Saturday mornings all year. 9am till Noon Oxford, Ohio

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Spinning Lessons with Little Patch Alpacas!

You will always see Maegan Burkhart of Little Patch Alpacas, spinning at the market on Saturdays! She always brings one of her spinning wheels and demonstrates how she spins her alpaca fiber. On September 6, 2014, she was teaching Nicole the basics of spinning alpaca fiber into thread! Such a beautiful sight to see! Be sure to stop by Little Patch Alpacas to see Maegan or one of her little pals, spinning her wheel on Saturday mornings!

Maddie Downing of Downing Fruit Farm – Beautiful and Sweet Just Like The Fruit They Grow!

Downing Fruit Farm not only has some delicious fruit, veggies, and award winning cider, but they’ve also got the beautiful and sweet, Maddie! Here she is holding one of their many gigantic watermelons! For those of you who are new to Downing Fruit Farm, they have been around for generations. Just to give you an idea on how long, let me say that Scott Downing’s great-great-great-great grandfather John Downing started the farm in 1838! They grow a variety of vegetables and fruit, but started out with apples. You can expect the nothing but the best from Downing Fruit Farm. So next time your at the market, be sure to stop by the Downing Fruit Farm booth to see what they have to offer and to witness sweet Maddie’s smile!

It is that time of year for fresh apple cider, and Downing Fruit Farm’s is a sellout! So be sure to pick yours up early when you visit the market!

Ask The Chef – a transition from Market Fresh Chef Cooking Demo to Ask The Market Fresh Chef!

For weeks now we have been fortunate to have Chef Patrick Nipper from Kona Bistro and Chef Steve “Soupy” Townsend, whom you can find at MOON Co-Op, cooking up something special for the market. We have been calling the presentation, Market Fresh Chef Cooking Demo but we are now transitioning the presentation into, ASK THE MARKET FRESH CHEF! We asked both Patrick and Steve if our market goers were interested in the demo and asking questions about the dish they were preparing. We were informed that not too many of people that attend the market are questioning the ingredients, the recipe, or the vendors involved in the creation. So, we have decided to change the title of the cooking demonstration, hoping to get you asking questions about the entire “Farm-To-Table” process. The Ask The Chef program is at the Oxford Farmers Market to share delicious food, but especially to involve the community, sharing recipes, thoughts, ideas, and love!

Be sure to go chat with Chef Patrick and Chef Soupy, Saturday mornings at the market! They would love to answer any and all the questions you may have!

Shopper Showcase – Oxford Community Arts Center Gardeneering Program Visits the Market!

For those of you who know Betsy Torge, you absolutely love her enthusiastic, love-of-life, light-hearted spirit. She brings a smile to your face no matter what. So you can only imagine what she brings to the OCAC Gardeneering Program. The Gardeneering Program gives our children in Oxford a chance to have hands on experience in the garden. Betsy teaches the children the concept of “farm-to-table” and provides an easy understanding of the benefits of growing your own food. The Gardeneering Program takes place on Saturday mornings throughout the summer at the Oxford Community Arts Center outside in the gated garden near High Street. Girls participating in the OCAC Gardeneering Program who are featured in the photo are (in no specific order): Xandra, Naomi, Isabella, Bella, Grace, Morgan, and Katie.

To grasp what the Gardeneering Program provides our youth, Betsy explains, “When allowing the children to dig in the dirt, plant seeds, and watch what they have planted grow into food, it brings an understanding of where their food comes from. Not only do the children get to pick and eat what they have grown, they are excited to do so and ask many questions. I encourage the group to participate in the “farm-to-table” concept, where we pick veggies and herbs from the garden, then together, we create a wonderful lunch to share. The whole idea of the Gardeneering Program is to teach children how we can have fun doing something valuable for our community.”

On Saturday, Betsy brought the girls participating in the Gardeneering Program to the OFMU. She wanted the girls to experience what they are doing at the OCAC garden on a larger scale. By bringing the girls to the market, they could see the local farmers providing fresh produce and the local artisans sharing their bread, honey, jams, and arts with the community. Larry talked to the group, giving them each a GREENBACK to spend. Betsy led the group around the market, allowing each girl to buy something to take back to the OCAC, so they could create a delicious “farm-to-table” lunch!

This coming Saturday is the last day for the summer OCAC Gardeneering Program. If you are interested in your child attending next year or are interested in other youth activities in Oxford, contact the Oxford Community Arts Center!

Cultivating Community With Miami Students

With school starting in 10 days, Oxford will once again, be thriving with a new group of enthusiastic young adults. These days, young folks are eager to be involved with the community, educating themselves and others on the positive effects of farmers markets and local co-ops. With each new Miami student that attends our Oxford Farmers Market, they will tell at least 1 friend. The experience they have at the market will surely be very influential in, bringing a sense of togetherness, enlightenment, and cultivate community. Just take Miami student, Leland Joyce, for example. His essay, expressing the differences between shopping at Wal-Mart and the Oxford Farmers Market, clearly shows how we can cultivate community with Miami students. Even though most students are in Oxford for a short period of time, we can create, educate, and spread the meaning of community to the world through the voices of our future.

Please take a moment to read Leland’s essay:

Wal-Mart vs. Oxford Farmer’s Market: The Choice is Yours
Essay by Leland Joyce

Wal-Mart is America’s best friend. Why? Because it sells a large range of goods at unbeatably low prices. Hence their slogan, “Save money. Live better. Wal-Mart.” Even as I pull up their website, I notice that their goods range from office supplies and electronics, too Halloween and pet supplies. This would lead one to believe that every person in the U.S. should shop there. That, however, is not the case. More and more people have begun purchasing locally grown foods that are assured to be fresh. My own family in Cincinnati is the same way. My mother refuses to buy fruits and vegetables from Kroger, choosing instead to shop at a local market called Pipkin’s, which markets itself as selling high quality fruits and vegetables. Enter: the Oxford Farmer’s Market. The OFM creates an environment where one can go to mingle with locals, but at the same time sample and purchase an amazing array of local goods. The welcoming nature of the Oxford Farmer’s Market creates a more friendly and communal shopping experience, where as Wal-Mart creates a closed and lonely shopping experience.
The first place I went was Wal-Mart, which I visited on Thursday, October 20th at 4:30 P.M. I was able to get to Wal-Mart through a friend with a car because he also had to pick up a few things. Wal-Mart is exceedingly inconvenient for students to shop at because it is at least a five minute drive from campus. Therefore, the only students (and Oxford locals as well) who actually shop at Wal-Mart are people with access to cars, or those willing to take a bus. When I first walk into Wal-Mart, the first thing I notice is the strong smell of Subway resonating in the doorway (there’s one right next to the door). The smell seems resonate through most of the store. I also notice that they are trying very hard to portray a feel of Autumn, with lots of pumpkins and Halloween candy near the entrance way. With my sight, I notice how bright the store is, not unlike the picture on the front of our syllabus. The size of the store is also overwhelming. It actually took me five minutes of walking around aimlessly until I figured out where I needed to go to find what I was looking for. It did not help that the signs to direct people to different sections of the store were challenging to read.
I was only there for a few things, one of which were the spheres that emit a pleasant smell that people put in their shoes to make them smell better. I could not, however, find these. Not only could I not find them, I also could not find anyone to help me find them. In fact, I did not see a single employee helping a customer throughout the store. I felt as if I was walking through a forest without a compass. I knew what I wanted but had no idea where to look. The shoppers in Wal-Mart all looked gloomy, albeit was a miserable day outside. I did not see a single person of a race other than white, and only saw one child accompanied by a parent. If I were to describe my experience in one word, I would say the store was quite wishy-washy.
I visited the Oxford Farmer’s Market on Saturday October 22nd at 10:00 A.M. I was able to walk there because it is only a fifteen minute walk from my dormitory. The location is convenient for locals and students alike, as it is right outside the Bella apartments. As I walk in, the first thing I notice is the music playing, which I first thought was a stereo system. It actually was coming from a live band from Cincinnati (which I later learned from Mr. Slocum). There were many different smells at the market, including a heavy caramel smell near the apple stand, and a pleasant soap smell. The overall feel of the market was very local. Everyone seemed to know each other, almost like a big family gathering that occurred every weekend. The shoppers were friendly and communal with the sellers as well as with each other. There were a lot of families there, including pets and children, who surprisingly seemed to enjoy running around and sampling the goods. I even noticed a couple of teachers, including my Architecture 188 teacher from my freshman year, Tom Dutton. Overall, the people there seemed very happy, quite the opposite of the people I observed at Wal-Mart.
I also got to meet a couple of very nice people. The first was Dave (I think his last name was Powell), who invited me to sample his product, which was a group of spicy spreads. When I tried the first one and noticed how spicy it was, he had a bit of a chuckle, informing me that that was the mildest one. I also got to meet, Larry Slocum, who picked me out as a student as I walked around and took notes. He understood what I was doing, and we talked a little bit about the locality of the market. He even told me that the apple cider that I had purchased contained seven different types of apples and that I will never taste better cider. He wanted me to e-mail my paper to him to post on the OFM website, which was an honor. Last, he gave me a little piece of advice for my paper, which was to put pictures in it, because who wants to read something without pictures?
At the end of the day, there is a choice to be made about how to shop for groceries. On one hand, there is shopping for the experience, to be able to taste your food before you buy it, and discuss the product with the producer. On the other hand, there is shopping for the price, or purchasing the cheapest product on the shelf. It is just another one of many choices we make in life.

Shopper Showcase – Fauzia Loves The Market And The Market Loves Fauzia!

Fauzia is one of our most loyal shoppers. Here’s what she had to say about the Oxford Farmers Market, “I don’t come here because of the food but because I feel that everybody loves me! If I didn’t feel welcome I could shop somewhere else. The value of the market is that everything is at its highest possible quality! The truth is that there’s all sorts of laws dealing with the distribution of food but you can not legislate morality. Everyone here has their morals right!”

We love you Fauzia! We deeply thank you for your support, love, and the positivity you bring to the market.

Shopper Showcase – Denny Meyer Cyclist Extraordinaire!

Denny Meyer rode 31 miles on his bike from Eaton! He frequents Bike Wise and noticed the market a few times. And this week he decided to stop in! He started his trek around 6:30am and arrived about 9am, just in time to sample some of Downing Fruit Farms delicious strawberries before they sold out! Check out our Facebook page for an additional photo of Denny.

https://www.facebook.com/oxfordfarmersmarket/photos/pb.287413759612.-220…

Market Fresh Chef Patrick Nipper from Kona Bistro Demos Garden Fresh Omelettes At The Market!

On June 7, 2014, we had our first Market Fresh Chef of the season! Head Chef Patrick Nipper of Kona Bistro demoed his Garden Fresh Omelette! Chef Patrick used Morning Sun Farm’s Organic Eggs, Tucson Trish’s Authentic Mexican Salsa, 5 Oaks Organic Shallots & Garlic Sprouts, and Jericho Run Farm’s Turnip Tops. Check out our Recipes page to make your own omelette at home! And be sure to pick up your fresh, local, and organic ingredients at the Oxford Farmer’s Market on Saturdays from 8-Noon!

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