We are so excited to be back for our 2nd full season! We’ve got more vendors, more produce and the same great community spirit! Join us next Tuesday May 8th for our Grand Opening Day 3:30-6:30 at Sevier Park.

NEWS:

• We want to reward you for not driving! If you walk or ride your bike, hit up the information booth for a $1 off coupon to use at any of the Market booths. Yipee to conserving gas!

• Don’t forget yours reusable bags and your cash

• Make sure to sign up for our Newsletter if you haven’t already

This is one of my favorite festivals that Nashville puts on each year. This year, the 12 South Market gets to be a part of it. Come out and say hi to us at the Nashville Earth Day Festival at Centennial Park. Rain or Shine.

Bring the kids and the dogs and enjoy a really amazing celebration of living green and healthy. And don’t forget to stop by our booth and enter to win some pretty awesome Market giveaways for our Grand Opening May 8th!

“The event will feature many exhibits and activities aimed at educating Middle Tennesseans about protecting our environment. With nearly a 100 family-friendly booths, hosted by community groups, environmental organizations and government agencies, will offer fun and exciting hands-on activities for all ages. Plus lots of live music and great food”

Help support 12 South Farmers Market’s newest farm that will be at the Market this season. They need you! Visit their Kickstarter Page here. 

This is Delta Sun Farm!  Welcome to our dream! 

Caitlin and I met five years ago when we were both studying sustainable agriculture in North Carolina.  Our passion for Organic farming is what brought us together.  Since then we have worked and interned on many different farms to truly learn all we could. Now that we have found land and are at home in Tennessee we are super inspired to make this happen.

OUR MISSION HERE AT DELTA SUN FARM! 

• To be a diversified small farm that raises fruit, vegetables, mushrooms, honey, eggs, and pastured pork using Organic, Biodynamic, and Sustainable methods that all work in harmony together recognizing the farm itself as a single, living, breathing organism to be cared for while reviving the community around us!

• To have a successful Community Supported Agriculture program is of most importance.  This is a great paradigm that ensures the future of the small farm while feeding the surrounding community the most nutritious and freshest food possible.  It is a truly unique and personal relationship between the farmer and the people we grow for!

• Raising and preserving the future of the Red Wattle Hog.  They are critically endangered and need to be saved.  They are such unique animals with amazing traits that speak to their friendly personalities, disease resistance, and foraging abilities!

• And to be Stewards of our land in the most sustainable ways that demonstrate environmental and social responsibility while encouraging community involvement and taking every opportunity to educate about this way of life and ways to make a difference!

WHAT WE NEED TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN!

• Build a greenhouse for starting seeds early in the season and to extend the growing season for many vegetable varieties

• Begin the Organic/Biodynamic certification process

• Build a pack shed and vegetable processing station

• Purchase seeds

• Purchase a cooler for vegetables, eggs, and pork

• Purchase a tractor, implements, and trailer.

• Purchase fencing for livestock and crop protection.

• Build a moveable pasture coop for our heritage breed chickens

• And last but not least Red Wattle breeding stock.

There are many expenses behind starting Organic CSA farm and there is still so much to do and your support is what will make all the difference and it will definitely not go unrecognized.  We offer many rewards and returns on your support to our farm from one dollar up.  Everyone that makes a donation will be thanked on our website very much for your help!  We are offering handmade screen printed Delta Sun Farm t-shirts and stickers, packets of Organic, Heirloom seeds we have raised and saved ourselves, farm dinners hosted by yours truly serving food grown by yours truly, and even CSA shares! And other goodies listed on our page…

Another way you can truly help this project be a success, for those of you who live in the Middle TN area is to join our Community Supported Agriculture program.  You can find more information about our­­ program on our website. Deltasunfarm.com

We would love for you to be involved in this project it!  Kickstarter does not work without you!  We are super excited to be here and have this opportunity to farm and know that it is well worth doing!  This is very important to us and any support will be greatly appreciated!  Thank you for watching!

We are excited to announce that we are now accepting 2012 Market Sponsors. If you or your company could benefit from a very affordable weekly mention and want to support your neighborhood Farmers Market- look no further. Just hop on over to our Sponsorship Page for all the details.

Deadline to be a sponsor is April 1st, 2012

Details:

Tuesday, November 22nd at Sevier Park

3:00 -5:00pm

Turkeys:

West Wind Farms- **pre-order organic turkeys

Jolly Barnyard – Free range, no hormones or antiobiotics

Produce:

Delvin Farms

Side Dishes:

Spark of Life (Vegan, Raw & Gluten Free Prepared Foods) **pre-order side dishes

Cheese:

Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese

Noble Springs Goat Cheese

Specialty:

Pi Pies

Papa C Pies – **pre-order pies

Pure Bread Baking Co.

Hazy Haven Honey

Angel Radiance Candles

*We will probably have a few more vendors, so stay tuned

We are excited to announce that we now accept your Snap/EBT/Food Stamps. The SNAP benefit redemptions will not work as they do in a typically grocery store where participants swipe their Electronic Balance Transfer (EBT) cards and redeem their benefits as one would pay for groceries using a debit card. At the 12 South Nashville Market, shoppers will redeem their benefits for tokens. These tokens will be used just as cash would at the market. This way the shopper makes one transaction at the point of sale machine, gets the tokens, and then uses them to purchase fresh food.

Just head over to the Farm to Chef (Good Food for Good People) produce booth and exchange your benefits in for the $1 tokens and start shopping. You can also get tokens with your debit card if you didn’t bring enough cash.

RAIN OR SHINE

The Market is open rain or shine, however due to the weather, we had over 85% of our vendors cancel for today. We didn’t have enough vendors to make up a Market, so we have decided to cancel it. We will be back next week in full force, ready to enjoy this fall weather. If you need to get local food this week we encourage you all to hit up the East Nashville Farmers Market which is every Wednesday 3:30-6:30 at 210 South 10th Street. See you all next week!

Meet Carissa Shapiro – Our New Intern

Why do you want to work for the 12 South Farmers Market?

I would love the opportunity to be a part of the 12th S Farmer’s Market because it would be the perfect opportunity to get more familiar with the people who make it happen. I love the community that comes with local markets but sometimes, as a shopper or supporter, it can be difficult to really get to know the people who make it happen every week. The 12th South community is also one that I enjoy so much that whenever I host couchsurfers from other states I always bring them to visit the local shops on the street. To be a helping hand in this great weekly event would be a highlight for me.

Why is the local food movement important to you?

The local food movement is important to me because I believe in living a happy, healthy life. Eating natural foods that are locally grown do two great things for you. One, you’re going to get the most nutrients and vitamins from eating foods that have been treated without pesticides. Many of the conventional produce, grains, meats, etc. you find at most stores have been through so much processing and have been out of the ground for weeks already. The second great thing about eating local foods is what it does for the community. I never used to think about where my food came from. Now that I do, it makes me think about the families I can support by buying from local vendors. I think this is a great meaning to community. I get delicious produce, bread, meats, and dairy that I know are top quality while I support the people who grow and make it. If you can’t tell, to me, this makes life really satisfying.

If you see Carissa at the Market, make sure to say hello!

The 12 South Farmers Market is looking for an intern for the remainder of the season (now till end of October). Think you’ve got what it takes?

Here’s what we are looking for:

First and foremost, someone who is passionate about the local food movement. Someone who is outgoing, motivated, independent, and capable of dealing with people.

Intern requirements:

• Able to be present at every Market – Tuesday afternoons from 2:30-7:00pm through the end of October
• Has the use of computer and email to communicate with vendors and volunteers
• Must be at least 18years old to qualify
• Has the physical ability to lift, set up, and be outdoors for a number of hours

Intern expectations:

• Coordinates and plans special events at the market (once a month)
• Coordinates volunteers for special event days and kids events
• Responsible for set up and tear down at each Market (signage, tents etc)
• Runs the Market info booth
• Collects the booth fees from Farmers and delivers to Market Manager

Compensation:

• Interns will receive $50 every Tuesday at the end of the Market
• Interns will receive a bag of local produce each Tuesday

If you are interested in becoming an intern – please fill out this Internship Application

and email or mail it to Mary Crimmins by August 29th, 2011.

Just down the street from 12 South, our sister Farmers Market – the Woodbine Farmers Market is hosting its annual educational movie and this year it is Ingredients. Friday August 19th at 7pm this event is free to the public and will be held outdoors at Coleman Park – 384 Thompson Lane. Please bring blankets or chairs. They will have organic popcorn, candy and natural soda available for purchase. All money raised will go to benefit the Woodbine Farmers Market.

“At the focal point of this movement, and of this film, are the farmers and chefs who are creating a truly sustainable food system. Their collaborative work has resulted in great tasting food and an explosion of consumer awareness about the benefits of eating local.

Attention being paid to the local food movement comes at a time when the failings of our current industrialized food system are becoming all too clear. For the first time in history, our children’s generation is expected to have a shorter lifespan than our own. The quality, taste and nutritional value of the food we eat has dropped sharply over the last fifty years. Shipped from ever-greater distances, we have literally lost sight of where our food comes from and in the process we’ve lost a vital connection to our local community and to our health.

A feature-length documentary, INGREDIENTS illustrates how people around the country are working to revitalize that connection. Narrated by Bebe Neuwirth, the film takes us across the U.S. from the diversified farms of the Hudson River and Willamette Valleys to the urban food deserts of Harlem and to the kitchens of celebrated chefs Alice Waters, Peter Hoffman and Greg Higgins. INGREDIENTS is a journey that reveals the people behind the movement to bring good food back to the table and health back to our communities.”