Plastic bag free market celebration ~ tomorrow and Tuesday

The era of plastic bags at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market is over! We'll be marking this momentous change tomorrow and Tuesday with an opportunity to have your photo taken with the plastic bag monster (see right), interactive displays with shopping and food storage tips, and educational booths. Anyone who can show us that they're reusing at least three bags can enter to win a waste wise shopping kit. See the Programs section for the schedule.

Our annual Spring Breakfast
by the Bay ~ June 6

Delight in spring's abundance and the people who bring it to us each week as you enjoy a scrumptious breakfast and support CUESA. The funds we raise at the Spring Breakfast go toward keeping our cooking programs free, our farm tours affordable and our e-letter chock full of information about the work that goes into building a sustainable food system in the Bay Area and beyond. Buy your ticket >

Food is Power MLI summer film experience ~ July 20 - 31

Calling all 9-12th graders. During half-day sessions spanning two weeks in July, fifty Bay Area students will learn firsthand about sustainable food production and consumption through visits with producers and restaurateurs, including two days at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Then participants will create short-form video presentations that share their views on the theme of sustainable food with the world. CUESA will provide access to the market and our kitchen, Nokia and the Pearson Foundation, sponsors of the Mobile Learning Institute (MLI), will provide the equipment, and because it’s a pilot program all participants will enjoy full scholarships. Learn more or apply >

Support the Ban on Nontherapeutic Antibiotics

Want to get antibiotics out of your meat?  SB 416 would ban the practice of feeding healthy animals low doses of antibiotics for growth promotion and to prevent illness in confined feed lots. According to our friends over at Food and Water Watch, this bill is a crucial step in stopping the increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria that sickens humans. Take action >

Farmers: Get financial support for organic practices

USDA is allocating $50 million through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to be set aside for a new Organics Initiative. Current organic producers and those transitioning to organic are eligible to receive funds for implementing conservation practices and conservation planning under the program, but they’ll have to act fast. Applications are due by May 29 in most states. Learn more from the Organic Farming Research Foundation >

Food, Inc. Screening Contest

Be one of the first five people to forward our e-letter to a friend who might like it and (CC webmaster@cuesa.org) and you'll get one of five admit-two passes to a special screening of Food, Inc. on May 27 in San Francisco. Robert Kenner's Food, Inc. reveals how complicated and compromised the once simple process of growing crops and raising livestock to feed ourselves and our families has become. But, it also reminds us that we still have the ability to vote on this issue every day - at breakfast, lunch and dinner. The film opens in NY, LA and SF on June 12.

 

Saturday, May 23 ~ Market to Table

11:00 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration
Mark Richardson, Seasons Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco

11:45 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration and book signing
Linda Carucci, The International Cooking School at the Art Institute of San Francisco and author of Cooking School Secrets for Real World Cooks

Plastic Bag Free Market activities

All day (and from now on) - Vendors will have plastic bag alternatives available, including biobags, paper bags and cloth produce bags, such as the ones at right from Marin Roots Farm.

9:00 am - 1:00 pm - Educational booths

• Save the Bay will spread the word about the impact of plastic bags on the Bay and wildlife. Stop by to see their innovative two-minute video, The Bay vs. The Bag, and to take action to eliminate plastic bags in the state.
• SFEnvironment will have information about home compost collection and stopping junk mail. Play the sorting game to win a tote bag (while supplies last)! 
• CUESA will be available to answer questions about the new plastic bag policy in the market. Come by to pick up tips on alternative ways to carry and store your purchases. Show us that you're reusing at least three bags, and we'll enter you in a drawing to win a waste wise shopping kit including: a Ferry Plaza tote bag, ECOBAGS cloth produce bags, a Klean Kanteen, and To-Go Ware stainless steel lunch box and bamboo tableware.

9:00 am - 1 pm - Bag monster mobile photo booth
ChicoBag's bag monster will be roaming the market with a photographer. We'll take a digital photo of you with the monster and email it to you for free!

Tuesday, May 26 ~ Food Wise Booth

12:00 - 1:00 pm - Sarah Henkin, CUESA's market chef, will be giving out recipe cards and samples of a simple meal made with market ingredients. She'll also be available to offer advice on all your seasonal meal planning.

Plastic Bag Free Market activities

11:00 am - 2:00 pm - See above (with some modifications).

Saturday, May 30 ~ Market to Table

11:00 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration
Ani Phyo, author of Ani's Raw Food Desserts

All programs take place in CUESA's Dacor teaching kitchen, in front of the Ferry Building on the north side.

In preparation for tomorrow's big change, we thought we'd highlight some of our market shoppers' approaches to waste wise shopping. Because it's not just what you buy that matters -- it's how you carry it.

Hsin and Ramesh	Giovanna
Bart and Ron	Rich and Hannah
Lorraine	Norma and Ed
Jeff	Beata

Photos by Rachel Steyer

This is the most up-to-date information about which sellers will be attending the market as of Friday. If there are no changes to a seller's status, they will not be listed. You'll find a list of which farmers regularly attend each market here. Please understand that there are often last-minute changes—it's the nature of farming!

Saturday, May 23

In: Flying Disc Ranch, Knoll Farms, and Tory Farms return
Out: Apple Farm

Tuesday, May 26

In: Triple Delight Blueberries, Happy Quail Farms

Returning and plentiful this month (weather willing):
Fresh shallots, summer squash, squash blossoms, Cipollini onions, cherries, blueberries, apricots, raspberries, basil, heirloom roses, sardines, English peas, snap peas, snow peas, strawberries, Stockton red onions, baby root vegetables, lettuces, celery, fresh herbs, fava beans, fennel, artichokes, rapini, pastured eggs, cardoons, spring onions, goat cheese

Winding down/limited supply:
Asparagus, potatoes, citrus, braising greens, nettles, Japanese maples, pastured chicken (will become plentiful in early June)

Value Added and Vendor items not to be missed:
Sauerkraut from Happy Girl Kitchen, smoked sweet onions from Tierra Vegetables, garlic quark from Spring Hill Cheese

Farms/Vendors that may be returning this month (weather willing):
Shogun Fish Co., Triple Delight Blueberries, Paoletti Farms, Kashiwase Farms

Featured Recipes for May:
Creamy Artichoke Soup from Sarah Henkin, CUESA's market chef (April 2009)

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

Capellini with Julienned Zucchini & Yellow Squash from Ben deVries, Luella Restaurant

Cocktail ~ Blue Bonnet from Joel Baker, Bourbon and Branch (May 14, 2008)