thoughtful consumption

Yesterday was the official opening of the Douglasville Farmers’ Market hosted by Crossroads Church at 5960 Stewart Parkway, Douglasville, GA 30135. The market’s founders, Marie Crowe and Lynn Hagerup, came up with the idea on one of their walks.

Lynn's on the left; Marie's on the right.

Both are devoted to eating more local and healthy food and decided they were tired of leaving Douglasville to find it.

The market is open Thursdays 4pm to 7pm except for holidays. That means no market next Thursday, but the market will reopen December 2. It’s indoors, so no worries there, and with this warm fall, there will still be plenty to choose from whether you’re looking for produce, eggs, or meat. The market also makes an excellent place for shopping for gifts, like jams, baked goods, and natural soaps and lotions.

Parking is easy in the large church lot, and the atmosphere is open and friendly. Everyone – customers, organizers, and vendors – seemed to be having a good time. It’s fun to see all the different things that are produced locally and meet friendly and interesting farmers. Here’s a recap of my visit on opening day.

Heritage Farm is a family farm run by Greg and Lainya Hutchins and their three children (plus two more on the way!).

The family grows 51 kinds of produce, including some beautiful broccoli:

The farm also produces eggs, chickens, and beef. Chickens are available frozen either whole or cut up. Find out more about Heritage Farm at www.heritage-farm.net.

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Melodie Maddox of Dallas sells fresh eggs and lovely perennial plants.

Melodie’s sister, Candy Odaffer, makes the natural soaps and body scrubs on the right. Plants and soaps make great green, local gifts!

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Lorri Mason owns Stems n Roots farm and is the vendor contact for the market. She farms her Douglasville backyard in 64 raised beds! What can 64 raised beds produce? Lots and lots of colorful goodness well into November.

Find out more about Stems n Roots on Facebook.

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Paul Hardy of Hardright Bakery in Atlanta

sells baked goods, including pies, individual pies, and sweet breads made with organic ingredients.

Baked goods make great hostess gifts for holiday gatherings.

Find out more about Hardright Bakery and Catering at www.hardrightbakery.com.

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Fairywood Thicket Farm owned by Kim and John Conner of Fairburn brought a delicious assortment of jams and jellies.

All of Fairywood Thicket’s ingredients, except for citrus and cranberries, are obtained locally. Even more fun, the cranberries come from Kim’s sister, an organic cranberry grower in Cape Cod.

These nicely-packaged jams and jellies make terrific business gifts.

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Melanie Skinner owns Whole Grains & More bakery in Carrollton.

Melanie makes delicious items with nutritious whole grain ingredients. I’m a customer, and I love her breads, poppy seed crackers, and especially Ezekiel muffins.

Ezekiel muffins are named after Ezekiel 4:9: “Take also unto thee Wheat, and Barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and Spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make bread of it…”

I wrote a little more about them at the bottom of this post.

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Carolyn Bradley of Farm House Beef in Fairburn sells “beef the way it used to be” produced on her family farm outside of Asheville where the cattle graze year round and are never given hormones or antibiotics. At the market, Carolyn had a wide selection of meat from ground beef to choice cuts to dog bones.

Carolyn knows her business, and she’s happy to talk with customers about different cuts and how to cook them.

For more information about Farm House Beef, visit www.farmhousebeef.com.

The next market (Thursday, December 2^nd between 4 and 7) will have even more vendors. So come out and see what local, delicious, nutritious, sustainably produced food you can find for you and your family.