May We All Grow!
“Don’t ever think that just because you do things differently, you’re wrong.”
It’s the last week of May! What a busy month it has been!
School is ending, it’s Mental Health Awareness Month, and Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Congratulations to all the graduates!
Macon Mental Health Matters has several events going on this month that pertain to maintaining one’s mental health. Follow the links to see more! https://www.maconmentalhealthmatters.com/
Macon Mental Health Matters is a great organization that seeks to help anyone in the Macon-Bibb county area needing mental health services. They help to connect people with mental health advocates to make sure that Macon-Bibb has the mental healthcare it needs.
Kukui Maunakea-Forth, Founder of MA’O Organic Farms
AAPI Heritage Month is still here! There are entirely too many people to list here each week, and my hope is to spotlight those who made an impact in food, nutrition, and agriculture-- at least in part.
This week I wanted to talk about Hawaiian Native Kukui Maunakea-Forth. She is the founder of “MAʻO Organic Farms, an organic farm that embraces Hawaiian culture/tradition and cultivates future generations of farmers and scholars.” MA’O Organic farms strives for an education and collaborative farming approach. This is based on ‘auwai principles of natural resource management, a system developed to prioritize conservation, collective responsibility, and shared bounty. The farm also draws on local youth as its primary labor force because of the educational value and opportunities for students.
Students are given internships and job opportunities through the farm. “With these opportunities, they help supply food for the community and learn about the ‘auwai principle for future generations at the same time.”
We can all learn a bit from the collaborative principles of ‘auwai that Kukui Maunakea-Forth utilizes on her farms. Here are a few links about her:
https://www.agdaily.com/features/important-asian-americans-and-pacific-islanders-in-agriculture/
https://www.greenbiz.com/kukui-maunakea-forth
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/native-hawaiian-digs-her-roots-grow-food-knowledge-and-hope
This past week was weird weather! I strive to keep everyone safe, and the weather report is sometimes not the most helpful tool.The morning of market day, I consider the winds and the amount of storming that will be happening around the time of the market. If the winds and the storms are too much, that morning, then that is how we decide if the market gets canceled that day. We are a rain or shine market, but not if the weather is dangerous.
All of our wonderful plans for last week simply got pushed back to tomorrow! This means Sweet Rain Vegan Bakeshop is debuting tomorrow! Let’s show them a warm welcome!
Kaneisha has watermelons, juices, collards, and possibly spinach. Loy has collards, tomatoes, peppers, peaches, onions, okra, cucumbers, WATERMELON (this is how he texted me this!), sweet potatoes, mangoes, and cantaloupe! Mr. Porter has containers of greens and strawberries, as well as other fresh fruits and vegetables already harvested. Mandy with Mandylandfun has some sunflowers and tomato starts and possibly herbs! Mitchell alfalfa and red clover sprouts, mung bean shoots, buckwheat and salad mix micros, and wild lettuce syrup! Ms. Eva is back from her winter break and she is bringing boiled peanuts and herbs! Dale from Cardinal Ridge Farms is back this week with pecans!
Don’t forget, this week is the week we have Macon Tennis with us! Robin Bateman with Macon-Bibb County Rec Centers is setting up with us for National Tennis Month! She has some really neat activities planned for us! I can hardly wait!
I will take any chance I can get to share my favorite vegetables with you! So here is a recipe I like to make that has two of my favorites! Collards are so amazing for you! If you prefer to have a vegan version, swap your bouillon out for vegetable instead of chicken and leave out the ham. It’s delicious either way!
Thank you so much to everyone who supports this market! We are so incredibly grateful for all of you! Whether you are coming in the rain or the shine or both, we are thankful for the support you show us each week! Whether you have yet to make it to the market, but are sharing our information with others, thank you! We could not do this market without you, our community! We really do love to see each and everyone of you each week! We hope to see you tomorrow!
We are a partner market with Wholesome Wave Georgia to help make your dollars go further at our market!
Bring your SNAP/EBT card to the market tent to double your spending power!
We are always looking for more people to join our fun! If you or anyone you know is interested in becoming a vendor at our market, follow the link below for our vendor application!
Just a hint of all the fun we have to offer! Come join us!