Local Food Rocks

We think local food rocks, which seems to be something appropriate to say in Cleveland. Cleveland excels when it comes to growing, eating, buying and sharing local food, and our place on the rock map was etched into the US coastline with the building of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on our shore. 

Thinking about food and rock brings to mind some classic songs with fresh produce and other local (to Ohio) food types in the title...

• St. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
• Blueberry Hill
• Strawberry Fields Forever
• A Taste of Honey    

... Which then led to our own attempts at putting the "local food" in rock songs. Here are our favorites:

• Let It Beet
• In the Dill of the Night
• I Walk the Brine
• Good Golly Miss Parsley
• Plum as You Are    
• Sweet Greens Are Made of This
• Nothing Compares to Root
• Turn the Bean Around

After this brainstorming session, we got a little hungry (and inspired). So we browsed over to Pinterest and renamed our boards to local food-rock song titles.

Surely we haven't come up with the best. Have a good one to add to our list? Share it with @growhio #localfoodrocks on twitter or facebook.

Harvest Photo Spread

After a recent trip to Countryside Conservancy's Farmers Market at Howe Meadow, our camera was loaded with colorful images from the late summer harvest. We just had to share! Want to see more?

Put a Fork in It! 5 Myths of Local Food

Local food is way too expensive.

Buying directly from local farmers cuts out the middleman and hundreds of transportation miles, so sometimes local produce prices are comparable to similar products in the grocery store. The added benefits of local (fresher and tastier!) can make the difference more worthwhile. Growing your own food is also a great way to get your hands on fresh affordable food on a tight budget.

Buying local doesn't matter.

Buying locally or directly from farmers can dramatically increase a farmer's incomer while dramatically decreasing the amount of CO2 expending in planting, tending, growing, transporting and storing your food. And it helps circulate our food dollars in our local economy.   

Certified organic food is always better.

There are many farmers in Northeast Ohio who actually grow produce using organic methods, but they are not certified because the administrative costs of obtaining and maintaining organic certification outweigh the benefits of certification. The great thing about local food is that you are often buying directly from the farmer, so you can ask him or her questions about growing methods that are most important to you. 

There's no where to buy local in Cleveland.

With more than 70 farmers markets, 40 CSAs and 100's of farms selling locally grown and raised foods directly to consumers, Northeast Ohio boasts a bounty of options for buying local.

You can only eat locally grown foods in the summer.

With hoophouses and greenhouses, farmers in our area are able to grow produce well before spring and well after we've pulled our winter coats out of storage. And products like meat, honey, eggs, maple syrup and preserves are available year round, so eat up and enjoy!

Tuesday 10/15 at Tremont Farmers Market

Carving Pumpkins available this week at the  TFM customer service booth  $4 each for Large Orange or $2 for White Luminas! All proceeds benefit TFM!  BE SURE TO SCROLL THROUGH THIS EMAIL FOR SOME EXCITING NEWS ON OUR HolidayMart!

Tremont Farmers' Market! FRESH LOCAL VEGGIES & FOOD EVERY TUESDAY THRU OCT 30 IN LINCOLN PARK TREMONT FARMERS' MARKET  TUESDAYS 4-7pm LINCOLN PARK PARKING ON BOTH SIDES OF WEST 14TH STREET BETWEEN STARKWEATHER AND KENILWORTH FROM 2-9PM Enjoy a great dinner from one of our food vendors and shop from the best farmers, vendors & artists!    Everything you need for Good Eating! Vendors: Abby's Kitchen, Anna in the Raw Kale Chips, Charbel Soaps, Community Greenhouse Partners, J&R Farms, Lakeside Produce, La Bellaria Patisseries, Lucky Penny Creamery, JB Wood n Craft, George Cormack Publish Ohio, Godmother's Pizza,  Holly Ridge Nurseries, Morning DEW Orchards, MorningSide Farm, Noon Knife Sharpening, Ohio City Pasta, Ohio Farm Direct, Peddler Bread, Plant Kingdom Bakery, Por-Bar Farms, Pride of Cleveland Pierogies, SpiceHound, Sugar Me Desserterie, SweetHeart Granola, t by Sarah, Sterling by Tom Cole, Urban Growth Farm & Valley City Fungi Prepared Food Vendors:   Godmother's, Mad Mouth Gyros,Scott's Fire & Ice Catering  & Zydecko Cajun Bistro Returns!     NonProfits & Sponsors: MetroHealth PanCreatic Cancer Action Network Neighborhood Family Practice Second Hand Mutts Cleveland Animal Protective League Earth Day Coalition Citi Roc Real Estate Moms Clean Air Force Highlights:    Anna in the Raw Kale Chips  $5.95! Made by chef Anna Harouvis at Good to Go Cafe!    Pierogies of Cleveland Cooking up hot Pierogies!    Noon Knife Sharpening Bring your sharpenables OCT 16th!      Lucky Penny Creamery Sheep milk Ricotta and goats milk soap    Godmother's Pasta Sauces  Marinara, Roasted Red Pepper & Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Hand Made Breads Transylvanian Rounds, Baguettes, Wheat/White Sour Dough loaves, Focaccia Bread & FocacciaRolled Breads  green olive, tomato & pepperoni Pizza by the Slice    La Bellaria Patisseries  Enjoy the flavors of the season with La Bellaria Pâtisseries homemade Fleur de Sel Caramels, hand crafted Caramel Apples that are approximately 150 calories and 0 Trans Fat and finally taste our Pumpkin Pie Bark - creamy Ghirardelli white chocolate, pumpkin, caramel, nutmeg and cinnamon all blended for an irresistible treat.    Morning DEW Orchard Apples, apples & more apples!    Ohio Farm Direct 100 % grass fed cheese    Por-Bar Farms Beets, Carrots, Scallions, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Asian Greens, Kale, Chili & Sweet Peppers      J&R Farms Eggs, Chicken, beef & pork!     Plant Kingdom Bakery Organic chocolate chip celebration featuring Chocolate cherry Gluten free Hemp bars, Chocolate crunchy bars w/ cardamon and sea salt, And peanutty+chocolate lucious NO BAKE GOO BALLS    Abby's Kitchen Red Raspberry Jam, Blackberry Jam, Ohio Apple Jam and Concord Grape Jam!   MorningSide Farm  Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Beets, Fresh Ginger, Lettuce, Arugula, Parsley, Celery, Mustard Greens, Rapini Greens, Swiss Chard, Kale, Sweet & Hot Peppers, Potatoes, Onions & More!   SpiceHound Spice up your tailgating dishes!     Valley City Fungi Beautiful shiitake, lionsmane along with grey and yellow oyster mushrooms.   Also 4 varieties of fresh garlic  EAT MORE FUNGI    Scott's Fire & Ice Fire baked Artisinal Pizza & Gelatto   Mad Mouth Gyros  Fresh Cut Gyros Chicken Gyros TFM Garden Gyros Baklava     Make it a Great Day and see you at the Market! Jim Votava- TFM Manager       Featured Food Vendor!   Zydeco Bistro!           CHEF DEMO   Hosted by     Sue Carrara! New apple recipes...come out and try wonderful apples at the market. An Apple a day keeps the doctor away!    Tremont Eats!           Featured Musician    ROB DUSKEY!     Learn More!      Our WKYC Weather Fairy Holly Strano!     Every week our favorite weather fairy waves her magic wand and keeps us warm and dry at the Tremont Farmers' Market!   Check out your Tuesday shopping forecast at  WKYC WEATHER    NOW ABAILABLE AT THE CUSTOMER SERVICE BOOTH!    Check out the Tremont Farmers' Market Three Season Recipe Book!   Recipes from local chefs and farmers on how to use all the GOOD LOCAL FOOD!   $10   EBT PROUDLY ACCEPTED  EBT PRODUCE PERKS!  Starting in May of 2012, customers utilizing the Ohio Direction Card at participating famers' markets throughout Cuyahoga County can receive extra money or PRODUCE PERKS (in the form of market-dispensed tokens) towards the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables. To receive your PRODUCE PERKS locate the Customer Service booth at any of the 17 participating farmers' market and use your Ohio Direction Card to purchase tokens. The farmers' market will provide a dollar-for-dollar match (up to $10) in PRODUCE PERKS tokens that can be used to purchase fresh produce from local farmers. "Produce Perks" will be redeemable at all participating markets and will be available while supplies last. How does this incentive differ from last year? Last year Ohio Direction Card customers were able to receive an extra $5 for every transaction they made for $5 or more at participating farmers' markets to use on all Ohio Direction Card eligible food items. The 2012 incentive is limited for use on fruits and vegetables only and starts with the first dollar you spend. There is no minimal transaction amount necessary to receive incentive tokens, therefore you can spend $1 and earn another $1. For more information and to see which markets are participating, please visit: Cleveland - Cuyahoga Food Policy Coalition FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE! TO REGISTER WITH HERMES CLICK HERE! Metrohealth is our title presenter! We are proud to announce our new title presenter MetroHealth! Stay tuned for more information on our partnership!   Learn More...

Local Food Trending on Twitter

What's Trending in Local Food on Twitter?

• Top Images
• Top Videos
• Top Tweets

Want more local food tweet action? Here are some local handles we're following:

• @CCCFoodPolicy - The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Food Policy Coalition was formed in 2007 to help bring about public and private policy-based changes to promote a just food system.
• @edibleCleveland - Our Region, Our Stories, Our Food, Season by Season. Our FALL issue is out! Find out where you can get a free copy at ediblecleveland.com.
• @RepMarciaFudge - Congresswoman Fudge works on behalf of those living in Ohio's 11th district to create jobs, combat predatory lending, improve health care, and reform education.
• @NPI_CLE - Neighborhood Progress Inc is a local community development funding intermediary with over 20 years of experience in community revitalization work in Cleveland.
• @EcoWatch - EcoWatch is an online news service that supports the work of more than 1,000 grassroots environmental organizations and activists worldwide.
• @ClevelandMarket - Kamm’s Corners Farmers Market features farm fresh produce and products - offering an alternative shopping experience and a neighborhood destination.
• @DFMPublicSquare - Downtown Farmers Market
• @NUFarmersMarket - North Union Farmers Mkt is a nonprofit org. that runs producer only farmer's markets in NE Ohio.
• @CWRUFarm - Tweets from Case Western Reserve University's Squire Valleevue and Valley Ridge Farms.
• @MaggiesFarm2 - Grow and produce quality local food to create opportunities for access to local food in Stockyards and to provide equitable income opportunities.
• @TheChefsGarden - Our sustainable family farm has been providing vegetables of exceptional quality to the most discerning chefs in the world for nearly 30 years.

Happenings at Kamm's Corners Farmers Market October 7

Market Members! Backyard Gardens Blaze Gourmet Bluebirds Meadows  Campbell's Popcorn City Club Catering Flying Monkey Tye Dye Hummingbird Creations Instant Concepts Jenny’s Sweets Jimmy’s Jams Jorgensen’s Apiary Judy's Oasis Kaskey Farms Knoble Farms Kernels by Christie L&L Knife Sharpening Lucy’s Sweet Surrender May's Produce Mitchell's Ice Cream Needham Gardens No Whey Chocolates Ohio City Pasta Ohio Farm Direct Pierogies of Cleveland Plant Kingdom Roots of Change Smith's Fruit Farm Spicehound Sweets and Treats Tea Hills Farm The Enchanted Florist The Olive Tap The Olive & The Grape Troubadour Coffee West Park Massotherapy White Family Farm Plus... Chefs, Artists, Wellness, and Musical Guests!  Calling all gardeners,   Free Perennial Exchange  THIS Sunday, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.   Dig up and divide your plants, place them in containers, water them well and bring them to market to trade. Please note, this is a free exchange - the sale of plants will not be allowed.   Indoor Market Begins 11/11/12!   The outdoor season is coming to an end on October 14th, but you can still get your market favorites the 2nd Sunday of each month indoors at the Cretan Party Center at 3853 W. 168th, across from the Outdoor Market lot.   Featuring Seasonal Fruits & Veggies, Beef, Pork, Poultry, Sausages, Burgers, Chicken Patties, Cheese, Eggs, Pasta, Pierogies, Bread, Bakery, Jelly, Salsa, Hot Sauce, Spices, Olive Oil, Vinegar, Honey, Maple Syrup, Chocolate, Snack Bars, Popcorn, Coffee, Tea, Ice Cream, Gyros & Prepared Greek Food, Soaps, Lotions, Essential Oils, Cut Flowers, Artist & Community Guestsand more! 10/7/12 Music: The Mighty Tigues - Jim & Marysa Tigue  Chef Demo: Cafe Roma Artist: Flying Monkey Tye Dye & Steph-A-Knees hair accessories  Wellness: Priority Home Health Care - Free Blood Pressure Screenings Plus: WIC coupon distribution from 10 a.m. - Noon    10/14/12 Music: The Sunrise - Jim & Rebecca Mileti Artist: Roxanne Anderson - Mixed Media Pieces Wellness: West Park Massotherapy - Chair Massage & Stuart Survance - Everything about Bicycling  Plus: Spicehound     Mark your calendar: 10/14/12 - Last Outdoor Market 11/11/12 - First Indoor Market 11/13/12 - Dine at Backstage Bar 11 a.m to 10 p.m. and 20% of your purchases* will benefit The Kamm’s Corners Farmers Market. Back Stage Bar - 17007 Lorain Ave.    *must present flyer - pick one up at the market or click here to view and print. Need New Countertops?     Raffle Drawing October 14th    Enter to win up to 30 sq. ft of Corian or Zodiaq countertops and a stainless steel sink from Rocksolid Stone Works for only $5!    Proceeds benefit the Kamm’s Corners Farmers Market.   Prize is fully transferable. No limit on ticket purchase quantities.   Visit the info tent for details or e-mail kcfarmersmarket@gmail.com   Produce Perks Up to $10 Extra!     When you use your EBT card at KCFM and participating farmers markets, receive up to ten dollars in extra tokens to spend on produce!     E-newsletter is brought to you by City Club Catering.   Fairview Hospital, HCR Manor Care, Kamm’s Corners Development Corporation, Kamm’s Plaza, Neighborhood Connections, Priority Home Health Care, Rocksolid Stone Works, and  River’s Edge Center.

17407 Lorain Avenue, Suite 200 | Cleveland, OH 44111 US