Save the Date!

Support the WWFM and eat delicious local treats at FRESH: A Celebration of Local Harvest on May 21 at The Umstead Hotel & Spa. Details and tickets coming soon!

Food 101 with Michael Pollan

Journalist and food expert Michael Pollan is traveling quite a bit these days and promoting his new book, Food Rules. Yesterday he joined Oprah Winfrey on her show, which also highlighted the documentary Food, Inc. It's great to see Pollan's message go mainstream to such a huge audience through a forum like "Oprah." They talked about eating "real food," cutting out the processed foods and "voting three times a day with your fork" as to what you're going to eat. Oprah shared clips of Food, Inc., which is now available on DVD for rental and through Friday this week, Amazon is offering it for $9.99.

You can view part of the Oprah interview in this clip. Epicurious also recently interviewed Pollan if you're interested in learning more.

Local Food Council Meeting: You're Invited; Agenda Posted

If you're looking to share your ideas about the importance of local foods or just want more information, you may want to attend the first meeting of the new N.C. Sustainable Local Food Advisory Council on Tuesday, Feb. 2, in the Martin Building at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. The meeting, from 2-4 pm, is open to the public, and N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler invites anyone interested in local food to attend.

The first meeting is largely organizational, but the agenda includes a discussion of N.C. highlights, thoughts from farmer John Vollmer of Vollmer Farm, a needs assessment and strategic planning for Farm to Fork.

Troxler said the new council is focused on four subjects: health and wellness, hunger and food access, economic development, and preservation of farmlands and water resources. In his blog he said, "North Carolina agriculture makes many positive contributions to the state’s economy and environmental quality. Agriculture creates jobs, preserves open space and provides our citizens with nutritious food. I’m looking forward to this council going to work to benefit North Carolina by expanding our local food economy."

Visit the council's new web site for information on its members and its work.

2010 Vendor Applications

If you are interested in applying to be a vendor at the market, please submit your application by January 27. We look forward to hearing from you!

Food Rules: Words to Live By?

Award-winning author Michael Pollan has written a new book, Food Rules, An Eater’s Manual, featuring 64 seemingly obvious “rules” for eating, but that’s the rub. The changes in way foods are grown, manufactured, marketed and sold and have changed so drastically over the last 50 years, that many people have lost sight of common sense when it comes to eating and what food actually is.

So Pollan boils down information from his widely popular books, In Defense of Food and The Omnivore’s Dilemma, into a concise and easy-to-read set of rules. It’s a quick read and a great tool to help you stick to your new year’s resolutions regarding diet and a healthier way of eating.

Some of Pollan’s rules make me laugh but also cringe at the obvious good sense behind the rule. For instance, “Rule No. 36: Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk. “ I laugh because it’s just funny to me as obviously this cannot be healthy, but I cringe too since I ate such cereals as a kid and let my children have these types of cereals for a “treat” on vacation.

Here are a few of my favorites from the book:

• Rule No. 10: “Avoid foods that are pretending to be something they are not.”
• Rule No. 13: “Eat only foods that will eventually rot.”
• Rule No. 39: “Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself."
• Rule No. 16: “Buy your snacks at the farmers’ market."

For most of the rules, Pollan provides a short explanation. A few of the rules are so basic to eating well that he doesn't include any information, such as Rule No. 21: “It’s not food if it’s called by the same name in every language. (Think Big Mac, Cheetos, or Pringles.)”

In this short article written by Pollan, he explains that he wrote the book at a doctor’s request as a guide for his patients and touches on the health care problem in our country related to the way we eat. If you have an hour to spare, pick up the book. It’s good food for thought!

2010 Sponsorship Levels: What Works for Your Business?

Sponsorship of the Western Wake Farmers' Market (WWFM) is a great way to link your business with a healthy lifestyle and support an initiative in your own community – where your shoppers, patients, clients and others live and shop.

Sponsorship provides your business with visibility through 34 Saturdays from April 3-November 20 where customers can see your business name featured prominently on the banner at the market and in our weekly newsletter, which creates thousands of impressions with customers. We also provide direct access to your business with a link on our dynamic web site with fresh content that nourishes our community. All donations are tax deductible.

We offer a variety of sponsorship levels for 2010 as listed below. Consider how you can help the market, support the community and add visibility to your business. Please email info@WesternWakeFarmersMarket.org with questions or to sign our sponsorship forms.

Sustainable Steward: $5000

• Sponsor Spotlight Day at the market
• Logo on 6' x 10' banner displayed at market and promotional events
• Logo displayed on home page of WWFM web site
• Cross-marketing opportunities with ads in print and radio
• Listed by sponsorship level on sponsor page with description on WWFM web site (including link to your web site)
• Gratitude and link to your web site in weekly e-newsletter (currently at 1330 active recipients but growing steadily)
• Promotional specialty items with logo as agreed by both parties
• A certificate suitable for framing designating your business as a Sustainable Steward of the WWFM
• Participation in Special Event Market Days as well as weekly Sat. market as agreed by both parties

Heirloom Tomato: $3000

• Logo on 6' x 10' banner displayed at market and promotional events
• Listed by sponsorship level on sponsor page with description on WWFM web site (including link to your web site)
• Gratitude and link to your website in weekly e-newsletter (currently at 1330 active recipients and growing steadily)
• Promotional specialty items with logo as agreed by both parties
• A certificate suitable for framing designating your business as a Heirloom Tomato Sponsor of the WWFM
• Participation in Special Event Market Days as well as weekly Sat. market as agreed by both parties
  

Golden Apple: $1000

• Logo on 6' x 10' banner displayed at market and promotional events
• Listed by sponsorship level on sponsor page with description on WWFM web site (including link to your web site)
• Gratitude and link to your web site in weekly e-newsletter (currently at 1330 active recipients)
• A certificate suitable for framing designating your business as a Golden Apple of the WWFM
• Participation in Special Event Market Days as well as weekly Sat. market as agreed by both parties

Farmer’s Hand: $500

• Listed by sponsorship level on sponsor page with description on WWFM web site (including link to your web site)
• A certificate suitable for framing designating your business as a Farmer’s Hand Sponsor of the WWFM

Friends of the Market

Friends of the Market donations may be made in increments of $25 and will be recognized in our direct email newsletter.

Vendor Applications for 2010 Due Jan. 27

The Western Wake Farmers Market (WWFM) is accepting applications for the 2010 market season through Jan. 27. If you are interested in becoming a part of this dynamic farmers’ market, please review our review our Vendor Application Process.

Market History
Last year, we started this market in an untapped area in Western Wake County that serves Cary, Morrisville, Apex, and western Chatham County. In 2009, 32 vendors sold produce, meats, seafood, cheese, eggs, artisan breads and pastries, wine, coffee, plants and flowers, and a limited amount of non-food crafts.

Our market is somewhat unique in that it was conceived by a group of Wake County moms with a desire to feed their families with locally grown food and then organized for the community. Our board and executive committee is comprised of about 10 women who support the market through vendor management, sponsorship, marketing, and special events. Everyone on staff is a volunteer, with the exception of a paid part-time market manager. Hence, the farmer or crafter’s job is to sell, and our job is to support the market administratively and to get customers in our virtual door, so to speak.

In addition to providing consumers with direct access to the farmers who grow their food, we educate the consumer on how to make healthy, local food choices that are environmentally sustainable. By partnering with local agricultural, environmental and green organizations, as well as cooks, gardeners and other experts from the community, we further our educational mission. In addition, we also facilitate the donation of farm food to people at risk of hunger.

The 2010 market will open April 3 and run through November 20.

Local Food Policy Council Members Named

N.C. Governor Bev Perdue has named the members of the new North Carolina Sustainable Local Foods Policy Council, which the state Senate and House voted into law last August. The council’s purpose is to contribute to the growth of a local food economy that is environmentally friendly, increases food safety and increases access to locally-grown foods for all residents.

Comprised of 24 members representing community groups, government, citizens, farmers, hunger advocates and others, the council will examine and report annually on a number of issues. Among their tasks are to:

• Examine the foods served in N.C. public schools and increase the supply of local, sustainable foods served in those schools
• Encourage community and home gardening to increase consumption of local foods
• Make local, sustainable foods available to those needing food assistance and consider increasing the usage of food stamps at local farmers’ markets
• Consider how local foods policies would impact health and wellness, hunger and food access, the state’s economy and preservation of farmlands and waters.
• Examine the possible impact of sustainable, local food on state economic development for both producers of local food and restaurants, for instance, which feature local agricultural products, as well as food and wine agritourism.

There is one final council member to be named, and the first meeting has not yet been announced. You may access the list of members via the News & Observer “Mouthful” food blog. Stay tuned for updates.

Umstead Hotel and Herons Receive Kudos

Congratulations to the Umstead Hotel and Spa and Herons restaurant for their recent high ratings! Travel & Leisure magazine just named the Umstead among its top 500 Hotels in the World for 2010. It is one of just three North Carolina hotels ranked by the magazine. The hotel also has won the AAA Five Diamond and Forbes Five Star awards, and Herons recently received a 5-star rating from News & Observer food critic Greg Cox. His review highlights his dining experience as well as the market menu that Herons features.

Herons and the Umstead are sponsors of the farmers’ market. Executive Chef Scott Crawford joined us at the market several times last season to share his seasonal recipes. They are featured on the Learn page of our site.