SNAP Your Fingers at DLFM!

Did you know you can pay for fresh produce at Dexter Lake Farmers' Market using your SNAP debit card? We also accept other forms of plastic, like credit and debit cards.

We bring it up because our e-terminal was out of service the past two weeks of the market, but it's back on now! We apologize to those of you who might not have been able to use your credit, debit or SNAP cards.

Bonny Erickson, pictured at left, is the one responsible for spending the time on phone calls and doing the tedious research to get our e-terminal back on-line.  Thank-you Bonny.
Bonny and her husband David Erickson, Dexter residents, were part of the original group which started the market.  They are on the market board, and have played roles in market management since the first year of operation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

MUSIC AT THE MARKET

In addition to paying with SNAP, you can also snap your fingers to the beat of talented local musicians every Sunday at DLFM!
We all enjoyed the music of High Mountain Stand, pictured below, at the market in June.  Music makes the market such a "festive" place, people often stay and socialize with friends, old and new.
     This summer we have music scheduled through the end of August, and hopefully through the complete market season.  Next week's musician is Lea Jones.  You have a treat in store for you when you hear her play.  Hope to see you there next Sunday!

Plums, Pizza and a Whole Lot More at the Market this Summer

Dexter Lake Farmers Market 

Open Sunday noon til 3 PM 

Dexter Lake Park on Highway 58 

 

 Come on down to the market this Sunday and every Sunday through September! 

We expect a great selection of local vegetables and berries, wood-fired oven pizza made from scratch on-site, fruit smoothies, and a unique variety of local crafts.

What's on tap for the next couple of weeks?

These green gauge were photographed on July 5th in the Dexter area.
In a couple of weeks, they'll be ripe and available for purchase at the market!
 

Looks like a good plum season in the Cascade Foothills area this year. They're soaking up the summer sun and ripening to perfection. Green gauge plums, yellow plums, tart red plums - you name it! The plums will ripen up later this month.

Gail Gould and Phil Robbins have both started bringing in blueberries and we hope for a continuing supply as well as another week or so of raspberries.

Pam Driscoll of Dexter is pictured at left with a pizza, just getting ready to pop it in the wood fired oven to bake it for a happy customer. Pam and Donaldo are popular food vendors at Dexter Lake Farmers Market and many other local fairs and celebrations. In addition, Pam is a well known local activist. She has organized around many issues, including Parvin Butte and climate change. She started the Dexter Lake Farmers Market and is once again the market manager, after performing that job for the first two years and then dropping back to our "support team" for the past two years.

Thanks to all those who have volunteered to make Dexter Lake Farmers' Market happen, and for those of you who come to buy from our vendors and enjoy the farmers' market atmosphere. We hope you enjoy eating wholesome, nutrient dense local food for an increasing portion of your diet.

To your health! Farmers, customers, and volunteers, all of us make the market a welcoming and integral part of the Cascade Foothills communities.

Closed for the Season

The Dexter Lake Farmer's Market is closed for the season.

The first post-season meeting of the DLFM was held at the Dexter Fire Hall at 7:30 PM, Wednesday 10/17/12

Present: Phil and Jan Robbins, Cort Richer, Pam Driscoll, Bonny Erickson, Dave Erickson, Marion Toepke McLean.

Marion reviewed the history and present situation of the market. We had run the market for three years on all-volunteer energy, and then this past summer we had Lauren Asprooth as a market day assistant, including doing the signs, for which she was paid.

The market was started by a group of people who became the first board. Marion, Pam, Bonny, David, and Sarah Hucka. Pam was the driving force in getting the group together and starting the market, and was market manager for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. She registered the market as a limited liability company. At the time we talked about a non-profit as the ideal form for the market, but did not initiate the process of becoming a non-profit.

In 2011 Marion became the registered owner and market manager, and over two seasons we evolved to having a "management team" which was Marion, Bonny and David, while Pam put in energy but concentrated on Pizzaldo.The recent season it has been hard for Marion, Bonny and David to keep up with the work of the market, and we have looked at the possibility of getting some grant money so we could hire someone for market manager tasks.

Bonny gives the financial report. The market is in sound financial condition and has continued to add to our reserve fund at about the same rate as for previous years.

Pam shared that she will be able to increase her time with the market and step back into market management at this point. She discussed stream-lining market management and the tasks of market management, so the work of market management would be easier.

Discussion of stream-lining the market ensues. Suggestions: drop consignment booth, SNAP cards, debit/credit cards. No tokens. Operate on a no-cash basis. Vendors would take care of the cash aspect, the market would use checks for any market-day disbursements. Vendors might pay market fees yearly only, no exchange of money at all on market day. (Bonny and David went to a well established farmers market in Minnesota where they do that).

Bonny spoke up against dropping the SNAP cards, stating that part of the community service of the market is to bring in SNAP (foodstamp) card customers, and noting that Dexter has a large low income population. Support for this sentiment was given by others.

Action point: No consignment booth. Encourage vendors to sell product for community members. Consensus on this plan.

Jan Robbins, Bonny, David, Marion and Pam all volunteered to act as Market manager on a rotating basis during the 2013 season.

We discussed taking SNAP and perhaps debit/credit cards but without using tokens, and paying vendors for these transactions by check.

We also discussed the fee structure for the market and perhaps going to $15 per market for food vendors and $10 per market for craft vendors. No paying a % of intake for anyone.

David has the website up and running, using the services of one of the employees of his private business. Thank you David! Let him know if you have any problem accessing the site.

It was commented that the e-newsletters this past season were good publicity and it was asked if they can be continued next season. Marion agrees to this, possibly with someone else as a substitute to do a newsletter if she's out of town.

Upcoming tasks: Prepare the annual report for the Parks Department. Marion will do this.

Next meeting was set for 6 PM December 5, at the Dexter Fire Hall.

Members will keep working on market planning and maybe a meeting or small group meeting might be set before the Dec. 5 meeting.

I apologize to those market members who might not have made it to this meeting, I never sent out a final meeting announcement confirming the time and date. Busy working! A week at the clinic in Astoria and then  back home for a week of work. Again, sorry for any inconvenience. Hope we see you at our next meeting!

We are heading toward fall and our market is featuring lovely local crafts, fresh fruit and vegetables, bakery products, pickles, jam, and other preserves.

We have enjoyed the presence of three local crafters this past season. Many of our customers are enjoying jewelry made by Martha Moulton of PolkaDot Pony. Martha offers a variety of jewelry, including silver and precious stones. My husband loves the key chain with enamel evergreen trees worked in silver that I got him for Father's Day!

Denise Davis of Karamadillo Clayworks creates beautiful pottery that will make an exquisite addition to any dining area. Using natural leaves and flowers which are fired into each piece, Denise presents a blend of art and nature perfect for autumn parties and display.

So much joy is found in the many works of artistic crafter Lorna Pearman. Lorna not only creates beautiful knitted garments but will also sell you the pattern if you are inclined to knit the product yourself. She also offers her artistic photography printed on greeting cards and handcrafted soap using homegrown herbs. Both of these make lovely gifts - get a head start on your Christmas list!

We only have two more markets scheduled for this year - September 23 and September 30, the last Sunday of the month. We hope to see you there!

Enjoy smoothies, pizza, baked goods, and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, all produced locally.

Here Sarah Hucka of Circle H Farm on Lost Creek Road and Sherry Reyna of Fern's Edge Goat Dairy in Dexter enjoy a chat at the market. Sarah is a founding member of Dexter Lake Farmer's Market and is a member of our board. She is known throughout the region for high-quality farm produce. Sherry's artisan cheeses are one of the treasures of Dexter Lake Farmer's Market and of the region.

Cameron Mikkelson and his partner Janene are new to Dexter Lake Farmer's Market this year. Their farm, C & M Heirloom Organics, has quickly become popular for high-quality fruits and vegetables. Cameron began this, his first season at the market, by creating a sign pointing the way to the market entrance. This has brought many new people to the market, for which we are grateful!

Thanks to all our vendors, workers, volunteers, and the public for making this a good year at the market. Your efforts have made it all possible.

Music, crafts, farm-fresh fruits and vegetables, pizza, and much more Sunday September 9 at Dexter Lake Farmer's Market! Support your local farmer's market and meet friends and neighbors.

Jeweler Martha Moulton of PolkaDot Pony has been with the market all season selling her high-quality jewelry. You will enjoy the artistry of her silver work and her wide variety of offerings. Pictured here, she visits with long-time friend Megan Perkins. Looking for a special gift for a birthday or anniversary? Come see PolkaDot Pony at Dexter Lake Farmer's Market next Sunday!

Mellow minstrel Matt Krein will be back at the market next Sunday as well. Sip your fruit smoothie and vist or just daydream as Matt plays his melodious tuns.

There will also be local corn and baked goods from Annette Persher's Riverbend farm kitchen. Other local farmers include Honor Earth Farm, C&M Heirloom Organics, Circle H Farm, Cheviot Hill Farm (offering local lamb and other farm products), and Robbins Rock Farm.

This past week we had our lamb chops with steamed green beans and a fresh garden salad. One chop was left for me to take to work for my lunch. All local, fresh food, and delicious! It is a pleasure and a health benefit to enjoy the bounty of food produced in our own area in such abundance this time of year!

Our apologies to debit, credit and SNAP card customers; we still do not have a working e-terminal to process your transactions. We are, however, able to accept farm-direct checks and WIC fruit and vegetable vouchers. We are committed to restoring these services in the future.
We hope to see you at the market next Sunday. Tell your friends and neighbors. It's a pleasant place to sit and visit and enjoy a cool breeze from the lake.

This week at the Dexter Lake Farmer's Market,enjoy fruit smoothies, pies, cookies and other delicious baked items,blueberries, and many other fruits and vegetables.

Our vendors continue to offer local corn. We also feature local arts and crafts!

Lorna Pearman of Dexter, a knitter and designer of knitted items, artistic photographer, master gardener and soap maker, is in her third year with Dexter Lake Farmers Market. Above, she is pictured with her husband Dennis Pearman; with other family members, they perform as the musical group "The Pears". In front of Dennis and Lorna are samples of the greeting cards made from her lovely photographs.Go to http://peargirlknits.blogspot.com/ or http://peargirlphotography.blogspot.com to see some of Lorna's creations.

Jeweler Martha Moulton has been with us for most of this summer's markets. Her high quality items are a joy to behold, and you will find a wide range of prices with something for every budget.

We have a special treat coming Sunday August 26, when potter Denise Davis of Karmadillo Creations will be at the market. Denise make pottery items with leaves or flowers pressed into the glaze.

Birthday or anniversary coming up? Come shopping with the craft vendors of Dexter Lake Farmers Market.

To the left, you can see some of Lorna's knitted items. Come to the market to see more!

Did you enjoy your pizza last Sunday? PizzAldo will be gone on Aug. 19; he and Pam will be back to make pizza for you on Sunday Aug. 26.