Soup's On! (And Bread, Too!) Thank You, Dr. Whatley! Favorite Flavors Return. Preview Day.

Next market is February 24, 9am to Noon, inside The Shops at Worthington Place.

THIS WEEK’S PARTICIPATING VENDORS

MARKET MAP

Use our Interactive Map to plan your weekly shopping!

soup’s on!

Planning to shop at the Worthington Farmers Market this Saturday, February 24? Be sure to include a visit to the Souper Heroes event taking place 11:00am - 1:00pm (far northeast corner of the mall) and sample an amazing selection of homemade soups! Bring your friends and family! Everyone is welcome!

Not familiar with Souper Heroes? It’s a fun, social and charitable event designed to help support hunger-relief agencies in the Columbus area. Contributions to the “donation crock” at this event benefit the Worthington Resource Pantry.

Soups Include: Vegetable Beef (gf, df), Corn-Crab Chowder, Lentils with Tomatoes & Pasta, Italian Sausage & Orzo, Spicy Gumbo with Andouille & Chicken (df, nf), Creamy 7-Mushroom & Leek (v, veg, df, gf,nf), Stuffed Cabbage Soup (df), Caldo Verde (df), Goulash, Italian Wedding Soup (nf), Chicken Tortilla with Hominy (nf), Hearty Vegetable (v, veg, df, gf, nf), Creamy White Chicken Chili (nf), Butternut Squash Soup, Lentil Stew with Indian Spices (*v=vegan, veg=vegetarian, gf=gluten free, df=dairy free, nf= nut free)

There are still slots available for soup makers! Sign up to bring a soup here: https://www.facebook.com/events/402963122387240

Many thanks to these vendors for donating bread to accompany our soups!

preview day

Cafe Graciela is a potential new vendor for the 2024 outdoor market. Visit them in Booth #22 in the West Corridor.

Café Graciela offers an authentic Colombian café experience with specialty coffee drinks and unique Colombian-style baked goods, including rich delicacies like blancmange, our traditionally baked crackers, and our signature brown sugar cane latte! We combine the rich flavors of Colombian coffee with traditional baked treats, inviting guests to enjoy a taste of Colombia's vibrant culture and warm hospitality. Come and enjoy!

veggie spy

February is Black History Month, an opportune time to recognize the enormous contributions of Dr. Booker T. Whatley to sustainable agriculture and what has become the modern farmers market movement. He was born in 1915 on a small family farm, the oldest of twelve children. He earned a Ph.D. in horticulture and was an agriculture professor at Tuskegee University in Alabama.

Dr. Whatley focused on ways to make small family farms economically viable. This was (and is) an especially acute problem for Black-owned farms who could not get loans through banks or government agriculture agencies due to discriminatory lending practices.

One of Dr. Whatley’s innovations in the 1960’s was the Clientele Membership Club, a concept where city dwellers would pay the farmer directly and pick the crops themselves. This was a precursor to the modern Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement where customers pay a farmer at the beginning of the season for a “share,” and then receive a weekly basket of farm products.

And U-Pick farms are now popular worldwide for apples, peaches, blueberries, and other produce. Besides reducing labor costs for the farmer, Dr. Whatley believed city dwellers would greatly benefit from a brief escape to a farm where they would do a little work and learn where their food comes from.

Dr. Whatley proposed that small farms grow a variety of vegetables, do beekeeping, and develop other ways to have a diverse product mix so a failure of one crop will not bring down the entire operation. Another of his key concepts was to market directly to customers to avoid intermediaries. These techniques are now common in contemporary farmers markets, including the Worthington Farmers Market.

Dr. Whatley was also a proponent of regenerating the soil through using compost, appropriate crop planting and rotation, and minimizing the use of pesticides. This was long before what we now call regenerative agriculture reached the mainstream. So, give thanks to Dr. Booker T. Whatley the next time you are enjoying a stroll through the Market!

Community table

Girl Scout Cookies are back! Find all your favorite flavors in Booth #2 next to the market information booth and near the First Watch entrance.

PRODUCER NEWS

Biddie Buns

WE'RE BACK WORTHINGTON! Pre Orders are open! Flavors: Original, Coffee, Banana Bread, Birthday Cake. If you want your buns, I highly recommend ordering in advance! See you Saturday.

Honeyrun Farm

We harvest fresh jewelweed each Fall and use it in our jewelweed salve and soap. Poison ivy season will be here before we know it!

The Mochi Shop

Yuzu is back! This is one of our best flavors. You know it's good when the glaze ingredients include pure yuzu juice (made in Japan) as the flavor component. Pre-order website is open now for pickup this Fri/Sat! Have a great week mochi lovers!

Bit.ly/themochishop

Sitara’s Sweets by Kat

My jumbo cookies have been selling out so stop by early for your favorite flavors. They're $6 each, 3 for $15 or buy 5 get 1 free! Make your own custom bakery box!

Don't forget the first 3 guests to mention our mystery phrase gets a freebie! This week's phrase - Ducky!

Jumbo Cookies

The Jack Sparrow
Lily's Unicorn Cookie
Amore Cookie
Caramel Delights
Chocolate Chip
Espresso Hazelnut
The Kitchen Sink
Rocky Road
“Little Red Devil”
The Big Banana
The Cookie Monster
Daemon's Delight
The GodFather
The Elvis
The Nutty Professor
Spicy Mamacita

Franklinton Farms

These positions and more now open! Full job descriptions and application here: franklintonfarms.org/jointheteam

Special Occasion?

Worthington Farmers Market gift certificates make great gifts no matter the occasion — or just because. Available in $5 and $10 denominations in the market information booth located near the First Watch entrance.