The official start of spring is just about two weeks away, but somebody forgot to tell Mother Nature. The snow and ice on the roads put our 5% Day with Whole Foods Market on hold. But it’s time for a do-over. Next week is predicted to be beautiful and warm, so the 5% Day for the Growing Kids Educational Garden has been rescheduled for Thursday, March 12th!

It takes a lot of effort, plus supplies for classes and the garden itself to make everything work for the kids. That’s why our good friends at Whole Foods Market are helping us out with the special 5% Day to benefit the garden. On Thursday, March 12th, five percent of the sales made at Whole Foods Market (on West McEwen Drive in the Cool Springs area) will be donated to the Growing Kids Educational Garden. So by shopping at Whole Foods Market on 5% Day, you are helping the garden to grow!

The Growing Kids Educational Garden is designed to give children a greater understanding of where food comes from and what it takes to get it from seed to plate. Teaching kids how to garden also gives them the opportunity to learn about more complex subjects such as sustainability and conservation; health and the environment. The free classes at the Growing Kids garden are designed for children kindergarten through 4th grade. It’s all interactive, with kid-centered gardening that allows children to learn through direct experience with each lesson taught.

The garden is a project of the Franklin Farmers Market Educational Foundation, a 501 c 3 non-profit organization dedicated to providing agricultural-based education for health, wellness and environmental stewardship. For more info on the Growing Kids Educational Garden or the Franklin Farmers Market Educational Foundation, email ffmeducationalfoundation@gmail.com . Or look for our special kids garden booth at Whole Foods Market on 5% Day, Thursday March 12th!

Local food blogger Amanda buying fresh baked food from Jones Mill Farm

Over 200 customers traveled ice covered roads to visit nine Farmers and Bakers for fresh local food. So many of our farmers and bakers could not get to market because of dangerous ice covered, and tree blocked roads. Our market farmers provided kale, spinach, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, butternut squash, apples, milk, eggs, beef, chicken, pork, lamb and honey. Our market bakers provided freshly baked breads, sweets, soups, jams, jellies and so much more. We have food serious customers who depend on our farmers for fresh food every Saturday. We are blessed to have the best assembly of local farmers in the state of Tennessee at the Franklin Farmers Market!

Ice covered roads all over Tennessee

So many farmers tried to make it to market like Ralph of West Wind Farms, who could not get past downed trees blocking roads in and around Deer Lodge in East Tennessee. Brenda of Moonshadow Farm could only get a half mile from her farm before having to hit reverse and back all the way back to her farm. Carol and Daniel of Triple L Ranch could not get their delivery van up the hill from their barn in Franklin. So many stories of failed trips by our farmers trying to make market. We are blessed of no reports of accidents trying to get to market.

Eating Ellie’s Old Fashioned Doughnuts is a market tradition!

The main comments from our customers were “Happy to get out of our house after being trapped all week”. On such a cold, windy, icy, rainy day there were smiles from everyone. Danny of Ellie’s Old-Fashioned Doughnuts counted over 110 customers buying his tasty doughnuts. What a following of adults and children who must have some warm fresh made doughnuts each Saturday morning. Large quantities of the basics of milk, eggs and meats purchased at market today. Our nine farmers and bakers who made market today were able to supply large quantities of fresh food for local families.

Thank you to all our customers who depend on our market being open every Saturday of the year. We are blessed to live in Tennessee where so many local farmers provide the best local produce in our state. A big thanks to BB’s Gourmet Pretzel’s, Ellie’s Old-Fashioned Doughnuts, Flying S Farms, Hatcher Family Dairy, Johnson’s Honey Farm, Jones Mill Farm, Kirkview Farm, Pilgrims Produce and River Cottage Farm for braving treacherous ice covered roads to provide what our customers have grown to expect, Farm Fresh Food!

 Visit our photo gallery to view pictures from todays farmers market.

Our grateful farmers and bakers who braved bad icy roads to be at market for our market customers

Ice covered Apple trees at Delvin Farms

Hoping for the ice, not to melt, is new for local farmers. Those are the recurring comments we keep hearing from local farmers. Hank Delvin, Sr of Delvin Farms is serious as he inspects his organic blackberry plants and apple orchard. “We need for the ice not to melt before the predicted three below zero deep freeze hits Thursday morning.” Sub-zero weather is a new event for everyone in Middle Tennessee. Delvin Farms provides certified organic produce for thousands of local families. Protecting outdoor vegetation and animals is on everyone’s mind as Thursday morning subzero temperatures fast approach.

Charlie Hatcher and son Charles break ice so his Dairy Cows can drink water

Charlie Hatcher of Hatcher Family Dairy spent much of the morning with son Charles breaking the ice frozen over a small pond his dairy cows use for drinking water. “We have to break the ice so our cows can have water to drink”. So goes the farm chores this week at Hatcher Family Dairy. Milking cows is an everyday process all year long; the cows don’t stop producing and the daily milking can’t stop. Cows don’t ever go on vacation, and local milk delivery for Tennessee families must stay on schedule, especially with the demand strong when snow and ice hit our state.

Farmers travel from all over Tennessee to the Franklin Farmers Market each Saturday for market. Ralph Cole of West Wind Farms has been driving over 130 miles each Saturday from Deer Lodge Tennessee to the Franklin Farmers Market for his customers. As the ice storm was covering roads in Tennessee Ralph was driving to pick up processed meats for his customers to have this coming Saturday.

Pigs from West Wind Farms

Ralph and wife Kimberly have been keeping a close eye on farm animals making sure they are getting the food and water they need. West Wind Farms was one of the first meat and poultry farms in the U.S. to be certified organic. Hundreds of Tennessee families depend on West Wind Farms to be at the Franklin Farmers Market to buy meats and eggs each market Saturday.

New vegetable seedlings are protected in Kirkview Farm Greenhouses.

Greenhouses are keeping tender vegetation from freezing at Kirkview Farm. It might be February, but Carl Thoni is watching his new plant growth springing up on his farm. Planting seeds early is key for supplying early vegetables for the long lines at Carl and Teresa Thoni’s market booth. Investing in well-built greenhouses has paid off for Carl during all the snow and ice we’ve had this week. All his new plant seedlings are happily growing in the midst what might be the coldest Tennesse winter day in over 100 years.

New market sponsor Randy Stubblefield of the Williamson Farmers Co-op says “local farmers have been coming in to purchase hay, straw, feed and bedding for their animals to protect from the sub-zero temperatures”.

If you would like to see pictures of how the ice and snow is affecting many of our local farmers, you can visit our Ice Storm Farm Pictures in our market photo gallery.

To keep current on all Franklin area news regarding this weeks ice storm and the hard sub-zero freeze visit the Williamson Herald.

Hatcher Dairy Farm, Moonshadow Farm, Flying S Farms, Delvin Farms, Bloomsbury Farm, Kirkview Farm, Noble Springs Dairy, Triple L Ranch, Purple Tree Farm, Tottys Bend Farm, West Wind Farms, Beaverdam Creek Farm, Earth Advocate Research Farm, Legacy Acres Alpacas and Bear Creek Farm all contributed pictures from their farms for this article and website photo gallery.

The Franklin Farmers Market is a year round, every Saturday, farmers market located behind the Factory in Franklin Tennessee.

Come visit the Franklin Farmers Market this Valentine’s Day to find the special home baked sweets or handmade artisan gift for that special person in your life.  Our local bakers will have many Valentine’s Day themed baked goods to take home and enjoy.  Cookies, cupcakes, chocolate dipped strawberries, strawberry cakes, strawberry bread and red velvet chess bars are just a few of the items you will find at the Franklin Farmers Market this market Saturday.

When you purchase one of Tom the Furniture Guys cute mini “Love” signs for your sweetie, you also get a free Sweetheart Pack of doughnuts which includes two warm and fresh doughnuts from Ellie’s Old Fashioned Doughnuts. A limited supply of Love signs are available.

Our hardworking artisans will have many special gift ideas, all handmade and unique gifts for that special someone!

We hope to see everyone on Saturday enjoying a great sunny market Saturday.  Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone!!!

Handmade Love Signs from Tom the Furniture Guy

Beautiful sunshine and warmer temperatures graced our farmer’s market on Saturday! The sunny skies were perfect to shop for local vegetables at market. Our local farmers do such a wonderful job with growing lettuce, kale, winter squash, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, potatoes and so much more.

Organic collards and Kale from Delvin Farms

Local farm grown potatoes from Kirkview Farm

Beautiful lettuce from Beaverdam Creek Farm

Collards and kale from Kirkview Farm

We invite everyone to stop and ask questions of all our farmers, artisans and bakers to learn more about our Tennessee farm food and handcrafted products.

Sunshine and warmer weather brought out a large crowd looking for local foods

Young foodies looking for fresh local food!

Yum! Lucy’s Blueberry Muffins are awesome!

Taking home these cinnamon rolls from Jones Mill Farm

A lovely hand made market bag from old denim jeans

Homemade pies from Pappa C’s are fresh baked

Many of our new customers are surprised to see so much locally grown winter produce we have at market each Saturday. We all enjoy the fresh baked goods our local bakers bring to market. From Italian bread to multigrain bread and sourdough bread all freshly baked just for our farmer’s market. It makes for a great week to have so much fresh farm food to choose from for weekly home meals.

Lucy’s Kitchen had her Tomato Basil and Coconut Thai soup which both are incredible, nothing like tasting fresh made best ingredients. Judy of Jones Mill Farm is feeling much better after surgery and baked a large supply of freshly baked breads for the market day. It was so nice to see Judy’s breads back at market along with her chicken salad, beef stew and pizza bread.

Judy of Jones Mill Farm is back after surgery baking her fresh baked breads

homemade soups, checkin salad and pizza dough from Jones Mill Farm

Ellie’s Old Fashioned Doughnuts are a family favorite, made fresh at market

local baked goods from Flying S Farms include wonderful pound cakes

The new Ford F150 aluminum truck on display at market for the next 3 months…come check it out!

Our market sponsor, Ford Lincoln of Franklin, will have the new Aluminum Ford F150 truck at market each Saturday during the next few months. Many of our farmers and customers were checking the new aluminum Ford truck out and tapping on the fenders curious to see and hear what an aluminum truck is all about. Greg Brown promises to be at market so that you can answer any questions about the new aluminum Ford F150 truck.

Check out our market photo gallery to see more of what we have at market each Saturday. New customers are amazed at how much local produce, baked breads, pies and cakes we have during our winter market. Our artisans have wonderfully handcrafted products to explore for home or as unique handmade gifts.

fresh picked lettuces from Pilgrims Produce

Blueberry muffins from Norton Family Farm

Hope to see everyone at market next Saturday!

Kids kept warm on a cold Franklin Farmers Market day

Families traveled from all over Middle Tennessee to purchase local fresh food from our winter farmers market on a cold sunny Saturday. The organic Brussels Sprouts from Delvin Farms were gone by 10:30 am and so too were some of the popular homemade soups like Tomato Basil from Lucy’s Kitchen and Corn Chowder from Jones Mill Farm. There were still many locally grown winter produce items available all market long such as collards, carrots, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, cabbage, kale and so much more at our winter farmers market.

Homemade tomato basil soup from Lucy’s Kitchen

Just harvested collards from Kirkview Farm

Organic cauliflower from Delvin Farms

Sweet carrots from Paradise Produce

Did you know you can purchase handmade alpaca blankets, ski caps, socks and scarves from the Franklin Farmers Market right here in Franklin Tennessee? Legacy Acres Alpacas raises a large herd of Alpacas not far from our farmer’s market. They bring to market hand made winter garments to help keep us warm from the cold winter weather. Alpaca is silky smooth and warmer and softer to our skin than sheep wools. I love my Alpaca ski cap that keeps my head and ears warm without making my head sweat.

Handcrafted alpaca blankets

Soft and warm alpaca socks

Goat milk soap from Tottys Bend Soap Farm

Stone ground cornmeal from Beaverdam Creek Farm

Handmade barnwood signs from Tom the Furniture Guy

It was a cold 17 degree morning a the farmers market

Be sure to visit market photos from this past Saturday’s market so you know what we have at market. Next week we will have farm fresh lettuce mix from Norton Family Farms along with local produce, canned goods, homemade soups, baked pies, banana nut bread, farm cheeses and so much more! Hope to see you at market this coming Saturday. We are open all year long every Saturday in Franklin Tennessee behind the Factory.  Have a great week and keep warm!

Baked pies from Geraldine’s Greatest Chess Pies

Banana nut bread from BB’s Gourmet Pretzels

Lettuce and kale from Beaverdam Creek Farm

Artisan farm cheese from Moonshadow Farm

Fresh dripped coffee from Roaast

Butternut Squash is a pleasant surprise if you have never tried it

Soupy skies: That’s a pretty good description of the weather last Saturday at the Franklin Farmers Market – soupy wet skies. But it’s appropriate, because January is actually National Soup Month and the FFM is the place to buy the ingredients to make warm, comforting soup to ward off the chill of winter. It looked liked quite a few of you were thinking soup too. We talked to one savvy person who had a bag full of butternut squash she got from one of the farmers. It was destined to be made into a pot of delicious winter squash and apple soup.

Homemade stews and soups from Jones Mill Farm

Fresh made soups from Lucy’s Kitchen

This week’s forecast predicts single digit cold weather heading our way. That kind of cold sort of seeps into your bones, so something that’s both warm, nutritious and easy to make like soup is a good choice for a meal. We saw several people taking home carrots, greens, potatoes, garlic, turnips, squash and more winter veggies to make big pots of soup.

Farm fresh local carrots from Paradise Produce

Local turnip greens from Kirkview Farm

Red potatoes from Kirkview Farm

Fresh picked cabbage from Kirkview Farm

A Winter Farmers Market meal to warm the tummy!

We also saw quite of few of you heading home with beef, chicken and pork from our meat farmers. Good meat, like what you find at the FFM can add a lot of rich flavor to soup. If you missed out on getting the ingredients for homemade soup to ward off the cold, start making your list for what you need from the FFM this week. No matter the cold weather, our farmers will be at the Franklin Farmers Market for you!

A couple of things to note about the winter season at the Franklin Farmers Market – the info booth has gone on hiatus and won’t be back until the spring. And the hours for the Franklin Farmers Market have changed. The winter market now opens at 9am and closes at noon, giving you (and our farmers) an extra hour to sleep late.

Fresh baked bread from Flying S Farms

Organic collard greens from Delvin Farms

We snapped some pretty good photos this past Saturday at the FFM of people, food and big smiles. Check it out with a visit the FFM’s photo gallery!

Whole Foods Market Chef Michael Martin

The food featured this month at the Whole Foods Market Supper Club event could be described as the perfect meal. Local Foodies will enjoy Arugula with Pears, Aged Gouda and Hot Bacon Vinaigrette, followed by Smoked Pork Roast with Roasted Root Vegetables, Southern Style Collard Greens and a Tart Apple Crisp topped with Homemade Crème Fraîche. Better yet, the recipes for these appetizing dishes come from Tennessee farmers. You can be a part of this delicious event on January 23rd. Hosted by Chef Michael Martin, the meal will feature food from local farms created with recipes from the Franklin Farmers Market’s Eating in Season cookbook. As a longtime ally of local farms, the Whole Foods Market has supported the Franklin Farmers Market for several years. The Franklin Farmers Market’s motto of “Real Farmers, Real Food, Real Good” is a natural tie-in with Whole Foods Market’s “Values Matter” campaign. Both organizations have a strong commitment to supporting sustainable agriculture and local communities.

Whole Foods Market Supper Club

Besides enjoying this delicious supper, Chef Michael will also explain how you too can create such a meal, with tips and info on using whole, nutrient dense foods prepared with healthy methods. You’ll also have the opportunity to purchase a copy of the Franklin Farmers Market’s cookbook, Eating in Season. The recipes for Whole Foods Market’s January Supper Club are inspired by the cookbook, along with many other delicious recipes featuring seasonal produce which will allow you to prepare the perfect meal year-round with fresh food from local farms.

The Whole Foods Market Supper Club takes place on Friday, January 23rd at 6pm. The event will be held at Whole Foods Market, located at 1566 West McEwen Drive in the Cool Springs area of Franklin. Tickets for the event are $30. A limited amount of tickets are available. For more information and to purchase tickets, please call 615-550-5660.
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Local Tennesseans enjoying winter market

It was the last Saturday of December and the weather matched the calendar date at the Franklin Farmers Market. Gray skies, blustery winds and a chill in the air hung over the FFM this past Saturday. But that didn’t stop our loyal foodies from paying us a visit. No matter the weather or the season, these people have a commitment to eat good fresh food straight from local farms. So chances are, they don’t need to make any New Year resolutions to lose weight and become healthier. But what about you? Maybe you didn’t eat as much fresh veggies and meats from the FFM as you should have. Maybe you ate too many fast-food meals. Or maybe you noshed out on way too many holiday sweet treats. All of that adds up to a new year resolution to lose some weight and eat healthier meals. The first step to keeping that resolution is to visit the Franklin Farmers Market. You’ve got to have good food to eat and no matter the season, the Franklin Farmers Market is the place to get it. Start with the fresh winter vegetables at the FFM with new Winter Market hours of 9am till 12noon each Saturday.

Organic broccoli from Delvin Farms

butternut squash and sweet potatoes

Tennessee farmers catching up at market

Homemade soups for your week ahead

This past Saturday, we saw smart people taking home veggies such as Brussels sprouts, cabbage and turnips. All of those vegetables protect the body’s DNA from oxidants and help it detoxify carcinogens.

Organic cabbage from Delvin Farms

Turnips and fresh parsley

Collard greens are at the top of the list of vegetables that help to lower cholesterol. Another winter veggie that’s popular at the FFM right now are sweet potatoes. They taste good and have high amounts of vitamin A, vitamin B5, B6 and other nutrients, plus they’re fat free. All of these and more healthy and tasty winter vegetables can be found at the Franklin Farmers Market. So keep that New Year’s resolution for 2015. You can do it with good fresh food from local farms at the Franklin Farmers Market.

collard greens in big supply during winter market

farm lettuce mix from Pilgrims Produce

One of our new year’s resolutions is to let the FFM farmers get a little more shut-eye. So beginning this Saturday, January 3rd, the Franklin Farmers Market will open a bit later. The new hours for the winter market are 9am – noon.

Stone ground cornmeal from Beaverdam Creek Farm

Fresh granola mix from Lucy’s Kitchen

Fresh Farm Eggs and a Farm Calendar from Moonshadow Farm

Local goat cheese from Noble Springs Dairy

Mike Wolfe & Kristin enjoying a Crepe from Crepe A Diem

It’s always fun to see the people pictures taken at the Franklin Farmers Market every Saturday. But there’s also great photos of the good food available too. So take a look at the photo gallery and see what you can find at the FFM. Then make that grocery list, head to the FFM this Saturday and take the right step to keeping your resolution about being happy and healthy in 2015!

local alpaca garments from Legacy Acres Alpacas

Antler necklaces from Antlers

Barnwood Signs hand made from real barnwood from Tom the Furniture Guy