The Food for a Better Grito

REVOLUTION and agrarian reform are intertwined. Just ask Pancho Villa, that Mexican Revolution icon who haunts us from black-velvet paintings on walls of Tex-Mex restaurants. In these days of chemically-fertilized veggies saturated with pesticides, the fierceness of gritos that Mexican revolutionaries were once known for has waned. As Brownsville's Charro Days kicks into gear, and gritos emanate through Brownsville skies en masse from grito contests and closing cantinas, remember that the ballsy, piercing gritos of history came from men and women who ate fresh food and who battled for the right of everyone to own their own farm. Before you do Charro Days, get your food from The Brownsville Farmers' Market. Pesticide-free, locally-grown and more, our food gives everyone something to shout about. Open Saturday 9am-noon at 6th Street & Ringgold, we're right on the path that leads to the Charro Days festival. Bring your ice chests, pack up your fresh food, and then enjoy your day at the Texas Valley's largest, most authentic festival. Olive-oil flour tortilla breakfast tacos filled with local farm eggs, plus fresh-squeezed market juices offer a uniquely flavorful way to score a breakfast ... incredible morning food that's available only at our market. http://www.brownsvillefarmersmarket.com/

HISTORIAS DEL RIO: La Nueva Tortilla Saludable

HISTORIAS DEL RIO: La Nueva Tortilla Saludable: "Las tortillas de Anita’s Gourmet no son sus tortillas regulares. Tienen el mismo y sabroso sabor pero la diferencia es que son hechas a base de aceite de oliva."

SOUTH PADRE'S FARMERS' MARKET

By Melissa Thrailkill

When he moved from the Panhandle to the Texas Valley in 1994, David McCommas says he knew the land he bought was “real good.”  McCommas had been farming his whole life, learning the practice from his “granddaddy.”

   He bought the land to farm for personal use, and he cultivated it in the evenings and on weekends, when he wasn’t working his day job.  His “real good” land ended up producing a lot, however.

   At first he would give the overflow to friends, but then, he says, he “started running out of friends.”  He had so much to offer that eventually they would,  “start running when they see you coming,” he said.

   But he didn’t want to see it go to waste.  “It was large quantities of high-quality, vegetable produce,” he said.

   So he set up a truck at the end of his driveway. McCommas said people would show up at all times of the day to buy his tomatoes or corn or onions or whatever else he happened to be growing at the time. 

   A little over a year ago, another option opened for McCommas in the form of a farmers market on South Padre Island, and he began selling his produce there.  The SPI market, which happens every Sunday from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., started as an offshoot to the growing and successful Brownsville and Harlingen markets, said Jack Moffitt, who manages the SPI market. 

    Moffitt, a big city attorney turned farmer, says the market relies on a tiny budget and that its success depended mostly on a “guerrilla marketing” team and word of mouth. 

   He discovered from new visitors that tenants in the rented condos were leaving behind notes about the Sunday market on their refrigerators, which helped keep new visitors coming to the market on a regular basis.  Since its beginning, the market has grown into one of the Island’s featured events for travelers and residents.  On Super Bowl Sunday it was packed with winter Texans sporting Green Bay Packers gear, and on some dates, chefs from local restaurants like Zeste and Wild Fork, hold how-to demonstrations using the products sold by the farmers at the market.  They also use the local produce in their menus. 

   In addition to managing the market, Moffitt, who grows vegetable, herbs and fruit, as well as flowers, also sells his produce there.  Other featured sellers include River’s End Nursery and Farm, located in Bayview, which grows tropical and subtropical fruit trees, and Acacia Farms, also located in Bayview and which grows pesticide-free fruits and vegetables. 

   Some of the farmers at the SPI market can also be found at the Harlingen and Brownsville markets.  McCommas is one of the “super local” farmers, as Moffitt describes them, who sell only at the SPI market. 

   Even though these strangers at the market aren’t the same friends McCommas shared his produce with in the past, it’s hard to tell.  He still practically gives his goods away and spends time with the people that stop at his stand.

   Observing McCommas, one of the benefits of buying at a market becomes instantly obvious: the ability to talk to the producer of the food you’re about to consume in a down-to-earth, friendly way.  The farmers can answer questions about the quality and taste of the crop, how it was grown and the best ways to prepare the product.

“My stuff was hand-picked,” McCommas said.  “You can talk to me and ask me what it is and how to cook it, or whether I sprayed it or not.”

   In talking to the farmers a bit longer, another benefit of buying at the markets becomes even clearer: the direct benefit to the local economy.  Most of the farms are completely family-run, or depend on a small group of employees.

   Ralph O’Quinn and Sulema Ortega, the owners and operators of Buckeye Farms, do all the work on their farm. Their farm, located in Rio Hondo, features pastured poultry, eggs, turkey, Cornish game hens and beef and lamb.  Buckeye also sells to retail outlets and restaurants and offers a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) membership. 

   O’Quinn and Ortega run all of this at the same time they hold down their day jobs and raise a family.  For them, the success of their farm, which started out as a personal use enterprise, provides them with an opportunity to give people a choice in buying their meat, poultry and eggs.

   “I grew up on farm-raised,” O’Quinn said.  “It has a better taste.  We wanted people to try it.  Not a lot of people have access to it.”

    Buckeye Farms, like all the vendors at the SPI market, give the community access to affordable food produced by neighbors using sustainable farming methods. The markets make buying local easier and helps create a community around the production and consumption of food.

    “I’m walking my plots every day,” McCommas said.  “I do things on a small scale.  All it does is cost me my time and my effort.  I only do it because I love to do it.”

    For more information on the South Padre Island Farmer’s Market and the farmers featured there visit the market on facebook,

http://www.facebook.com/pages/South-Padre-Island-Farmers-Market/240120627092

Olive Oil Tamales and a Fresh Family Day

Anita's Gourmet from Brownsville is the first local commercial kitchen to eliminate lard from tamales. They've substituted Olive Oil, which offers a fresher and more flavorful tamale. With hand-ground Texas corn and chile cascabel, this Olive Oil tamale embraces authentic Mayan techniques, with ingredients spanning bean, chicken, pork, jalapeno, and a locally-produced white cheese. Get them at The Brownsville Farmers' Market  on Saturday mornings, 9am-noon, across from the zoo at 6th & Ringgold.

It's a great family day at the Brownsville Farmers' Market, with $3 admission to the Childrens' Museum of Brownsville, within walking distance from the Market. And 20% discount tickets to the zoo available at our market tent.

But mainly, the market is here to bring Texas Valley residents the finest vegetables and fruit, at great prices. And we accept the Lone Star Card.

Pesticide-free, locally-grown and more, the produce at The Brownsville Farmers' Market will open your eyes to the superior flavor of fresh food.

In recent weeks farmers have harvested green onions, tomato, cilantro, beets, luffah squash, radishes, kohlrabi, jalapeno, serrano peppers, broccoli and much more.

Herbs span dill, thyme, rosemary and more.

And don't forget farm eggs from several vendors, including Bayview Veggies, Gracia Farms and Buckeye Farms.

We'll have fresh orange juice, carrot juice and grapefruit juice. And local, grass-fed beef, lamb, and pork.

It's an awesome day of family fun and fresh food. Come out and join us!

http://www.thebrownsvillefarmersmarket.com/

Like us on Facebook! www.facebook.com/BrownsvilleFarmersMarket

Citizens Gather at the Capitol to Speak with Legislators

FAMILY FARMS AND LOCAL FOODS EDUCATION DAY

Local food supporters from all over Texas will gather at the State Capitol on Monday, February 21 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to meet with legislators about issues concerning family farms and local foods. The education day is a free event, open to the public, and organized by the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (FARFA), a Texas-based non-profit that advocates for independent agriculture and citizens who support local foods.

“We are mobilizing citizens from across the state who support their local food community, purchase foods locally, and value their relationship with their farmers, ranchers, and food producers,” said Judith McGeary, director of FARFA and a leader in local food advocacy in Texas and nationally.

The Family Farms and Local Foods Education Day is an opportunity for Texas citizens, farmers, and ranchers to speak up for local food systems. Participants will have the chance to learn about the legislative process, meet legislators and their staff, and work together in support of improved access to local foods. Prior to the event, participants are asked to make an appointment with their legislators. On the day of the event, the group will convene for a short meeting about citizen activism, communicating effectively with legislators, and the specific bills that the Legislature is considering.

Topics that will be discussed at the education day include:
·      HB 75/SB 237, (the “Raw Milk Bill”) to increase access to licensed raw dairy products;
·      Reducing unnecessary regulation of farmers’ markets;
·      Allowing “cottage food” producers to sell directly to consumers;
·      Reducing fees on small-scale cheese-makers; and
·      Fair property tax treatment for urban farms, community gardens, and sustainable producers.

“We need laws like these that allow local farmers and rural economies to thrive,” McGeary said. “Texans have already been voting for local foods with their dollars, buying direct from farmers in ever increasing numbers. Now it’s time for our legislators to catch up. If you care about what you eat, come tell your legislators.”

FARFA invites all concerned citizens to join in the conversation by attending this free event. For more information about how to participate and to RSVP, visit www.farmandranchfreedom.org/upcoming-meetings.

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