Fresh Stop Markets make good food available to allBy Matt Ernst, independent writer

Fresh Stop Markets, which offer greater access to fresh produce for limited resource families, have expanded in the Louisville area, and have locations in Lexington and beyond.

Fresh Stop Markets are bi-weekly popup events, started in 2009. They combine aspects of CSA and community farmers markets. Many are hosted at communities of faith. “There are nine markets in Louisville neighborhoods this season, serving 650 households weekly,” says Karyn Moskowitz, Executive Director of New Roots, Inc. Two markets operate in southern Indiana, two more in Lexing-ton, one in Brandenburg, and a brand new pilot project in Hazard makes 15 total locations. New Roots, a Louisville non-profit, helps neighborhoods organize the markets and supports produce order-ing and distribution.

Each market offers shares of fresh produce on a sliding scale. All vegetables, and all fruit except apples and peaches, is certified or transitioning organic. Households eligible for the Special Supple-mental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) pay $6 a share. Participants receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assis-tance Program (SNAP) benefits, and other limited resource families, pay $12. A share for higher income households costs $25. This year New Roots offered higher income participants the option of pay-ing $40 per week for a “Food Justice” share. “Everyone receives the same amount of produce,” says Moskowitz.

The fee scale was modeled after Moskowitz and others studied the

August 2017Brett Wolff, EditorChristy Cassady, Editor/Designer

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Cooperative Extension Service University of KentuckyDepartment of HorticultureN-318 Agricultural Science CenterLexington KY 40546-0091(859) 257-1477Fax: (859) 257-2859extension.ca.uky.edu

Educational programs of Kentucky Cooperative Extension serve all people regardless of economicor social status and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed,religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, maritalstatus, genetic information, age, veteran status, or physical or mental disability. University of Kentucky,Kentucky State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Kentucky Counties, Cooperating.

What’s insideCCD resources update ...... 4 Intern shares experiences ..5

Coming upSept. 9 - UK Hemp Re-search Field Day, 10 a.m.-noon EDT, at Spindletop Farm, Lexington. Open to the public even if not regis-tered for the Hemp Indus-tries Association (HIA) con-ference. Details, Page 3.

Sept. 14 - Urban garden, high tunnels, solar irrigation and community kitchen field day, 1-4 p.m. EDT, Lon-don, KY. Brought to you by the Organic Association of Kentucky. For details, click here.

Sept. 21 - Marketing Your Farmers Market webinar, noon-1 p.m. EDT. Ohio State University Direct Mar-keting webinar. For details, click here.

Sept. 25 - Growing Your Market with Grant Fund-ing webinar, 6:30 p.m. CDT. For more information, click here.

sliding fee scale at City Fresh, in Cleveland, Ohio. “We’re very close to being sustainable (breakeven) on the share costs,” says Moskowitz. “Our small New Roots staff, funded by donors and grants, does provide a lot of support for the markets, es-pecially coordinating all the ordering and deliv-ery.”

Shareholders order online, by calling the New Roots office, or at the market for the next delivery. The market is set up farmers market-style, with each shareholder selecting 10 different items, from a table holding each item. Signs describe the pro-duce, tell how much to take, and provide informa-tion about the farms and farmers. Chefs conduct vegan cooking demonstrations onsite.

Weekly ordering allows households to skip shares, for vacations or other reasons, and generates a larger overall shareholder base. Last season, the markets served 1,600 unique households in Louis-ville and southern Indiana, says Moskowitz.

The result is a growing and reliable wholesale market for some of the region’s farms. “One of the great benefits to working with Fresh Stop Markets is that they are one of the only mid-sized whole-sale markets available to small vegetable growers in our region,” says Bree Pearsall, from Oldham

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County. “They also have a focus on sustainable and certified organic products which is very dif-ficult to find in a buyer as well.”

Pearsall and Ben Abell operate Rootbound Farm, a certified organic farm that supplies about half of the produce for Fresh Stop Markets. The two farm-ers long wanted to reach consumers lacking food security, and Pearsall says selling to Fresh Stop Markets has helped make that part of the farm’s business plan. “We are able to do what we do best, grow great certified organic vegetables, and (New Roots and Fresh Stop Market leaders) what they do best, organize people and get the food into peo-ples’ homes. Together it’s a great partnership,” she says.

On the purchasing side, New Roots sources pro-duce from about 50 farms in Kentuckiana. Crop volumes, as well as price, are negotiated prior to the season. “When we agree to prices ahead of time, it is one less moving piece to figure out dur-ing the busy growing season,” says Pearsall. “Re-ally the only crops that flex for us in price over the year are the items that vary by size and are priced by ‘each.’”

The “each” pricing has created an ongoing con-versation between New Roots and farmers. “It can

Above left: Radishes and broccoli at a Fresh Stop Market. Above right: Karyn Moskowitz (left) and farmer Bree Pearsall.Photos courtesy of Karyn Moskowitz, New Roots, Inc.

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drive our farmers crazy,” says Moskowitz, laugh-ing. “Our shares have a certain number of each vegetable, we have to know how many we’ll be receiving,” she says.

Communication and flexibility has helped both sides figure out pricing and sourcing. For exam-ple, Pearsall says Rootbound Farm usually prices eggplant at $2 per pound, usually equal to one eggplant. “But when the fruits are smaller, we will typically give them two eggplants for $2 to reflect the smaller size. The same goes for other crops that are sold by the each but can vary a lot in size like acorn squash and bell peppers,” she explains. For other products, in-season pricing ad-justments may also be made, up or down, accord-ing to wholesale market price trends, Moskowitz says.

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The markets grew out of Moskowitz’s work with Community Farm Alliance in West Louisville. She credits local buy-in and community building with the success of the Fresh Stop Market model in Louisville and southern Indiana, as well as the re-lationship with the Tweens Nutrition and Fitness Coalition in Lexington. “The leadership from the markets comes from all over the neighborhoods,” she says. “We’re building community across zip codes that may not have historically come together (in community). That’s the cool thing about Fresh Stop Markets – the community building.”

Matt Ernst is an independent agricultural writer, un-der contract with the CCD, and former UK Extension Associate. For more information about Fresh Stop Mar-kets, visit http://www.newroots.org/fresh-stop-markets.html.

UK hemp research field day open to publicThe University of Kentucky in-dustrial hemp agronomic sci-ence research field day will be held on Saturday, September 9th, from 10 a.m. to noon EDT at Spindletop Farm. The field day is among activities offered by the Hemp Industries Associa-tion (HIA) conference in Lexing-ton. UK has partnered with the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and HIA in hosting the 2017 HIA national conference. The UK research field day is open to the public; registration for the HIA confer-ence is not necessary to attend.

The HIA will provide lunch to conference registrants only af-ter the field day. Additional tour activities on September 9th will be available only to those regis-tered for the conference.

Dr. David Williams, UK hemp

researcher and director of UK’s Robinson Center for Appalachian Resource Sustainability, said he expects about 400 attendees for the field day. The field day will feature as many as 12 research stops on a walking tour, so partic-ipants will not be able to visit all

stops. All participants will be giv-en an abstract of each presented research project and a plot map.

Details about the HIA conference and registration are available on-line at https://www.thehia.org/event-2535421.

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Photo by Steve Patton, UK Agricultural CommunicationsUK’s industrial hemp research field day will feature 12 stops on a walking tour.

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CCD resources updateCheck out 2014-2016 Kentuckyproduce auction price publication,plus new and updated profilesThe Center for Crop Diversification has released its first Three-Year Average Prices & Quantities at KY Produce Auctions (2014-2016) publica-tion. The report compares average prices and volumes for 18 crops at the two largest auctions in Kentucky, the Fairview Produce Auction in Christian County and the Lincoln County Produce Auction. The data presented in this publication can be valuable to growers, auction managers and buyers.

The new produce auction publication and the CCD’s Three-Year Average Weekly Prices at Kentucky Farmers Markets, published earlier this year, are both available on the Center’s website at http://www.uky.edu/ccd/content/3-year-average-price-reports.

Produce auction and farmers market price reports for Kentucky and other states, including archived reports, are available at http://www.uky.edu/ccd/pricereports.

Meanwhile, the Center launched another new crop profile this month, Malabar Spinach (CCD-CP-130). Malabar spinach, which thrives in hot, humid weather, is a leafy vine commonly grown in Asia and Africa. It offers a summer green option for Kentucky, where summer tempera-tures exceed ideal conditions for most greens. Profiles updated in August include Cabbage, Cucumber, English & Edible Pod Peas, Catnip and Woody Cuts. Look for more new and updat-ed profiles in the coming months on our website at http://www.uky.edu/ccd/production and http://www.uky.edu/ccd/marketing.

FactSheetCCD‐FS‐6 June 2017 

Three-Year Average Prices & Quantities at Kentucky Produce Auctions: 2014-2016

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IntroductionMalabar spinach is a leafy vine native to tropical Asia and is a commonly cultivated vegetable in Asia and Africa. Malabar spinach – also called Indian spinach, Ceylon spinach, climbing spinach and vine spinach – is a member of the Basellacea family. (Spinach commonly grown for market in North America is a member of the family Chenopodiaceae.) According to the University of Florida, Malabar spinach is also known as basella, gui, acelga trepadora, bretana, libato and Malabar nightshade. Red and green leaves occur in different Malabar spinach species: green leaves in Basella alba and red leaves in Basella rubra.Malabar spinach thrives in hot, humid climates. This

makes it a suitable summer green for cultivation in places like Kentucky, where summer temperatures exceed ideal conditions for most lettuce, spinach and other greens. It is particularly good when sautéed or used in soups and stir-fries as the leaves tend to be slightly mucilaginous. It is high in soluble fiber and Vitamin A, Vitamin C and calcium.MarketingMalabar spinach could be a fit for farmers marketing to customers seeking locally grown food crops, including restaurants sourcing seasonal local ingredients. Malabar spinach may also be a suitable crop for farmers market consumers, roadside stands, on-farm markets and community supported agriculture members, especially consumers seeking more unique and ethnic vegetables. There are good marketing possibilities at smaller-volume wholesale markets, especially restaurants and grocers specializing in seasonal, ethnic and local products. Attributes of Malabar spinach

may favor certified organic production, and additional wholesale markets may be available at grocers and chefs specializing in the organic category.

Point-of-purchase materials, like recipes and educational brochures, can help educate customers unfamiliar with Malabar spinach. Product sampling and cooking demonstrations at farmers market and retail locations can significantly increase the likelihood of consumers purchasing a less familiar crop; always follow local and state requirements when conducting product sampling or cooking demonstrations. For information about offering samples at Kentucky farmers markets, Kentucky Farm Bureau Certified Roadside Markets

Center for Crop Diversification Crop Profile

Malabar SpinachMatt Ernst1

1Matt Ernst is an independent contractor with the Center for Crop Diversification.

Cooperative Extension Service | Agriculture and Natural Resources | Family and Consumer Sciences | 4-H Youth Development | Community and Economic Development

www.uky.edu/CCD

CCD-CP-130

Red Malabar Spinach

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Thanks for reading!If you know someone who would enjoy our newslet-ter, or you’re not subscribed yet yourself, visit www.uky.edu/ccd/newsletter and click “Subscribe Now.” Or call Brett Wolff at 859-218-4384, or Christy Cassady at 859-257-1477. Stay up to date with the Center on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Centerfor-CropDiversification/

Christy Cassady, Extension Specialist

My internship at the University of Kentucky was wonderful! I spend 20 weeks at an internship with the Center for Crop Diversification. It was a great experience for me. First, I worked on the Kentucky farmers market price report, and then on the anal-ysis of produce auction prices. This internship was for me a great opportunity to discover a new country. I visited some farms, too, and especially agritourism farms and it was so interesting!

I learned many things about prices evolution, agritourism and marketing, but I learned a new culture and I got to know wonderful people here! It was also a great opportunity for me to improve my English. I had the chance to visit a lot of the region and the Northeast of the USA from Atlanta to New York and Chicago, and it was so great! You have so many beautiful parks in United States, too! This is now the time for me to leave Kentucky and to go to the West Coast of USA to visit, before I return to France.

Thank you so much for everything! I don’t have enough adjectives to describe my experience!

Martin Béchu

Reflections from an international CCD intern

Photo by Brett Wolff, UKCCD intern Martin Béchu had some fun on a farm visit.

Department of HorticultureN-318 Agricultural Science CenterLexington, KY, 40546-0091