40 for fruit harvested (up from #43), #47 for poultry and eggs, #49 for meats, and #47 for aquaculture (down from #45, though sales have doubled). Since producing food requires space and we’re the tiniest state, any time we rank above #50 in a food category, it’s impressive. And if you’re looking for stories to complement the data, check out our profiles of 43 RI farmers.

2. Chez Pascal is offering The Market Menu every Monday, based completely on ingredients from Saturday’s Wintertime Farmers’ Market and our Market Mobile distribution program. True, the Chez Pascal menu is a showcase of fine seasonal cuisine every day, and now Mondays offer an expanded meditation on the delicious flavors that are here in New England even in the midst of winter. Kudos to Matt and Kristin!
3. The Providence Phoenix this week looks at Farm Fresh and the growth of the local food movement here in Rhode Island.
4. 225 farmers, chefs, schools and other food folks attended our 5th Local Food Forum on February 4. This year’s theme was On the Go: From Farm to Food to Compost. We’ve posted notes online from the roundtable discussions, which ranged from distribution to compost to supporting new farmers.
5. Have you joined a CSA yet? It’s a 20+ week subscription program run by many RI farms. You’ll get a weekly box of fresh veggies and more, while supporting your farmer with “seed money” (literally) that is crucial during the time between when they plant in the spring and harvest in the summer and fall. It’s almost March and many CSAs fill up fast! Look at our list of Community Supported Agriculture farms or if you’d like to try out a 10-week program first, Farm Fresh runs a Market Basket pickup at the Armory and Downtown markets in Providence.
6. Boston is planning a Public Food Market next to the Haymarket along the Rose Kennedy Greenway downtown. The idea is to provide a permanent indoor space for local farmers and producers. Ensuring a year-round space for fresh foods in the center of city sounds familiar. Having fostered summer markets in every corner of the state and a thriving indoor Wintertime Farmers’ Market, a Providence Public Market is surely next.

It’s not a coincidence that the Wintertime Farmers’ Market falls on Valentine’s Day Saturday 2/14. There is a lot of love that goes into food – from growing to cooking to breaking bread – and to celebrate that there will be some extra special Valentine’s Day goings on at the market.

RISD Executive Chef, Pierre St. Germain, will cook a tasting menu featuring local meat, seafood and cheese. Newport Vineyards will be sampling wines that pair perfectly with each dish. Chef Pierre’s decadent menu will include:

• Bomster scallop truffles (cocoa dusted) on a bed of microgreens from Baby Greens finished with a vanilla-pomegranate beurre blanc
• Horseradish crusted, shredded beef sandwich on fresh bread topped with garlicky Angelito spread from Narragansett Creamery
• Crispy Matunuck oyster with local honey, whole grain mustard

Make it a date:

• Start off at New Harvest Coffee for lattes with hearts on top
• Pick up OceanState Chocolates’ special edition Baby Greens truffle set, infused with winter rosemary
• Sit by the café tables, sip and nibble, and enjoy the string band
• Meander ’round the market with a cup of Kafe’ Lila spicy bittersweet chocolate ice cream

… or pick up a gift for your lovely:

• Farmacy Herbs love box with rose massage oil, rose petals and lovers’ blend tea
• Cook together: squash, turnips and potatoes for slicing, dicing and roasting as the base for a hearty dinner for two
• Alpine strawberry basket garden from Allen Farms
• Jack’s Snacks dog treats so no one in your family feels left out
• Seven Stars heart butter cookies and Olga’s apple crumble tart
• Spice it up with roasted chipotle salsa from Poblano Farm, hot pepper jelly from Marcia’s Chutneys and Hopkins Farm cayenne dilly beans
• Honey, because, well, you’re sweet and from RI, too

It may be the dead of winter, but the Wintertime Farmers’ Market is nice, warm and delicious inside. Come nourish your Valentine, and celebrate all of the incredible love that the people who grow, prepare and share, knead into our daily bread. Oh, and this week is last call for honeybells!