Wine at Cheverly Community Market

Did you know that Cheverly Community Market was the first farmer's market in Maryland to bring wine directly to our customers? 

We have supported new legislation that allows wineries to ship their products and we're proud to support Maryland wineries as they grow and prosper. Our Wine Liaison, founding board member Cathy Wintermyer, continues to build on these strong relationships while seeking out new relationships even as other markets open their doors to the wineries. An article in the Washington Post last year touts Maryland wines, and the news is spreading!

Since 2008, the following wineries have been part of the Cheverly Community Market family:

Basignani Winery

Black Ankle Vineyards

Boordy Vineyards

Cygnus Wine Cellars

Elk Run Vineyards

Running Hare Vineyard

Maryland wineries have had explosive growth in recent years, and we're seeking additional wineries to make Cheverly Community Market part of their customer base. Interested in learning more? Please email Cathy directly -- she's an expert in the permitting process and would love to hear from you! 

Interested in becoming a vendor for the 2013 season?

Good news! We've extended our application deadline to April 15! Get your applications in as soon as possible -- the season will be here before you know it, and we'd love to have you join us. The application is available here. Vendors can also find useful information about permitting, food safety and more on our website. In fact, we've just added a special article about displaying products beautifully at farmer's markets. We hope you find it useful!

Fun new ways to follow Cheverly Community Market!

You know that Cheverly Community Market is a big fan -- and user -- of social media. We're always searching for new ways to communicate with you and share the Market with an ever-wider audience. We've found that people enjoy photos and things where they can get a sense of what Cheverly Community Market looks like and what to expect to find. So today, we've launched two new venues -- CheverlyMarket on Vine and CheverlyCommunityMarket on Instagram. We hope you enjoy both and explore them (and contribute by using the #CheverlyMarket hashtag in your own posts!)

So what are these new programs? Well, Vine is a mobile app by Twitter that enables its users to create and post short video clips. Video clips created with Vine have a maximum length of six seconds and can be shared on a variety of social networking services, such as Twitter or Facebook. Instagram is an online photo sharing and social networking service that enables its users to take pictures, apply digital filters to them, and share them on a variety of social networking services, such as media sites including Facebook or Twitter. A distinctive feature is that it confines photos to a square shape, similar to KodakInstamatic and Polaroid images, in contrast to the 4:3 aspect ratio typically used by mobile device cameras. (Thanks to Wikipedia for the succinct definitions!).
Today, we posted a short video on Vine of the delicious items we picked up at the off-season pickup from Shlagel Farms and Waltz Family Farm (thanks to Eileen and Laurie for making the trek to Cheverly on a blustery early spring morning!) We also took a few photos and posted them to Instagram. We're looking forward to having fun with these apps in our upcoming season and really bringing you the sights and sounds of Cheverly Community Market as they happen!

Ways to follow Cheverly Community Market -- Explore them all!
Our website -- the biggest source of information for vendors and customers about Cheverly Community Market
Our blog -- the latest scoop on our vendors, interesting stuff, and more
Flickr -- Cheverly Community Market in nearly 10,000 photos and counting!
Facebook -- an ongoing conversation with you abuot all things Cheverly Community Market (also here)
Twitter -- links to our stories and ideas we think you'll find interesting
Pinterest -- recipes, food for thought, tips & techniques
Vine -- little direct-from-the-Market movies
Instagram -- off-the-cuff photos of fun Market sights

Off-season Goodness from Waltz Family Farm & Shlagel Farms THIS SATURDAY!

We're getting closer and closer to May 4 -- our opening day for the 2013 season! We're excited to bring you the full range of fresh, local, wonderful food...but you want fresh, local, wonderful food now! What to do, what to do? We have something for you...

E-mail Shlagel Farms or Waltz Family Farm this week with your order (details below) and they'll deliver to the Community Center this Saturday, 9:00-10:00am. You'll be supporting our wonderful farmers and enjoying gorgeous fresh food...everyone wins!

Shlagel Farms has some of the best eggs we've ever tasted -- a farm-fresh egg is a treat in and of itself. Add fresh tomatoes (and some bacon from Waltz Family Farm) and you have the makings of a wonderful brunch. Order brown eggs and greenhouse tomatoes directly from Eileen by emailing her.

The start of spring is the perfect time to pull those grills out of the shed and get back to outdoor cooking! And don't forget to buy your Easter meats -- lambs and hams are wonderful additions to holiday meals. WALTZ FAMILY FARM will have the following: 

BEEF: ground, stew cubes, chuck roasts, beef dogs with jalapenos & cheddar, soup bones w/meat, short ribs, and steaks (top round, NY strip, rib-eye, chuck-eye, sirloin, sirloin tip, T-bone, porterhouse, and filet mignon)

PORK: shoulder, loin & butt roasts, nice hams for Easter (about 7-9 lb.), ham steaks, pork chops (bone-in and boneless) a few smoked chops, spare ribs, bacon (as well as bacon ends and bacon back fat), smoked pigs feet (great for soups and flavoring greens), hot dogs (nitrate-free and dogs stuffed with cheddar), sausages (breakfast, hot italian and polish are rope style, and sage that is loose-great for making stuffing) 

LAMB: Let Laurie know soon, supply is limited......leg of lamb and shoulder roasts (both bone-in), loin roast, loin chops, ground lamb, kidneys, and hearts 

Laurie says that she may have forgotten a few things, so if you're looking for a particular cut,  email her or call 301-714-0584.

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!