There’s a simple phrase that means a lot to many people: E.B.T. Available. For people at Down to Earth Farmers Markets, it means that there is an Electronic Benefits Terminal available to process Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for the purchase of fresh, local food.
As of Sunday, June 9th, McGolrick Park’s Down to Earth Farmers Market will have E.B.T. available. (Cooper Park’s Down to Earth Farmers Market in East Williamsburg already does!)
“It takes a little behind the scenes effort to implement the electronic benefit terminals, such as filing paperwork with the state and training the market managers, but it’s work we are happy to complete,” said Frankie Rowland of Down to Earth Markets. “Our vendors also jump in to help out with some of the cost and administration of running the program. It’s a community effort to broaden the local food community!”
Also, beginning in July, the NYC Department of Health offers a $2 coupon for every $5 of SNAP benefits spent at one of our EBT markets. Please visit the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene at nyc.gov to learn more about this program.
And the farmers market continues to expand! At McGolrick Park, we now have FOUR local farms with amazing produce: Alex’s Tomato Farm, Great Road Farm, Garden of Eve, and Brooklyn Grange. They are all small-scale farms bringing seasonal fruits and vegetables, grown with care for the environment.
In addition to the growers, we now have fresh fish from American Pride Seafood, homemade tempeh from Grown in Brooklyn, pasture-raised poultry and meats from Stone & Thistle, and expert charcuterie from Brooklyn Cured. This market also has Horman’s Best Pickles (and we all know Nick named his company RIGHT), incredible breads from Orwashers, the best seasonal pies ever from Pie & Lady & Son, and locally-roasted nuts, nut butters, granola, and more from Tierra Farm.
AND have you visited the newest market vendor: La Newyorkina? She makes Mexican-style ice pops and frozen treats that are the perfect respite from the summer heat.
Want to help us get a compost drop-off site up and running at the McGolrick market? Stop by and talk to the market manager, Ellie, this Sunday. She’s taking down names of volunteers to create a compost program. The shifts would be only two hours long, every few weeks. (The more volunteers, the more weeks between the shifts.) We’ve been working with the wonderful ladies at BIG! Compost in Astoria to make this possibility. BIG! Compost will train all volunteers in one easy session. We hope to get this going as soon as this month. Join us.
McGolrick Park Market: every Sunday, 11 am to 4 pm, at the corner of Nassau Avenue and Russell Street.
Thank you for supporting your local farmers market!
I quit my job specifically to have more time to create ridiculous bird videos! This pigeon puts on a bling bread necklace in this video I shot in Winthrop (McGolrick) Park in Greenpoint. This is what unemployment is all about!
The McGolrick Park Farmer’s Market is back and better than ever – and the vegetables aren’t even harvested yet! There was meat, seafood, pickles, breads, nuts and of course pie! Check out the full vendor list here. Even better, we ran into so many familiar faces. We look forward to week after week of local and sustainable bounty. Happy Spring!
This Sunday, April 7th, McGolrick Park’s Down to Earth Farmers Market begins its second season at the corner of Russell St and Nassau Ave. The market will run every Sunday through the end of December, 11 am – 4pm. As we prepare for Opening Day, let’s sit back, take a deep breath, and remember:
Brooklyn Cured: Scott and his crew make the best charcuterie this borough has ever had. Lamb sausage with yogurt and olives, country pate, New York Style hot dogs, and more.
Grown in Brooklyn: Barry with his hot wok, stirring up tempeh samples. He creates tempeh with unique mixes of beans and grains: White bean and brown rice; soybeans and toasted walnuts, to name a couple. He also makes market salads with peanut sauce. Fresh tempeh tamales. Get it to go, right then and there.
Horman’s Best Pickles: Nick and friends bring big barrels full of brine-soaked pickles: red flannels, sweet and sour, new dill. They’ll let you try a bite of anything – and everything.
Orwashers Bakery: Walt starts every market morning behind a fortress piled high of bread. Bit by bit, all day long, he is freed by the lines of people coming to buy the loaves. And he rocks out to the radio. Sourdough, Rye, Chardonnay Miche, Ciabatta, round Pumpkin loaves in the fall…
Pie Lady & Son: Will brings stacks of white boxes full of pies by his uber-talented mama. Pies that change with the harvest – blueberry pies in early summer; apple pies arrive in the fall. And many others. Some people leave with 3 or 4 boxes in a day. It’s true. You know you’ve seen it, too. You. Know.
Tierra Farm: Locally-roasted, fair trade coffees, nuts, and original nut butters with Lea. Granola. Crack. Ok, maybe not crack. But a similar addictive quality.
All of these vendors are returning as of this Sunday. AND there’s more:
FISH! American Pride Seafood, owned by two fisherman from Long Island, is going to bring fresh, fileted fish from the Atlantic Ocean every Sunday. Their catch varies with the water’s offerings and often includes swordfish, fluke, pollack, bay scallops and more. Every week is a new week from the water.
Pastured-raised beef, lamb, and goat! Stone & Thistle Farm is excited for their first day at the market this Sunday. The farm is owned and operated by Tom and Denise Warren, with their kids, and located upstate in East Meredith, NY. By Memorial Day weekend, they’ll have fresh chickens raised on their open pasture land, too.
Sandwiches to go! Saucy by Nature, the Brooklyn-based condiment company home to amazing seasonal sauces will have sandwiches to go starting on Sunday, April 14th. You know the Sunday morning choice between going to brunch or to the farmers market? This will be one less choice to make: brunch time AT the market.
Lastly – yet certainly not least – the growers! As the harvest comes in, the farmers are eager to return to McGolrick Park. Starting in June, we welcome Great Road Farm, Garden of Eve, Brooklyn Grange, and Alex’s Tomato Farm. Come ‘mon, Lady Spring, work your magic and bring on the fruits & veggies.
On behalf of Down to Earth Farmers Markets, thank you, Greenpointers, for supporting local food and farmers at McGolrick Park. Also, thank you to NY State Assemblyman Joe Lentol and his staff for helping us open in the early spring. It’s will be so nice to be back!
I was 17 in the snow. It was the winter of 2004, new to college, and new to love. Who knew that I would get stuck in a Greenpoint apartment that winter rekindling a high school love? Beginning with a lost cellphone at the Royal Oak, to his bedroom in his loft apartment on Sutton, to Nassau Avenue, a little 1950′s diner we would call B’s on the corner of N Henry, and the swings in McGolrick park.
So to the Greenpointers who have fallin’ in love if once, if ever, if by chance, let’s scribe our loves into a poem.
And remember: we don’t just fall in love with people. Many of us fell in love, are still in love or fell out of love with Greenpoint.
Due February 10th @ 5pm, send us one of your poems, and let’s make this Valentine’s Day a brim to the hat to the nod toward love.
The winner, whose poem will be published on Greenpointers.com on the February 14th, will be a featured reader at Poetry Teachers NYC’s Monthly reading at Milk and Roses in February.
One last thing. Sometimes the best thing about falling in love is the story. Single or together this year, remember the place that landmarked your love.
A twitter tipster @noneck shared a photo of this notice at Donia Cafe (Driggs & Monitor) announcing the opening of a restaurant called Little Dokebi. It is not confirmed whether this is an offshoot of Dokebi in Williamsburg but exciting news as more restaurants open near McGolrick Park.
Don’t trash your tree, abandon it at McCarren Park, where it will be slaughtered in a chipper in the spirit of Christmas!
Mulchfest takes place Sat. & Sun. January 12-13th from 10am-2pm, in McCarren Park (Driggs Ave & Lorimer St) where they will chip your tree and give you a free bag of mulch!
Or you can drop if off from Wed. 1/19 – Sun. 1/13 at McGolrick Park (Driggs Ave & Monitor St) or McCarren Park (Driggs Ave & Lorimer St)
Even easier, just abandon your tree curbside for sanitation to pick-up anytime until Sat. 1/12 to be chipped and mulched.
Watch our short video below for a great way to get your tree out the door window without making a huge mess!
Why mulch? According to the city, “all of the trees will be chipped into mulch that will be used as ground cover to nourish plantings across the City.”
Remember: remove tree stands, tinsel, lights, and ornaments from trees before dropping them off or placing them out for collection. DO NOT PLACE TREES IN PLASTIC BAGS.
Yesterday morning’s walk to the farmers market brought some good bird sightings! It started with a Red Bellied Woodpecker battling with a starling for access to a cavity in a London planbe tree in McGolrick park. We’ve seen a lot of woodpeckers in the neighborhood but they are always a treat and this is a particular favorite of mine with the vivid red head (not sure why its called red bellied as its belly is cream colored) and spectacular black and white speckled wings.
Later as we returned from the market Jen saw something small brown rooting around in the undergrowth which turned out to be a Hermit Thrush!
I’ve only seen these in more dense cover in wooded areas of Prospect and Owl’s head parks so this was a real surprise. They are similar to Robins but smaller and more reclusive. They scratch around in the leaves for insects and have a unique habit (among thrushes) of bobbing their reddish brown tail at regular intervals.
As we turned to leave the thrush to his chitinous breakfast I looked up and saw what at first appeared to be an owl in the tree overhead. It turned out to be a very fluffed up Red Tailed Hawk who had been watching the Thrush and probably thinking of its next meal.
Sunday’s Dog Masquerade & Food Drive for #SandyRelief was really fun and hilarious. While many of the dogs were humiliated or handicapped by their costumes, others really enjoyed all the attention! Especially the winners who received gift baskets with treats and toys. There was also a pie eating contest. Whomever ate an entire pie the fastest won the most ironic prize: another entire pie! Check out the rest of the photos on facebook.
There’s a simple phrase that means a lot to many people: E.B.T. Available. For people at Down to Earth Farmers Markets, it means that there is an Electronic Benefits Terminal available to process Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for the purchase of fresh, local food.
All of these vendors are returning as of this Sunday. AND there’s more:
