Ohio Farmers Market Networks Trainings

Training programs you might be interested in attending are scheduled in two southeastern Ohio locations. All workshops will begin at 9:00 am and include lunch. Directions: OSU South Centers - Endeavor Center is located at 1862 Shyville Road, Piketon, OH 45661. The Endeavor Center is located just south of Piketon, off of State Route 32, approximately one mile east of US Route 23. OSU Extension Muskingum County Office is located at 225 Underwood Street, Zanesville, OH 43701.

Marketing Marketing Your Farmers' Market and Utilizing TechnologyWednesday, December 17 - OSU South Centers Endeavor CenterThursday, December 18 - OSU Extension - Muskingum County Learn about creative, yet inexpensive ways to market your farmers market to your community. Utilizing technology for your market will also be covered including web sites and EBT machines.

Establish Producers Product Standards to Maximize 'Locally Grown'Wednesday, January 21 - OSU South Centers Endeavor CenterThursday, January 22 - OSU Extension - Muskingum County Workshop topics will include food safety, quality standards, and utilization of ‘locally grown’ to enhance marketing promotions.

Directions: OSU South Centers - Endeavor Center is located at 1862 Shyville Road, Piketon, OH 45661. The Endeavor Center is located just south of Piketon, off of State Route 32, approximately one mile east of US Route 23. OSU Extension Muskingum County Office is located at 225 Underwood Street, Zanesville, OH 43701. To learn more visit their website at http://ohiofarmersmarkets.osu.edu/aboutus.htm

New Holiday Shopping Blog -- Buy Local!

Kudos to Tanya Conrath for launching a new "buy local" blog for the holdidays.

Tanya writes "what would happen if we all did most of our holiday shopping in our region this year? What affect could we have on our local economy if we traded Columbus, Cincinnati and Cyberspace for Nelsonville, Athens and Marietta?"

Tanya plans to post from now until the end of December detailing both the unique and practical gifts from area retailers. She goes on to say "I’ll scope out the stores and share with you my great finds. And, you can post your great finds, too. I’ve never “blogged” before and I thought this would be a fun and useful way to try it out. Hope you’ll play along!"

So all you area shopping mavens please check out Tanya's picks and share yours at:
http://tanyaconrath.wordpresscom/

Ohio University Visual Communications School -- Dawn to Dusk

The OU VisCom School launched their 2008 Going Green - Dawn to Dusk photography project last week. The quality and evocativeness of the photograph are first class.

Many farmers and food businesses from Athens County are featured in the photo documentary. The Trimble Township Market, Green Edge Gardens, The Village Bakery, Dutch Creek Farm, The Hope Youth Gardeners, Sassafras Farm and many more local food heroes were photographed. Please take a minute to view these wonderful photos documenting the hard work of our local food heroes at http://www.viscom.ohiou.edu/d2d08/

New Product Info

One of ACEnet's fastest growing businesses continues to launch new products. Milo's Whole World Gourment has extended their salad dressing line--Vino de Milo to include five salad dressings. The line is now available in Athens area stores as well as many locations throughout the US. To learn more about their products visit http://miloswholeworld.com/

Owner Jonathan Milo Leal has been a tenant of ACEnet's Food Ventures Center first as a personal chef and caterer in 2002 and has steadily grown the vino de milo line of products since 2003. Currently the pasta sauce and the salad dressings are in over 750 stores...check out their web page for locations. Milo's Whole World Gourmet also does a great line of gift packs perfect for local food gifts to all your family and friends.

Another Upcoming Workshop

CFI Cheesemaking Workshop

Community Food Initiatives and Mary Hogan of Greenfire will host a Cheese Making Workshop at the Friends and Neighbors Food Pantry in Lottridge, Ohio on Wednesday, October 23rd, 11:15-12:00 p.m. Participants of the Wednesday Free Lunch will be taught how to make their own cheese to increase their food security. For info cfi@frognet.net or call Ronda Clark at 740-593-5971.

Also this week CFI will host the final workshop in their Thursdays Foodways series this Thursday, October 24th, 6:30 p.m. at ACEnet Food Ventures Center at 94 Columbus Rd., Athens, OH. The subject will be “How to Make Your Own Condiments” such as mayonnaise, mustard, chutneys, krauts and pesto. Bob O’Neil from the the Village Bakery and Della Zona will be the guest speaker.

The Village Bakery features local, seasonal, and organic ingredients in our handmade savories, sweets, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Over the past year Christine and Bob have continue to expand their local food mission with the opening of Della Zona which in Italian means "from the region."

Have a happy local Thanksgiving

All you southeast Ohio locavores now have a quick and easy way to have a completely local Thanksgiving. Whether your family desires the traditional spread or the equally yummy vegetarian options, Athens area producers have great locally produced food for your Thanksgiving Day menu.

Now is the time to support your farm and food producers neighbors by starting an "all local" tradition. The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association members provide you with a number of ways to order for your convenience.

With Thanksgiving just a little over a month away --- it's time to order today! Stop by the Village Bakery, the Athens Farmers Market or contact Ed Perkins by email perkaber.com with "turkey" in the subject line.

The fall colors of our local farmers markets

Athens Farmers Market

Athens Farmers Market

Athens Farmers Market

Athens Farmers Market

Harvest Festival at the Chesterhill Farmers Market

Apples at the new Trimble Township Market

Tom and Jean at the Trimble Township Market

The Fall Athens Farmers Market

Our fall farmers market stays busy with vendors and customers alike. The photo at right shows a small portion of the westend of the market on the first Saturday in October.

The Athens Farmers Market, now in its 37th year, is the largest year round market in the state of Ohio. In the April 2006 issue of Audubon Magazine, the market was identified as one of the top ten markets in the U.S. The Athens Farmers Market runs year round and fall is particularly abundant.

To learn more about the market visit www.athensfarmersmarket.org Market manager, Sarah Conley provides frequent updates on the market on her blog. A recent video on the market can be found at www.soulofathens.com by local producers Julia Marino and Amanda Hoover.

Welcome to local dish

Local dish is a new food blog highlighting the amazing, local food economy of Appalachia Ohio. The blog is sponsored by the Food Ventures program of the Appalachian Center for Economic Networks. Posts will focus on projects, events, brands and stories about our local food and farm heroes.

The Appalachian Center for Economic Networks (ACEnet) is a community-based economic development organization located in rural Appalachia Ohio. The mission of ACEnet is to build the capacity of Appalachian communities to network, work together, and innovate to create a dynamic, sustainable regional economy with opportunities for all. ACEnet carries out this mission by working with others in the area to create a healthy regional economy with many successful small businesses and quality jobs. ACEnet demonstrates four areas of topical expertise working in rural communities: 1) rebuilding a local food sector, 2) education and training focusing on entrepreneurs, 3) civic engagement emphasizing sustainable development and 4) increasing access to capital for families and communities to build economic assets.

ACEnet is best known nationally for our work developing a kitchen incubator, supporting farmers market, increasing food and farm entrepreneurs access to markets and creating regional branding programs for farm and processed products.