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ALG Market Open for August 25


Athens Locally Grown

How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.

Market News

Here we are, nearly to September! If you’re one of the 97% of people in town affected by the start of the school year, I hope it’s been a smooth transition for you. Game days are nearly upon us, too, so the sleepy summer town of Athens has truly been replaced with the bustling city of Athens.

Thinking of all the growth of both the town and the university in recent years, I want to shine a light on one of the unequivocally great areas of growth: UGA’s sustainable agriculture program. It didn’t even exist a few years ago, and already it’s become one of the premier programs of its kind in the country. Not only are students getting immersed in it full time, but the program also offers workshops and classes for new and long-time growers alike, all across the state. Looking at the calendar of events here: http://sustainagga.org/news.html, I see workshops of small ponds, livestock management, attracting honeybees and other pollinators to your garden, growing cover crops, and field trips to working sustainable farms. All of these are open to the public, and you can find details and registration links there on the calendar.

They also offer a journeyman training program for interested beginning growers, even those who (as I did) want to start part time. They have a whole section of information and links elsewhere for people interested in small farms and other small food producing operations, located here: http://sustainagga.org/SmallFarms.html. That page is one of the most comprehensive resources for beginners I’ve seen anywhere, and I wish I had something like that when I was transitioning my large garden to a market microfarm some fifteen years ago.

It’s wonderful to see so much progress in the program in so little time, especially since the university (and Georgia agriculture in general) had such a reputation for being anti-organic for so long. The overall emphasis is still overwhelmingly in favor of industrial agriculture, but no longer exclusively. And it’ll only get better from here.

Thanks so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you on Thursday at Ben’s Bikes at the corner of Pope and Broad Streets from 4:30 to 8pm!

Other Area Farmers Markets

The Athens Farmers Market is open on Saturdays at Bishop Park and Wednesday afternoons downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market from the Athens Land Trust is open Saturday mornings and Wednesdays from 11am-2pm in the atrium at St. Mary’s Hospital. They have a website too. The Comer Farmers’ Market is open for the season on Saturday mornings from 9am to noon. Check www.facebook.com/comerfm for more information. The Oconee County Farmers Market is open on Saturdays in Watkinsville. Their website is www.oconeefarmersmarket.org. Washington, GA also has a lovely little Saturday market, running from 9-1. You can learn all about them here: www.washingtonfarmersmkt.com. If you know of any other area markets operating, please let me know.

All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest, and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!