Are you ready for a trip to the farmers market?

If you've been reading this blog, you know I'm excited that some of the local farmers markets will be opening this weekend, and you'll be able to find me at the Collingswood Farmers Market bright and early this Saturday morning. The picture at the left of the bag is one that will be given away this Saturday at the Collingswood market. It's one of a kind, made from last year's market banner. I want it. You can enter to win at the market info tent and the winner will be drawn at noon.

I wrote a piece just around this time last year that I thought was worth reprinting (with a few changes) here about planning a trip to the farmers market.

Finding a Farmers Market

If you don't know where your closest market is, there are some websites that will help you locate one.

• Local Harvest
  
• Farmer's Market.com
  
• Eat Well Guide

Arming Yourself

There are some things that you will need to take with you to make your trip successful.

• Cash - Most of the vendors at farmers markets work on a cash only basis.
  
• Reusable bags - Sure the vendors will have plastic bags for you to carry your food, but taking your own bags helps the environment and saves the vendors a little money.
• Smaller bags for small produce - Many times if you're buying berries, green beans, mushrooms or some other small produce item, they will be in containers that the farms keep so they dump the items into a smaller plastic bag for you. If you take your own small plastic bags that you've saved from bread or some other sources, you can save new bags from being used.
  
• Your own coffee mug - Farmers markets usually don't just have produce, meats and flowers. Many of the larger ones have local coffee houses, bakeries, and crafters set up tables, too. When I get to the market at 8am on Saturday morning, I head right for the coffee table first.

Arriving Early

Things can sell out quickly at farmers markets, so if you're looking for something specific, get there early. I've seen fresh flowers gone after the first half hour of the market. The first week that corn is in season creates a frenzy that you have to see to believe.

However, arriving right before closing time may have its advantages, too. Some vendors may cut their prices so they don't have to haul everything home. This doesn't always happen, but if you can't get to the market until later in the day, you may get some bargains.

Making the Rounds

Do a quick once around before you begin purchasing. One vendor may have zucchini at 2/$1 another may have them at 3/$1. Or you may spend all your money before arriving at a vendor who has something that no one else had. Doing a quick survey of what is offered and the prices the different vendors have before you begin to purchase is a wise idea.

Asking Questions

If you're interested in buying only what is in season, buying only organic, or buying only locally, you'll have to question the vendors about their products. Just because something is at the farmers market does not mean its in season, organic or local. I know that the bananas, lemons, limes and grapes sold at my farmer's markets are definitely not local and never will be.

Don't be afraid to ask questions about the items being sold. If a vendor doesn't want to answer your questions, move on to the next one.

Some questions to ask:

• Where was this grown?
  
• How was it grown?
  
• When was this picked?
  
• How far did this item travel from where it was grown to this market?
  
• What conditions did the hens live in who grew these eggs?

Many vendors are also more than happy to give you advice as long as they don't have a long line of customers to attend to. This past Saturday, I had a couple who run an organic farm happily answer my questions I had for my personal garden. People who are passionate about what they do are usually passionate about talking about it.

Taking the Kids

It's a great idea to take your kids. My kids will often eat vegetables or fruits they helped pick out at the farmers market that they would never eat if I just brought it home from the grocery store. Give them a dollar or two and tell them that they can spend it on whatever type of produce they want as long as they promise to eat it in the next couple of days.

Sorry about the font of this piece not matching the rest of the blog - for some reason it's all funky and I can't seem to fix it.

Visit an SJ winery for Mother's Day

John and Lisa did a great job on their blog John and Lisa are Eating in South Jersey putting together all the info on what local wineries are doing for Mother's Day. I won't reprint it here - I'll just send you over to their blog and their post Do Something Different for Mother's Day - Explore our Wineries.

If I wasn't planning on going to NYC for Mother's Day weekend, I would really love visiting a few of our fine wineries.

Book Review: Food Lovers' Guide to New Jersey

I asked last week if anyone had read Food Lovers' Guide to New Jersey by Peter Genovese, and I did end up picking it up. There's a specific section about South Jersey, and I got some great information about resources of local foods that I didn't know about.

There's a list of farmers markets in the region and farms & farm stands. There's also a list of food happenings like the Vineland Dandelion Festival that occurred a month ago or some of the many strawberry, blueberry and peach festivals that celebrate some of our state's finest produce. Chapters on food made here, specialty stores & markets, places to learn to cook, places to learn about wine, brewpubs & microbreweries, and the wine trail round out the SJ section.

This is the second edition of the book published in 2008, and as will happen with any book about local businesses a few of the places will inevitably be gone - like Olga's Diner in the Landmark Eateries section.

Not every item in the book has to do with food produced locally, but there is quite a bit here for locavores to eat up. It's going to be a great source of information as I work on adding content to this blog. It will also be a great resource for planning weekend food themed excursions.

The other sections in this book are North Jersey, Central Jersey and the Jersey Shore.

An interview with me on Glue and Glitter

Becky Striepe from the Glue and Glitter blog interviewed me, and she asked about SJ Locavore in the interview. In the interview I explain why I started South Jersey Locavore.

Becky has a really cool Etsy shop where she sells hip reusable lunch bags that can be an eco-friendly companion for lunch made from local foods (or non-local foods - it's not like the lunch bag will eject your lunch if the ingredients aren't local).

Westmont's The Pour House pours local brews

In the space that used to be Dockhoppers on Haddon Ave. in Westmont, the P.J.W. Restaurant Group has opened The Pour House - A Better Beer Bar. (Anyone think that "beer bar" is redundant?)

My husband and I had lunch there are Friday and I was pleased to see a large selection, both on tap and in bottles, of beers from local breweries.

On tap there are beers from

Dogfish in Lewes, DE
Flying Fish in Cherry Hill, NJ
Philadelphia Brewing Co in Philadelphia
Sly Fox in Phoenixville, PA
Stoudts in Adamstown, PA
Troegs in Harrisburg, PA
Victory in Downingtown, PA

Several of those breweries are also represented in their selection of 69 bottles plus one additional local brewery

Yards in Philadelphia

That's a pretty impressive showing form local breweries. They've also got a selection of beers from around the country and around the world.

On May 28th, The Pour House will have a 4 course meal paired with beers from Victory in Downingtown. The cost is $40/person.

124 Haddon Ave
Westmont, NJ
856-869-4600

South Jersey Farmers Markets opening dates in May

In the next few weeks, many of the local farmers markets will be opening - others won't open until June.

Here is a list of the opening dates in May that I could find. If you know of anything I've missed, please leave a comment.

Camden County

Collingswood Farmers Market - Opening Saturday, May 2, 2009 and open every Saturday through the weekend before Thanksgiving. 8am - noon.

Gloucester City Farmers Market - Opening Mother's Day, Sunday, May 10, 2009, this new market will be open every Sunday until November 22 at the Marina in Proprietor’s Park. 10am - 2pm.

Haddonfield Farmers Market - Opening Saturday, May 2, 2009 and open every Saturday through the fall (unsure of exact last date). 8am - noon.

Salem County

Woodstown Farmers Market - The 2009 Woodstown Farmers' Market begins May 8th, 2009 and will be held every Friday from 9am-2pm through October. Located along the railroad tracks in historic Woodstown, New Jersey, the 1st Annual Woodstown Farmers' Market will feature Jersey Fresh produce grown by local farmers in the Salem County area.

I'll do another post in a couple of weeks with all of the markets that will be opening in June.

East Coast Slow Food and Wine Festival will be here in NJ!

Formerly just a New Jersey event, the Slow Food and Wine Festival has been expanded to the East Coast Slow Food and Wine Festival. It will be held at Hopewell Valley Vineyards in Pennington on June 27 &28. They'll be local foods, wines, seminars, demonstrations from chefs and wine experts, a farmers market and more.

I will definitely be attending this festival. Anyone else?

Our visit to Cream Ridge Winery

On Sunday, my family and I drove to Cream Ridge Winery for their anniversary celebration. They were quite busy and we had the boys with us, so I didn't take the time to really speak with anyone who worked at the winery.

The parking lot is right next to the vineyard so when we got out of the car my husband and I took the boys to check out the still barren grape vines. I'm always amazed at what will interest my boys. It didn't hold their interest for very long, but for a few minutes they asked some questions and really looked at the vines - until they saw a stack of wine barrels they could climb on.

I tasted several of their wines and walked away with two bottles of their Pinot Gris. It was crisp and refreshing with just a tad bit of spice. From their specialty store I walked away with a bottle of Mediterranean Dipping oil that my older son enjoyed a tasting of. I had to let him know that it was a tasting - not a buffet or he would dipped all the bread there was in it.

I'm on a mission to try several of the wineries in the region. Someone let me know which one I should try next.

Has anyone read 'A Food Lovers's Guide to New Jersey?'

I found out about this book today, A Food Lover's Guide to New Jersey, by Peter Genovese. I was wondering if anyone has read it. Would it be worth someone interested in South Jersey local foods to pick up?

I'm still searching for sources to draw from for this blog, and if this book is worth it, I'll pick it up. Thought I'd ask for opinions first, though.

On another note, my family and I drove to Cream Ridge Winery yesterday for their anniversary celebration. Pictures and my thoughts will be up tomorrow.

Free composting seminar in Haddon Township

Haddon Township will be holding it's Green Event on the same day that Collingswood will be holding theirs down the street - April 25th. The Green Event will take place in the Westmont Theater Parking Lot, 49 Haddon Avenue, from 9am - 3pm.

Locavores who grow their own vegetables will be interested in knowing that among the activities planned for the day is a composting seminar. Seminars will be held throughout the day. They will also have composting receptacles available for $25, but the announcement I read in the paper doesn't say if you have to be a resident of the town or not to purchase one.

And if you have a pile of papers waiting to be shredded, there will be a shredding truck available for you to dump them all into from 9am - 1pm.

Other things going at the event - electronic equipment collection, donations to GoodWill and a raffle.

Cream Ridge Winery anniversary celebration

Locavorism isn't all about fruits and vegetables. Local wines are included in the fun. New Jersey has over 30 wineries, and supporting these wineries helps to support local agriculture and helps to reduce your food (or wine) miles. This weekend, one of our wineries is hosting a celebration.

Cream Ridge Winery will be celebrating its 21st anniversary with an open house this weekend - Saturday, April 18 & Sunday, April 19 from 11am - 5pm. Admission is $5. There will be live music, food samples, tours throughout the day and a chance to talk with the winemaker. The winery will also be releasing their Riesling and Zinfandel at the celebration.

In 2008, Cream Ridge received 14 awards at the NJ wine competition including five gold medals for their Cherry, Walnford White, May, Almondberry and Plum wines. In 2005 Cream Ridge was awarded NJ Winery of the Year at the competition.

This will be an indoor event so any April showers shouldn't keep you away from the festivities.

Cream Ridge Winery is located at 145 Route 539, Cream Ridge, NJ. Click here for directions on their website.

Collingswood Green Festival

From the Collingswood.com website - Collingswood's Green Festival will incorporate gardening and food.

Green Festival!
April 25, 2009 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. along Irivn Ave.

With a bike share, farmers’ market, composting programs and hundreds of tree plantings yearly, a green festival was a long time coming in Collingswood. The Borough that has been initiating green ideas for years will bring together the work and ideas of like-minded businesses, residents, officials and guests on April 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. along Irvin Avenue in Collingswood.

“It’s a natural fit for this town,” said Commissioner Joan Leonard. “We’ve been implementing green ideas for years now and this event will really bring it all together and showcase what we can do for everyone to take part.”

The event will showcase environmental products, services, programs and more on both a local and larger scale. Visitors can take a close look at hybrid cars, tree planting (Collingswood Shade Tree Board will feature huge discounts on trees for home planting), composting, gardening, energy conservation, reserving water, solar power, recycling and even a kids’ section where little ones can play and learn about the environment. Learn more about green architecture and get involved with Collingswood’s bike share and get a free bike tune up from volunteer mechanics. Get to know local businesses that sell sustainable and eco-friendly products.

There will also be giveaways, prizes, food, music and much more to celebrate making the world a greener place. Listen to Earth friendly rock and folk group Mamapalooza and pick up reusable grocery bags. Bring old ink cartridges and cell phones to recycle and help raise funds for Collingswood grade schools. Collingswood will also continue its composting and rain barrel seminars. It takes only minutes to learn the basics of using a composter or rain barrel from professional workshops on site at the festival. There's something for beginning environmentalists and even the most dedicated to green causes.

The first Collingswood Green Festival will also be held on the same day as the Camden County Hazardous Waste Collection event in Collingswood at the Public Works garage on N. Atlantic Ave. This way, green-minded residents can drop off hazardous waste safely and then check out the fair to learn what else businesses, organizations and other residents are doing to be green.

New Jersey restaurant week

Governor Corzine has proclaimed April 20-27, 2009 New Jersey Restaurant Week.

Not only can New Jersey residents take advantage of Restaurant Week to help the state’s economy, they will also have an opportunity to take full advantage of the culinary riches New Jersey has to offer. During New Jersey’s Restaurant Week, restaurants will feature varying dining values to suite every budget.

There's a list of participating restaurants in pdf form on the website.

I'm wondering if anyone happens to know if any of the participating restaurants use sustainable practices or source local foods. If they do, I'd love to put a list up here so others can make choose to go to those particular restaurants if they do want to help stimulate NJ's economy by eating out.

I'm not suggesting that anyone go out to eat if they can't afford it, but if you do want to participate in this event, wouldn't it be great to make your efforts count double by supporting NJ and a restaurant that has some of the same values you have.

Slow Food has a South Jersey chapter

I recently found out that South Jersey has a Slow Food chapter. What is slow food?

Slow Food is an idea, a way of living and a way of eating. It is a global, grassroots movement with thousands of members around the world that links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment.

The Slow Food movement holds that food should be good, clean and fair.

Good - For Slow Food, the idea of good means enjoying delicious food created with care from healthy plants and animals. The pleasures of good food can also help to build community and celebrate culture and regional diversity.

Clean - When we talk about clean food, we are talking about nutritious food that is as good for the planet as it is for our bodies. It is grown and harvested with methods that have a positive impact on our local ecosystems and promotes biodiversity.

Fair - We believe that food is a universal right. Food that is fair should be accessible to all, regardless of income, and produced by people who are treated with dignity and justly compensated for their labor.

Slow Food of South Jersey is based out of Cape May. Here are some of the events and projects that the group has planned.

• Connecting area school cafeterias to local farms
• Sharing skills, tips and equipment for canning, dehydrating, and preserving
• Extending the season for the West Cape May Farmer’s Market
• Connecting artisan food producers from inside and outside the South Jersey area with local restaurants
• Taking field trips to wineries and other artisan producers
• Collaborating with other Slow Food Conviviums (e.g., attending events in Princeton, Philadelphia, North Jersey or New York City)
• Hosting local, slow food “pot lucks” in members homes, places of worship, and/or public venues
• Having our meetings at restaurants that feature local and/or seasonal foods
• Creating an advocacy group to support all of the above, including perhaps “Victory Gardens” in people’s backyards or community gardens or Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms
• Sponsoring the Northwest Earth Institute’s “Menu for the Future” 6-session study series

For more information on Slow Food of South Jersey, visit their website and sign up for their newsletter.

New farmers market will open in Gloucester City

According to Cleary's Notebook, beginning Sunday, May 10, Gloucester City will have its own farmers market. It will be open every Sunday until November 22 at the Marina in Proprietor’s Park. Additionally, on the second Sunday of each month there will be crafts people and artisans selling original works.

There will be a wide range of produce available, including Jersey Fresh vegetables from several farms, Jersey Fresh fruits from local orchards, certified organic produce, fresh herbs, fresh honey, fruit preserves, jams and butters, sweet bakery treat, authentic French-style baked breads, Jersey Grown cut flowers, gourmet coffees and breakfast treats.

Also, there will be a Gloucester City table, giving out info about the town and local businesses, and fundraising tables available for local organizations.

To buy a space, or for information, call Kelly at 1-888-202-2155, or email gcfarmersmarket@-gmail.com.

Interesting stuff you want to know

It's been a big week for the South Jersey Locavore blog. I started a Twitter account (@SJLocavore), contacted several restaurants that support local foods that are interested in being featured here, and saw the readership increase 10x over the week. Thank you to everyone who has read, made comments, and re-tweeted the posts on Twitter. I feel like I made the right decision in starting this blog, and because of the positive response it's gotten so far, I'm dreaming big for its future.

Over on A Little Greener Every Day, one of my other blogs, there's a list today of 10 outdoor places to take the kids that Tina Yerkes, whose job it is to promote the SJ region, kindly put together. If you're trying to figure out what to do with your kids next week when they are off school, check it out.

I thought I'd leave you with a few links to things on the web that I ran across this week that are of interest to locavores. Happy weekend reading.

The Food Renegade blog has a guest post by farmer Joel Stalin on why local food is more expensive.
The Atlantic has a piece on Love, Local Food, and Canned Peaches. Did you know that Yale supports local, sustainable food?
On Eat.Drink.Better my friend Derek Markheim debunks 5 myths about the food safety act (hr 875) that has everyone concerned about the future of small and organic farmers.

Enjoy your weekend, don't eat too much candy, and I'll see you Monday!

10 reasons why you want to buy local foods

Buying local food benefits both you and your community. When you buy local food you

1. Reduce your food miles. The fewer miles your food has to travel, the less environmental damage occurs.
2. Eat fresher food. When you buy at farmers markets and farm stands, the food is usually picked that day or the day before. When you buy local food at the grocery store, it's still fresher than the food that's been shipped hundreds of miles.
3. Eat better tasting food. Ever wonder why the strawberries you get from the local farm taste so much sweeter than the ones you buy in the middle of winter at the grocery store? To get strawberries to your store in the middle of winter (unless you live in a climate where they grow all year long), they are picked before they are ripe and force ripened along the trip to your store. It makes a big difference in the taste.
4. Eat more nutritious food. Food loses its nutrients as it sits around waiting to be shipped and then on the long trip to your store. Fresher food not only tastes better, it is better.
   
5. Financially support local farmers. According to sustainabletable.org, when you buy food in a grocery store, about 3.5 cents of each dollar you spend makes it to the farmer. When you buy directly from the farmer, 80-90 cents of each dollar you spend makes it in the farmers pocket.
6. Preserve open spaces. In the South Jersey region, when a farm closes and the land is sold, it invariably becomes a cookie cutter development or worse, the parking lot for a big box store. I can imagine that's the same all over the place. By putting money into the farmers' pockets, you're helping to keep the farm running.
7. Help the environment. When farmland is turned into a suburban development or a parking lot, lots pollution occurs, lots of critters lose their homes and lots of traffic starts pouring in. Open farmland is good for the environment.
8. Preserve genetic diversity. There are hundreds of tomato varieties out there, but you're grocery store only carries a handful of them. Go to the local farmers market, and you'll find dozens of varieties. Why? Some tomatoes "travel" better than others. Some varieties of tomatoes just can't survive the difficult trip over hundreds of miles. Because of this, large scale farms only grow a few varieties. Local farms can grow the less hardy varieties because they don't have to travel far to get to you. If the local farms go away, we could lose genetic diversity in crops.
9. Give animals a better life. Local food isn't limited to fruits and vegetables. Most small farms that raise animals for meat treat their animals more humanely. They feed them the food that is natural for them to eat and give them room to roam around. When you buy locally raised meat, you help to support this type of meat production instead of the cruel factory farms.
10. Get inspired. Once you get a taste for local foods, chances are you'll want to grow a little of your own in a container garden or a full fledged garden. Or, you'll look at that butternut squash on the table at the farmers market and say, "hmmmm. I've never made butternut squash before, but I think I'll give it a try." You'll try things you've never tried before.
    

Collingswood's Tortilla Press takes the green lead

As I reported on MNN yesterday, The Tortilla Press in Collingswood is going green. In chef Mark Smith's newsletter e-mail, he announced that he was going at it from many angles.

Spring is here and with it – new growth, new life and new ideas at The Tortilla Press.

First, after much thought and consideration, The Tortilla Press is going green. I’ve examined every single aspect of our restaurant and we are making changes everywhere in lighting, heating, take out containers, fair trade products – well, many things – and I am making a pledge to dedicate this restaurant in as many ways as possible to using eco friendly materials. We’ll join other chefs in this effort as part of the SJ Green Dining Association.

Chef Smith is already a supporter of local food. He shops the Collingswood Farmers' Market during the season and takes part in Farm to Fork week.

The Tortilla Press is located at 703 Haddon Avenue in Collingswood. It's a block from the Patco High Speedline, making it easy for Philadalphians to get to, too. If you've never been to the Tortilla Press, you can bring your own wine, beer or even tequilla (to put in their awesome margharittas), the restaurant does not serve alcohol.

Locavores - check out the New Jersey Department of Agriculture

There are many resources for locavores on the NJ Department of Agriculture's website. Their Jersey Fresh section has a clickable NJ maps that help residents find:

• Community Farmers Markets
• Roadside Markets
• Pick Your Own Farms
• Agri-Tourism Events and Attractions
• New Jersey Harvest Dates

I don't know how complete the site is. There are a couple of things that I noticed missing as I was checking it out, but I also saw a lot of accurate information.

Grow a row to donate to PhilAbudance

This summer, you can take your abundance from your garden and donate it to PhilAbundance. Springdale Farms is asking gardeners to "grow a row" and donate their extra produce to Philadelphia's food bank. Gardeners can drop off produce during the week to Springdale Farms, and it will be picked up on Saturdays during the summer by PhilAbundance. Nice.

Philadelphia CityPaper gives SJL a shout out

While checking out my stats this morning, I noticed that South Jersey Locavore has been getting some traffic from Philadlephia CityPaper. Using my super online sleuthing skills, I tracked down why. A month ago, CityPaper mentioned the blog in their Meal Ticket section. On Wednesdays, Meal Ticket "pokes around the food blog world to see what's simmering."

You can see the shout out, here.

And, take a look at who they mention underneath me. The John and Lisa are Eating in South Jersey blog got a shout out, too. It's good to see the CityPaper recognizing this side of the Delaware.

Haddonfield Farmers Market opens May 2

The Haddonfield Farmers Market will be opening for the season on May 2. The market features fresh fruits and vegetables, meats and dairy, bakery items and non-edible garden plants.

Their website announces that they will have a Haddonfield Farmers Market Harvest Festival this year (date to be announced) where gardeners can enter their vegetables. Winning categories for kids under age 10, tweens and teens, and adults.

The market is held at the Presbyterian Church parking lot off Kings Highway at Chestnut Street
(about halfway between PATCO station & Haddon Avenue). Parking is free.

Keep your eye on Veggie Trader

If you grow tomatoes or zucchini, there's a good chance that at some point in August you're going to have more than you can eat. I think it was in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle that Barbara Kingsolver wrote about a certain point every summer when neighbors started to lock their house doors and car doors, because if they didn't, others would open the doors and place bags of zucchini inside. Heck, last summer, my basil was so plentiful that I was taking basil bouquets to friends' houses.

A website recently launched, Veggie Trader, that allows people to buy, sell, or trade local produce. It's simple. You sign up for free. When you have an abundance of produce that you want to find a home for, you post it on veggie trader and offer to sell or trade it. You can also view what other people are selling or trading even if you don't have anything to get rid of.

Of course, the success of Veggie Trader in our region will depend on how many people in our region are willing to sign up and use the website. So keep your eye on it as the growing and harvesting season comes into full swing. It may be a way for some of us with an abundance in our gardens to make sure it doesn't go to waste.

Local meats for Easter

I know Passover is coming soon, but not being Jewish, I'm not sure what is traditional to eat for Passover. But I do know what is traditional for Easter - ham or lamb. I've been searching for sources of local ham or lamb, but I haven't come up with much. If anyone knows of a local source in the region, please leave it in the comments.

The Fair Food Farmstand at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia has a way to order ham or lamb from some Lancaster region farms. You would need to order in the next couple of days.

Orders should be sent to ruth@whitedog.com by the deadlines stated below.

Heads UP: the sooner you order, the better your chances of securing these wonderful products. Competition for local, grass-fed lamb is fierce this time of year!

Meadow Run Grass-Finished Lamb
For delivery on Tuesday 4/7/09, DUE by 3 pm Friday 4/3/09
BONELESS LEG $16.00/LB
BONE-IN LEG $11.00/LBBONELESS SHOULDER $9.50/LB
RACK OF LAMB $18.00/LB (tentative, respond asap if you want this cut)

Green Meadow Double Smoked Ham
For delivery on Thurday 4/8/09, DUE by 8 am Monday 4/6/09
Homecured, available in whole or half size.
Bone-In Ham (12-15LBs) $6.75/LB
Boneless Ham (10 LBs) $8.00/LB

I'd also think that any of the local Amish markets like the one in Mullica Hill would have ham or lamb, too.

I hope by this time next year, I've familiarized myself enough with the local options that I'll be able to bring you a much better list.

An iPhone app for Locavores

I wrote about this on my food blog on Mother Nature Network, but it's worth mentioning here, too. A new application for the iPhone has been created to help locavores find local food. It's named, aptly, Locavore.

The app uses the GPS system in your iPhone to determine your location, then it points you to markets that sell local foods, tells you what's in season, and lets you know what's in season elsewhere.

It sells for $2.99 from the iTunes store. I downloaded it onto my iPhone, and when I first got it, it correctly placed my location. Now, for some reason, it's placing my location in Pennsylvania, and pointing me to markets that aren't particularly local. The maker of the app is accepting quesitons and recommendations, and seems like he's willing to make improvements.

There isn't much information on Locavore that can't be found online, but I think that the app will come most in handy for me when I'm on vacation or visiting a friend - helping me find local foods when I'm in an unfamiliar area.

Collingswood Farmers' Market Opens May 2

Okay, it's April 1st. Time for me to start focusing on this blog since the local foods are going to start rolling in soon.

I got an e-mail from Collingswood Farmer's Market this morning. They will be opening May 2 - only one month to go. It will be the market's 10th season. Collingswood Farmers' Market also has a page on Facebook now that you fan. If you post comments on the page or photos of the market on the page you could win a $5 gift certificate to the market.

If you've never made your way to the Collingswood Farmers' Market, you need to check it out. Fresh produce, local meats, cheeses and eggs, fresh bread from local bakeries, and my boys' favorite apple cider donuts are just a few of the things I come home with every week. Get there early - the market opens at 8am, and after the first few weeks by about 9am it's very crowded.

I cannot wait to see the first strawberries of the season in about 7 weeks. I miss strawberries. I know I can buy them at the grocery store all year round, but it's one of the foods that I choose to only eat locally and in season.

If you know of opening dates for other farmer's markets in the region, please leave them in the comments, and I'll be post them here. In fact, any event that you know of that would interest a locavore, I'd be happy to post about.