A goodbye and a job opening

CUESA will say a sad goodbye to Maggie Gosselin, our Special Programs Manager, in June. Maggie will spend the summer completing a New York edition of the Local Foods Wheel. In the fall she will pursue a Master’s of Science in Agriculture, Food, and Environment at Tufts University, made possible by a Sustainable Sciences Fellowship from the USDA. Maggie’s work with CUESA began 4½ years ago and now includes managing the CUESA website, writing and designing this weekly e-letter, and developing informational signage and exhibits. Says Maggie, “I could not have hoped for a job that presented more opportunities for growth or a more inspiring community. I will sorely miss the staff, volunteers, board members, market sellers and others who have made my time here so fun and meaningful.” We will miss her too, and wish her well as she broadens her education and pursues new opportunities. CUESA is now recruiting a full time staff member to take over Maggie’s responsibilities.
Click here to see the complete job description and requirements >

Celebrate the market community at our Spring Breakfast ~ June 7

On June 7, CUESA's Dacor teaching kitchen in the North Arcade will be transformed into the setting for our annual breakfast gathering. Come delight in spring's abundance and the people who bring it to us each week. A market seller will be at each table to share stories about her or his business. There are three seatings--9:00, 10:00 and 11:00 am. Tickets are $25 per person ($15 for children 2-12) and proceeds benefit CUESA’s education programs. We sincerely hope you can join us!
Click here to purchase tickets >

Tune into West Coast Live ~ May 10

Tomorrow, May 10, Stan Devoto of Devoto Gardens will be a guest on the nationally broadcast radio show West Coast Live. WCL will be broadcasting from the Ferry Building from 10 am to 12 pm, and you can be part of the live audience. For more information, visit www.wcl.org. Tune in by radio to KALW 91.7.

Possible Pier 1/2 parking lot closure: voice your opinion ~ May 13

On the agenda for the next San Francisco Port Commission meeting is the proposed closure of Pier 1/2, the parking lot immediately adjacent to the Ferry Building in which many of our shoppers park. If the loss of this lot concerns you, please attend the public meeting on Tuesday, May 13, at 3:15 pm in the Ferry Building's Port Commission Hearing Room to express your views.

May 14 cocktail demonstration and tasting is SOLD OUT

Thanks to all who purchased tickets. We'll see you there!

Local chefs and farmers pair up at Macy's ~ May 14

The last installment of the Macy's Get Green series, produced in partnership with CUESA and featuring farmers from the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, is set for Wednesday, May 14.
Click here for more information >

Waste Wise Farm Tour ~ Friday, June 13

Visit the Jepson Prairie Organics facility, where the materials deposited in San Francisco's green bins are made into compost. We will tour the operations and find out how our paper plates, napkins, and food scraps become a valuable resource for farms and gardens. Then Farmer Nigel Walker will take us on a guided tour of nearby Eatwell Farm, where he enriches the soil with loads and loads of compost from Jepson Prairie. Eatwell Farm is certified organic and produces vegetables, herbs, lavender, and strawberries, sold at farmers markets and through a community-supported agriculture program. The tour costs $25 and includes a delicious lunch made from farmers' market foods. Tickets are nonrefundable. We will leave and return to the Ferry Building in a comfortable bus. We sincerely thank our Farm Tour Sponsor, First National Bank of Northern California, for underwriting tour costs and Coach 21 for providing a discount on the bus charter fee.
Click here to learn more and buy tickets >

In Search of Good Food bike ride ~ May 18

In collaboration with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's annual Bike to Work Day, there will be an In Search of Good Food bike ride on May 18 at 1:00 pm. In Search of Good Food is a documentary film project about the emerging sustainable food system in California. The ride will meander around the Mission and southeast portions of the city before ending up at Alemany Farm.
Click here for more information >

Saturday, May 10 ~ Flower Festival!

10:30 am - Meet the seller
Dirk Ooijkaas of Brookside Orchids

11:00 am - Flower arranging demonstration
Devon Gaster, Master Floral Designer

11:45 - Seasonal cooking demonstration
Sandra Keros of Healthy Focus

10:00 am to 2:00 pm - Edible flower discovery table

10:30 am to 12:30 pm - Culinary information station
Squash blossoms are this week's featured food.

Saturday, May 17 ~ Market to Table

10:30 am - Farmhouse cooks
Larry and Maria Glashoff of Glashoff Farms will talk about their farm and demonstrate recipes using ingredients grown on their own land.

11:15 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration
Sandra Lee of Sunset Magazine

All programs take place in front of the Ferry Building on the north side.

CUESA's culinary intern Mark De George wrote this week's feature.

It’s late spring—the season for weddings, proms, and Mother’s Day. As brides-to-be go about their business creating memory-making bouquets, prom-bound teens contemplate wrist corsages, and we all pick up a beautiful bouquet for mom, we wonder: where do all these flowers come from and how are they grown?

Most of the cut flowers available in the U.S. come from overseas.  In the past two decades, production has shifted to foreign countries, primarily in Latin and South America, where barriers have been relaxed to encourage trade. Colombia now supplies over three quarters of all the cut flowers sold in the U.S. and may gain more share if Congress passes a proposed free trade agreement. Combine this with rising land prices, high labor costs and tighter agricultural regulations and it’s no wonder that making a living is becoming more difficult for U.S. flower growers. 

In addition to the long distances most flowers travel, thornier issues surround how they are raised. Conventiontionally grown flowers are sprayed with some of the most toxic chemicals used in agriculture, both during their growth and after harvest. Since flowers aren’t generally eaten, the environmental and human health consequences of floriculture are often overlooked. However, the effects on farm workers, florists, and the Earth can be significant. Shoppers concerned about sustainability should consider buying bouquets directly from the grower and asking questions about their production methods.

At the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market, an impressive offering of floral delights are available throughout the year, many free of synthetic chemicals, and all local. Here’s a listing of what’s available in the market:

Allstar Organics
Allstar Organics will bring limited quantities of organic antique rose bouquets beginning in a few weeks.

Brookside Orchids
Brookside’s orchids are grown in a mixture of fir bark, charcoal, and perlite and treated with a synthetic fertilizer. Look for popular orchid species as well as a few rare flowers outside of the Orchid family at their stand.

Chan’s Nursery
Over twenty different types of flowers are grown year-round at Chan’s Nursery. Mulch, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are used to maintain soil and discourage pests. The farm specializes in alstroemeria and chrysanthemums.

Cypress Flower Farm
Cypress Flower Farm does not use any synthetic chemicals. The farm dedicates over an acre of land to composting and has grown more than 150 different varieties of flowers. You’ll find hydrangea, calla lilies, iris, jasmine, stars of Bethlehem, poppies, anemone, freesia, watsonia, gypsy carnations, alstroemeria, and cerinthe at their stand right now.

Devoto Gardens
Devoto Gardens grows over 50 varieties of flowers. They maintain soil fertility by discing in cover crops and spent mulches and applying compost and pelleted manure products. They use Integrated Pest Management techniques to minimize synthetic pesticide applications. Right now, you’ll find sweet peas, sweet william, calla lilies, foxglove, and irises at their stand.

Eatwell Farm
Eatwell Farm’s harvest of more than eight varieties of lavender begins in mid-April and continues intermittently throughout the summer.

Four Sisters Farm
Four Sisters Farm brings a limited number of organic bouquets.

Green Gulch Farm
Green Gulch Farm has a diverse organic flower garden from which they create mixed bouquets. The farm will return to market in June.

McGinnis Ranch
Flowers account for half of McGinnis Ranch’s total production. The farm’s diverse crops are rotated to maximize soil conditions.  Mushroom compost and some commercial fertilizers are used in the farm’s naturally sandy soil. Look for calendula, lilies, sweet peas, and ranunculus at their stand right now.

White Crane Springs Ranch
For over twenty years, White Crane Springs Ranch has grown flowers and flowering branches for local florists and markets. Beneficial insects, crop rotation and hand weeding handle pest problems. No synthetic chemicals are used on the farm. Look for hawthorn, viburnum, dogwood, bearded iris, and alliums at their stand right now.

Come down to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market tomorrow to learn more about flowers at our Flower Festival.   

On Thursday, June 5, Amy Stuart will be talking about her latest book, Flower Confidential, at Book Passage in the Ferry Building. Click here to learn more >

This is the most up-to-date information about which sellers will and won't be attending the market as of Friday, when we send this letter. If there are no changes to a seller's status, they will not be listed. To find out which farmers regularly attend each market, click here. Please understand that there are often last-minute changes--it's the nature of farming!

Saturday, May 10

In/returning: The Apple Farm, Kashiwase Farms, Lucero Organic Farm, Peach Farm
Out: Bernard Ranches, Happy Quail Farms, Juniper Ridge
Moving: Happy Girl Kitchen will be in the back plaza near the World Trade Club

Tuesday, May 13

In: Triple Delight Blueberries

Returning this month (weather willing): Shallots, summer squash, squash blossoms, Cipollini onions, cherries, blueberries, apricots, raspberries, basil, heirloom roses, broccoli di cicco, Bloomsdale Spinach, halibut, squid, loquats

Plentiful: Strawberries, Stockton Red onions, baby root vegetables, lettuces, celery, fresh herbs, fava beans, English peas, fennel, artichokes, rapini

Winding down/limited supply: Asparagus, citrus, braising greens, nettles

Farms that may return this month (weather willing): Triple Delight Blueberries (hopefully May 10), Paoletti Farms, Kashiwase Farm

Recipes for May

Trio of Crostini: Braised Artichokes, Roasted Spring Onions and Roasted Beets with Fennel, Liza Shaw, A16 Restaurant

Zucchini Fritters, Former CUESA Market Chef Shanti Wilson

Fava Beans & Strawberry Salad with Pecorino, Chris Cosentino, Incanto Restaurant

Pan Roasted Squid with Iacopi Farms Gigande Beans, Rapini and Meyer Lemon,  Staffan Terje, Perbacco Ristorante and Bar