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  • Our Market Blog

    Don’t know how to cook your new veggies? Google recipes for Market veggies. Then share your cooking experiences, and find new ones, on our Market Community Food Blog!

    Stop the Presses

    What Are We Up To?



     
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    Market NOW Open - May 26, 2014


    To Contact Us

    St. Pete Locally Grown
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    Ready To Order?

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    FIRST TIME CUSTOMERS You are invited to watch our Market Tutorial before you begin. If you do not receive an email confirmation immediately after you order, then you did not click the SUBMIT ORDER button and we did not receive an order from you. Call your Market Manager for help.

    MARKET TUTORIAL
    Don’t miss our helpful shopping hints now posted as a link at the top of every web page on St. Pete Locally Grown. Check it out and then share it with anyone who asks about us! Thanks so much to Volunteer Jeff Yentzer for his dedication to helping our Market succeed within the St. Petersburg Community.

    SO MUCH TO SEE!
    Customers do you know there are too many items to assign as featured on the online website marquis? Although you may shop directly from the marquis by selecting an item, you may be missing out on a variety of that produce that is listed elsewhere with maybe a better price! That’s why is it always better to scan the list of items in alpha order or, better yet, do a search for “kale” if you want to see all types from all Growers. it’s the best way to narrow down your choices and compare pricing, etc. quickly if you are concerned about missing out on limited items.

    Equitable Veggie Pricing

    What price can you put on FRESH? As you might imagine, it is difficult for us to compare our pricing with that of local retailers because our produces cannot be equitably compared. Our chemical-free, locally grown produce is usually harvested within 12 to 24 hours of delivery compared to (so much of it) that which is trucked in and stored before a customer can examine and purchase. What price can you assign to “truly fresh” and still keep it affordable? Even though we are chemical-free and not certified organic in all cases, our produce is fresher than most USDA produce sold by local retailers. Our pricing reflects our philosophy that healthy fresh chemical-free produce has to be affordable for the general population. Every day, we strive to meet this challenge.

    Grower News

    STRAWBERRY PASSION FARMS
    All orders from this Certified Organic Grower must be in by Wednesday @9AM or you will miss out. I have to place my order with them at that time. So order from them first (they have unlimited volume!) and shop for the rest at your leisure. I had hoped for blueberries this week but they are gone for the season! HOWEVER, we have stringbeans, cucumbers, and black spicy Spanish radishes so take advantage now from our new Grower in Thonotossassa. Their farm will likely close down in the next 3 weeks but we are committed to partner in the fall. UNTIL THEN, please take advantage of what they have available.

    SUMMER GROWERS ON BOARD! WILL YOU BE A CUSTOMER THIS SUMMER?
    As far as we know, we’ll have plenty of produce this summer to serve your voracious appetites for freshly harvested, locally grown, chemical-free produce. So far we have commitments from Brenon’s Homegrown, Faithful Farms, Glory Road Gardens, Nathan’s Natural Veggies, Pioneer Settlement Garden, The Faith House, The Dancing Goat,and Toad Stool Ponds. We sincerely appreciate our customers who inform us that they are leaving for the summer. It helps us not to wonder why their orders stop coming! THANKS IN ADVANCE to all our summer Growers AND summer Customers. We need ALL of your participation to sustain this local Market especially during the hot months ahead.

    LOOKING FOR A NEW LETTUCE EXPERIENCE?
    Do a product search on our Market for beautiful salad mixes foraged from the urban food forests of Nathan’s Natural Veggies & Brenon’s Homegrown. Salad dressing recipes are included on many of the product descriptions. These mixes will be available all summer long and offer a nice change of pace to the lettuces of which you are more familiar. Here is a new Paleo-Style French Dressing I tried recently! It was a big hit at Saturday night’s potluck.

    Message from Your Market Manager

    SOMETHING’S BURNING… tada-tada-ta-ta… SOMETHING’S BURNING
    Not sure what’s happening but I am pretty sure we have hit a milestone this week. Our Market is seeing the WIDEST VARIETY OF PRODUCE ever listed online and the VOLUME IS STEADILY increasing due to expanding grower commitment. Can you say “Alleluia!”? BTW, where else can you buy 1 pound of collards for $1? I am estimating that we have no less than 4 varieties of eggplant and kale and spinach, 12 varieties of herbs and greens, and LOTS of tomatoes and carrots and beets at last. Faithful Farms has got some flat leaf spinach and will be having young string beans soon. It may be a coincidence and temporary but I’ll take it as an omen that we are “arriving”. THANKS TO ALL OF YOU for the support. Please keep spreading the word and they will come!

    YOUR ASSIGNMENT SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT…
    Please help us spread the word about our new 6-month $50 membership promo offering for first time members of St. Pete Locally Grown.

    IF FRUIT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU
    OK, I broke down and bought Certified Organic apples from Chile. They are just $4.99 for 3# at RO! I cried “Uncle!” as I SO missed my apples. Go get them while they last! They are small but juicy and crunchy. YUM. Please tell them that St. Pete Locally Grown sent you over!

    WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST CUSTOMERS!
    Once you have submitted your order, if in doubt about what you owe, you can always confirm what you have been charged for by checking your account history and viewing your most current invoice. Instructions on how to do that are on our Q&A page under the question entitled Since you don’t provide an invoice with delivery, how do I know what I owe? Also, since your vegetables are picked fresh within 24 hours of delivery, they should be lasting for WEEKS in your refrigerator. When you accept delivery, please take a few minutes to inspect your order to protect your vegetables from unnecessary spoilage. Lastly, it is imperative that you understand our policy on Unclaimed Orders found on our Q&A page. When you make a purchase you are agreeing to abide by this policy.

    Upcoming Events

    All these and more are posted on our Calendar of Events

    WORKSHOPS & EVENTS

    • “Successful Urban Farming in St. Petersburg” on June 14th, 1PM Cost $35/$25. RSVP NOW
    • REAL DIRT: Make Your Own” on June 21st, 1PM Cost $35/$25. RSVP NOW

    Volunteer Opportunities

    We are currently organizing our volunteer needs by Grower and by Market. So when you are interested in learning how to garden and/or how to run an urban market—including a model for great delivery service for the Market—consider volunteering for the organizations below. Check back for more Growers to be listed.
    Nathan’s Natural Veggies
    Pioneer Settlement Garden
    St. Pete Locally Grown Market
    The Faith House

    We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!