DCNS May/June Blog: Community Farmers Markets - Fresh Food at Your Fingertips!

DCNS May/June: Community Outreach at the farmer’s market

In June we will engage in one of my passions: conducting a community education event along with a local chapter of chefs. We will be hosting a farmer’s market table to promote an initiative called Chef and the Child. The goal of the initiative is to reach children and families with basic nutrition education information and resources in order to support obesity prevention efforts.

It's Time to visit your local farmer's market!

Why do I like engaging the community in this environment? It's because I know that visitors are not only looking for favorite and new produce, but they enjoy walking in the colorful atmosphere often with the wonderful music. and helpful information. If you're in the Northern California area, below is a link to local farmer's markets.

Click here for a list of Local farmer's markets in Northern California

Resources – Fruit & Vegetable Menu Ideas -Please check out our resources page for website links with information on adding fruit and vegetables to your diet, and for ways to prepare and store them.  In addition, there is a list of some children’s book titles that we found while searching for material about fruits and vegetables, cooking and the culinary arts designed for young children ages 2 to 6.   Lastly, this month’s recipe focuses on having fun with fruit featuring our family favorite peach salsa recipe

Updates from the Garden -

The recent weather during April and May in our part of California changed rapidly and went from warm to hot and cool again.  The result caused our garden to grow exponentially, and our plants matured so fast that we were able to start harvesting in late May and early June. 

So far, we have harvested green onions, tomatoes, early corn, flat head cabbage, lettuce, parsley, strawberries, basil, white onions, garlic, and basil.   We are going to take a rest during the hot months of July and August, because we can never keep up with watering, but we will begin mulching and amending our almost exhausted garden soil in preparation for fall planting.

Share your experiences:

Please let us know your favorite fruit and vegetables and how you encourage your family to eat them and to try new foods.  We would also like to know if you have a unique way of preparing your fruit and vegetables.