I love going to the Sunset Valley Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. (This is why I hardly ever get to hang out with Cheri and Beck at their weekly playdate, but I can't have it all.) I like to get there as early as possible to get the best produce, and often pick up eggs or bread or even a roasted chicken. The above photo is from the Sunset Valley market, and I recognized the vendor: Hill Country Homestyle Canning. Their salsas and pickles are to die for.
The drive from our neighborhood out to the Burger Center in South Austin is unfortunately a little long. I go to the farmers' market at the Triangle on Wednesday afternoons after work sometimes, but by the time I get there, it's pretty picked over. I'd love to find a weekend farmers' market closer to my house. The Travis County Farmers Market on Burnet Road was once popular, but in recent years it's dwindled to a very few vendors, and the future of the remaining market and the property (which the county sold, and which is up for sale again), are uncertain.
A thriving farmers market on Burnet Road is still a possibility, though, thanks to the owners of Texas Healing Arts Institute (THAI). The massage school/day spa is located on Burnet near Cullen, and I always think of it as "the building with all the wildflowers in front."
THAI wants to open a farmers market at their location, which would make up for the loss of the old Travis County market, and certainly shorten the drive for many of us in the neighborhood who are addicted to locally grown tomatoes. The owners are looking for local input about the farmers market before they make any further decisions, so they've drawn up a short survey.
You can take the survey here. The survey Web page also includes information about the owners' plans and goals for a farmers market. If you want to share input about the hours you think the market should be open, and the types of vendors you'd like to see there, head over to the survey page now.
Photo by nikkorsnapper. Used under Creative Commons license.
2 comments:
I'm so excited about the prospect of a nearby farmer's market. I'll often go to the Angel Valley Organic Farmer's Market at the Asian American Cultural Center on Jollyville on Wednesday mornings but it's pretty small. I found this fantastic website that gives you a list of the produce in season during a specific time of year and part of the country so you can find out what's ripe and ready to eat locally.
Check it out: http://www.nrdc.org/health/foodmiles/Default.asp
Great news. I live over in Brentwood and we go to the downtown Farmer's market on Sat. and the triangle on Wed. We used to go to the sunset valley market, but the downtown market really improved about a year ago. It's still just about as far, but we make a trip to hit Whole Foods/BookPeople at the same time so it's more convenient for us.
Post a Comment