A week of Farmer's Market conferences...

You may wonder what we do during the off season, beyond catching up on sleep-in Saturday mornings. The truth? We do a lot of planning. A lot. From long-range goal-setting sessions with our wonderful board of directors to contacting vendors, musicians, and community groups, updating our website and materials, repainting our beloved old signs, and scheduling special events...the work of a farmer's market never ends!

This week, managers Liz O'Leary and Kathryn Andrews, and board member extraordinaire Cathy Wintermyer are busy at county and state conferences. On Tuesday, the three attended the Prince George's County Farmer's Market Conference in Upper Marlboro. Many thanks to Janna Howley of the University of Maryland Extension for conducting this great meeting. We got to hear from other market managers, farmers, and permitting authorities, and got updates on new processes and opportunities, as well as clarification on standing laws. On Thursday, Kathryn and Liz will be presenting two talks at the Maryland Department of Agriculture Farmer's Market Conference -- one session on engaging community (and thank you for being an engaged community!) and one on promotion. We'll be sharing everything we've learned -- and lots of terrific resources for vendors -- on our website in the coming weeks.

Farmer's Markets are alive and well -- and growing -- here in Prince George's County. We're thrilled to be part of the push for local, fresh, healthy, sustainable food!

Very Special Off-Season Deliveries THIS SATURDAY!!

This almost spring-like days followed by bitter winds and plummeting temperatures have us longing for real spring and the return of our wonderful farmers with their fresh, local food. We're only a few months away from the official start of our season, but two of our farms -- Shalgel Farms and Waltz Family Farm -- are making the trek to Cheverly this Saturday, February 23, so that you can load up on some of your favorites!

Eileen Shlagel of Shlagel Farms writes that she will be in Cheverly with brown eggs and greenhouse tomatoes. The eggs are $4.00/dozen and the tomatoes are 2.99/lb and in limited quantities. She'll be at the Community Center from 11am until noon. Please e-mail Eileen directly if you are interested, as she needs to have a certain number of orders to make the drive worthwhile.

Laurie Waltz of Waltz Family Farm will also pay us a visit on Saturday morning with the following:

PORK...hot dogs (nitrate free 8/pack and hot dogs stuffed with cheddar 6/pack), ham steaks, sausages (breakfast, hot italian, polish, applewurst and sage. All are rope style except for sage, which is loose), pork chops (boneless and bone-in), shoulder roasts, spare ribs and smoked pigs feet

BEEF.... beef hot dogs stuffed with cheddar and jalapenos 6/pack, a few packs of cube steak, NY strip steaks, porterhouse steaks, T-bone steaks, short ribs and sirloin steaks

LAMB.....ground lamb, liver, heart, loin chops, loin roast, shoulder roast, leg of lamb, and a few leg of lamb chops. 

There’s also a possibility that Laurie will have bacon! It’s curing and should be ready any day, but no promises. Ready to pre-order? Questions about sizes and prices? Please email Laurie directly.  She'll bring some extra meats as well. Thank you, but pre-ordering ensures that you get exactly what you want!

Interested in becoming a Cheverly Community Market vendor?

Have you participated in Cheverly Community Market as a vendor? Interested in becoming one this year? Our Vendor Guidelines & Application are now available! 

We're looking for the best local foods, arts, and crafts, and we love discovering fresh talents. Learn more by visiting our website. The vendor deadline for the 2013 season is April 1, so get to work!

Are you part of a Community Group or Non-Profit Organization interested in participating in the Market this year? Download our Community Group/Non-Profit Organization Policies & Application. All participants are required to apply for the 2013 season.

We're looking forward to a great 2013 season and 

we can't wait to share it with you!