Farm to Stage with Local Farms & the Dave Matthews Band

If you’re a Dave Matthews Band fan, here’s another thing to add to your list of reasons. 

Local Farmers! 

DMB teams up with Reverb and Dega Catering to “green” their tour in several ways, including reaching out to local small farms in each of their tour stops around the country. This can be a great opportunity for small farmers who often have a limited market audience and surely a good thing for the crew on the road’s diet. No fast food meal plan for these folks!

However, as a farmer myself, a market manager and longtime member of TOFGA, (Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Assoc.), I am all too familiar with how difficult it can be for farmers who live on the far outskirts of the city to be able to participate, due to communication and time constraint issues. 

Often, according to Chef Rob White, the tour’s current chef, not all farmers are very well connected or accessible and are hard to reach. Many are without even email or reliable cell phone connections which can make coordination on such a tight schedule a formidable challenge. Add to that the window of time to deliver the produce to the venue, and many farmers just cannot make that extra trip due to time constraints. 

For the past several years, after Reverb’s initial heads up type contact with me, Chef Fiona Bohane has reached out as the band approached their Dallas stop, to see what would be available. With several farmers and ranchers participating in Market Day at Eden’s, I was able to offer her a nice selection of produce and grass fed meats. Fiona is home loving on her new baby girl this year, but Rob White, back from a 5 month break, has taken over the tour with many of the same support staff.

This year after I got that first call from Reverb’s Paige Roth, I knew with producers' production at Eden’s Market Day low this spring, (due to various factors), and my soil still in recovery mode from all of last year's flooding, as well, I would need to reach out beyond my initial contacts to be able to provide a rounded list and found 9 other farms growing a nice range of produce who agreed to participate. 

From East Texas to west of Weatherford, Chef Rob chose from a list of winter kale and root crops to early spring peaches and even bi-color corn! “This is by far the best stop, so far, on the tour!” Rob said, adding that having someone to help coordinate so many farmers ahead of time for him, was a big added bonus. (After checking their tour schedule, I see that Dallas is only the 3^rd stop so far, but we’ll take the compliment! LOL)

Being located so close to downtown Dallas and center point between east and west DFW helps me to be able to do this without too much driving or interruption of my work schedule. I was able to meet farmers part way in some cases or early at the downtown DFM, a 5-minute drive from the final venue. 

I enjoy the interaction with my peers, I’m always learning – and amazed – at what they’re growing and how they are doing it. And I love to help shine the spotlight on fellow hardworking farmers who don’t always take the time to toot their own horns – well deservedly! 

Quite the array of produce - half of what Chef needed for dinner!

I mean, it’s only early May in North Texas and Farmer Bev of Cold Springs Farm CSA is harvesting sweet corn, Farmer Ken down at Larken Farm has hordes of flavorful, ripe peaches and Farmer Doug from Grow it Forward in Edom is pulling in summer squash!  Farmer Megan and her father Jack up in McKinney pulled the prettiest and most delicious order of multi-colored carrots; the order for which the chef was grateful for having been too late to cancel, he said. Beautiful and delicious!

Rosey Ridge Farm supplied butter, cream, homemade chow chow and early onions. And while even though some health issues have slowed things down at Farmer Jones’ place, beautiful garlic scapes and Farmer Rita’s ever abundant bucketful of beautiful assorted fresh herbs accompanied the rest of the produce, along with the cardoon, coriander and pea tendrils that came from Eden’s. The back of my truck always smells heavenly on the way to drop everything off.

Chef Rob sharpening a knife while kitchen funnyman, Sean Thomas, photo-bombs...

 This crew knows how to have fun!

Marissa & Sean - hands on deck as Chef zips by the wall of ovens - which will be broken down and loaded as soon as dinner is over

Dustin, Chef Rob & Marissa - talking chicken...

Quite the Menu - Note the use of Cardoons from Eden's on the Scallops - I missed trying that - but here's what they looked like...

Cardoon is pre-cooked, sliced & dipped in a special batter using soda water to create the bubbly effect when deep frying...yum!

Even the vegetarians eat great - tofu steaks w/Eat the Yard's yellow & red chard & mustard flowers, ramps from Cold Springs Farm topped with homemade chow chow from Rosey Ridge!

Chef Rob used product from nine area DFW producers!

Each dish described with the key ingredients

After turning out a gourmet quality meal, for the entire crew and band, buffet style and always a most beautiful spread that includes signage of contributing farm names and ingredients used, the kitchen crew breaks down the entire kitchen to be packed, loaded and transported to the next stop. All of the food scraps are gathered up, Reverb puts them into bio-degradable bags, hands over two tickets to the show and loads up the compost in my truck! Thanks Pati!

Free Breakfast!

The ride home doesn’t smell nearly as good as the ride in, but whatever the chickens won’t consume, gets turned into the compost piles and breaks down to help grow more great veggies - for next year’s tour! It’s a win-win for everyone, from the fans to the environment. 

Marie

Eat Your Food - Naturally!

Note; I was originally and incorrectly informed by someone on the tour, in passing, that Chef White had been a trainer of Chef Bohane. The correction has been made and I apologize for any confusion this may have caused. Obviously, not a reporter, or I'd have done better to check source details for accuracy. ;)  Thanks for your understanding to those affected. 

Market Day Then and Now

First Market Day August 2007

Has it already been 7 years since I opened my property as home of the first farmer’s market in southeast Dallas County? Yes, I guess it has been. You can read about our humble beginnings here. And here. 

Back in August of 2007, I invited some of the farmers from the Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Assoc. to set up a food co-op at my place. I’d advertise for pre-orders and customers could come pick up here, at my house.

See, I’d fallen on some tough times and found myself without transportation out of Balch Springs. Being somewhat particular about the food I chose to consume, I found it frustrating that I couldn’t buy any thing I considered suitable at the only grocery store within walking distance. The other store, over 2 miles away, didn’t carry anything organic either – much less, locally grown from N. Texas. Maybe, not even from anywhere in Texas.

The Early Years Market Day

So started my journey on what has now become a passion of mine; To make available for me & my community, real food that was grown without the use of synthetic poisonous pesticides, by people who like to meet them – face to face. I call it Market Day. And everyone is welcome here - no membership required.

It’s not flashy. It’s not loud. It’s not crowded. It’s not a “stuff” market.

It’s Real Food, Grown with Integrity. I used to say that it was Real. Clean. Fresh. Local. Food. But a lot of people didn’t know what that meant. Clean food? You mean, you wash it for us? Not exactly.

If it’s really full of soil, yes, we’ll rinse it off. But ever since the USDA restricted the use of the word organic by anyone who doesn’t pay them to do so, farmers have had to find alternative ways to describe farming practices older than the USDA. Whatever.

Simply put, we don’t use synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. Nature has enough in her arsenal for controlling outbreaks of insects, diseases and soil building. And soil building is the key to “organic” growing.

I tried to find “organic” farmers that wouldn’t have to drive hours on end to get here to sell their products. And I didn’t want to go to some big warehouse to buy imported organic produce and re-sell it. There were already enough brokers from whom you could get that kind of product. No, not nearby.  But why not give customers the chance to meet the people who grew their food and be the first place like it in our area. Why not give people the option of eating in a way they didn’t previously have. I saw a blossoming, local “real” food hub! We had enough fast “food” joints.

Unfortunately, it was not an easy task to find sufficient numbers of organic growers.

Some early days volunteers help farmer Marie

Farming is not easy, as I have discovered. I broke ground and into a new career in 2008. Keeping farmers coming back year after year of grasshoppers, hail, drought crop losses – is not easy either. But it is something I feel compelled to keep doing. You could say that I've become a small farm & local food justice activist. Hey, if you don't stand for something....

When a customer will drive her motorized wheelchair down the street, oxygen tank in tow, over 2 miles, to be a part of Market Day, and encourage us to keep up the good work, spending what little money she has on fresh, real food – I can get up every morning and hoe a row of weeds down and fight the county not to spray toxic pesticides in the area that will kill our honey bees - who pollinate our crops.

Community Garden Ground Breaking

Brenda was one of our first cheerleaders. She still calls my shop every time she sees a story about us in the paper and came to markets as often she could find the energy to do so. She was even part of our community garden ground breaking. She doesn’t come to visit as much anymore, her health has limited her outings. But a new neighbor from 2 miles the other direction, Charles, has started to cruise down on his chair. He is sometimes late and misses a lot, but we’ve usually got something leftover that he likes. Yesterday, he took home a watermelon and some home made Italian rolls. And a smile.

 

A small community of folks living just to the community south in Seagoville, became another reason I am so diligent about organic methods being followed by our growers. The folks who live together in a special “camp” for chemically sensitive people taught me the importance of not allowing any of our farmers to use “conventional” methods.

Even if it meant, no fresh strawberries.

One spring when I had to retract our excited press announcement about featured organic strawberries coming to our market, instead of complaints, I got thank you notes for “thinking of our health”.

(By the way, growing strawberries organically is no easy feat. We look each spring for someone who can grow them and bring them to market. Our soil here just hasn’t been rich enough to support that crop – yet.)

Families are encouraged to visit

It's really important to me that children know how real food is supposed to taste and where the heck it comes from.

Eggs don’t grow on trees and tomatoes don’t come from plastic covered foam cartons. 

Texas Honey Bee Guild Advocates for Education

And you know what? Most kids don’t even flinch when they learn that honeybees and earthworms make their food grow – and taste - better. 

Where's my "hat-cam"?

And they get some of the most awesome looks on their faces when they pet and feed one of my friendly roosters or hens; learning not to be afraid of them, while respecting them as a living creature who provides them with food. This happens a lot at Market Day, too.

This spring we were approved to accept SNAP at the market. To me, this was monumental because I know there are a lot of good people in the area who have fallen on the same hard times I fell on back in 2007. Good folks live all around me who might need a helping hand in order to keep their families well fed and use the Lone Star Card. They can even use it to buy vegetable plants and seeds here so they can grow some of their own food. We're always offering gardening tips and hold low cost classes periodically.

Picked by hand - with care

NOT found at Market Day

We can’t beat bulk supermarket prices. Everyone here grows, harvests and handles everything by hand on a very small scale and that costs more to do than mass production. 

But we sure can give you awesome taste, unmatched freshness, and the peace of mind people get knowing that their food was grown in a safe way by someone they can meet – face to face. And once you try real grass fed beef – that “closeout” meat won’t ever look, or taste, the same to you.

Eat More (grass fed) Beef!

As our newly appointed volunteer market manager Iris says, we are not the biggest, but we are....

Farmer Mel - Farmer Jones Eco Friendly Produce

“The Cleanest Little Farmer’s Market in Town”. We’re also still, the only one.

Real Food, Grown with Integrity. All farmers, ranchers and producers – only – No brokers - ever. 

GMO free – always. 

Happy anniversary to us all! Hope to see you next time, down on the farm!

Marie Eat Your Food - Naturally!

Market Day is every 1^st, 3^rd and 5^th Saturdays April – December (weather permitting) at 4710 Pioneer Road, Balch Springs in back of the the old gray farmhouse next to the Zumba House, across the street from the new Dallas County Cowboy Church.