Kristin Wessell, manager of the Uptown Mt. Lebanon Farmers Market [1], has been working on some new programs and ideas for the market, which goes from 9 to noon every Saturday through October.
Debuting this month is the POP club for kids. POP (Power Of Produce) is a very successful nationwide club that originated three years ago at the Oregon City Farmers Market [2] just south of Portland. The program allows kids to learn more about the food they eat, where it comes from and how it’s grown, and making healthy eating choices.
Club members get tokens to buy produce every time they come to the market. Other activities include an exercise club, scavenger hunts, cooking demonstrations and the “Two-Bite Club,” where kids agree to take at least two bites of an unfamiliar food (no baluts [3], though—that’s a promise).
[4]Other plans still in the works include cooking demonstrations for adults, speakers on nutrition, tie-ins with Uptown businesses and possibly some bands, if Wessell can find any who want to get up that early.
“We definitely want some more entertainment,” she says.
Along with many old favorites (like the salsa guy), a couple of the new vendors Wessell has lined up are Olive and Marlowe [5] artisanal olive oils and balsamic vinegars, and Tupelo Honey Teas [6].
Also this month, be on the lookout for the Mt. Lebanon Lions Club Farmers Market, [7] which starts up Wednesday, June 18, from 4 to 7, at the Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church, 975 Washington Road.