Westfield Farmers Market Newsletter Week of August 25th

For safety reasons, we ask that customers not enter the Market grounds
until the 12 noon opening bell.

For public health and safety, only service animals are permitted to enter the Market.

Parking for the Market
We know that parking has been challenging this season and we appreciate your patience while we work on easing the crunch in the back parking lot.  Market customers may not park in the lot at The Arbors next to the Market. That is private property, and reserved only for staff and visitors of The Arbors.  Any vehicles parked in the Arbors lot without permission are subject to being towed at the owner's expense. 
​ Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

We have been notified by the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) that there have been instances of SNAP card skimming in Massachusetts.  It is recommended that SNAP cardholders change their PIN numbers in order to keep their benefits safe.  Click on this link: mass.gov/service-details/protect-your-benefits-from-skimming for information on how to change PIN numbers.  
Additionally, there have been reports of people receiving scam text messages noting their EBT card has been blocked.  This is not from DTA.  DTA only sends texts from 382-674 and would only direct cardholders to call the DTA Assistance Line (877-382-2363)/EBT Customer Service Line (800-997-2555).  Cardholders should never provide personal information or EBT card number to unidentified callers. 

SNAP MATCH UPDATE

Thanks to generous community support, the SNAP match will be increased to $10 for the last Market of every month!

Market Vendors

AeroGreen Urban Farm
​B's Breads
Been's Beans Coffee
Bev's Patchwork
Boomsma Family Farm
Crystal Clear Emotions
Doce Mercer
Gray Raven Farm
Growing with Minerals
​Mark's Clay Creations
Meadow Burn Farm
Mike's Crafts

Optix Mushrooms
Pignatare’s Farm ​
Pitchfork Farm
The Prop Shop Plants
Ray's Family Farm
Relax Rinse Repeat
Sandy Hill Apiary
​The Savoy
Sweet City
Sweet JJ's
Vlad's Fired Pizza
West Parish Orchard

Music at the Market

Eva Cappelli         12pm-2:30pm

​Linda O'Neil & Tom Boido      2:30pm-5pm

Vendor Spotlight: Sandy Hill Apiary

Sandy Hill Apiary offers raw wildflower honey from our hives in Westfield.  Hand crafted Beeswax food wraps- a reusable, eco-friendly alternative to plastic wrap using wax from our hives.  Beeswax lip balm, beeswax hand cream and honey sticks.  Lovingly made unique and fun  bee crafts such as wood signs, crocheted bees, bee gnomes and more.  This week, Sandy Hill Apiary will be offering sweet corn from McKinstry’s Market Garden this week at the Westfield Farmers Market.  McKinstry’s Market Garden in Chicopee has been family owned and operated for over 100 years and is best known for their delicious sweet corn.  Try it and see why people rave about it. 

 Next Week at the Market: 
Covid Vaccine Clinic

On Thursday, September 1st, the Market will host a Covid vaccine clinic from 11am-3pm.  

​Please follow this link to pre-register:
https://home.color.com/vaccine/register/behavioralhealth?calendar=3eff03e9-f2de-48a7-985c-96cd18b2de55

Recipe of the Week

Simplest Mushroom Pasta
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Servings: 4    Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• Kosher salt
• 1 pound dried pasta, any shape you like
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons salted or unsalted butter
• 1 pound fresh mushrooms of choice, sliced thin 
• 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup crème fraiche or mascarpone, Greek yogurt, or sour cream
• Handful chopped chives or parsley, to finish (optional)
• Grated parmesan or pecorino

Directions
Bring a large pot of very well-salted water to a boil and cook pasta in it until 1 to 2 minutes shy of package suggestion. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water before you drain the pot. Meanwhile, heat your largest sauté pan over high heat. Once hot, add the olive oil and butter. Once the butter has melted, add the mushrooms in as close to an even layer as possible and don’t move them for about 3 minutes, until they’re browned underneath. Sprinkle with garlic and a good amount of salt and pepper (seasoning is everything here) and give them a stir. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are soft and tender and any liquid expelled has cooked off, about 5 minutes.  Taste the mushroom mixture; you want it very well-seasoned at this point.
Add your drained pasta and half of the reserved pasta water and cook, stirring, until the pasta absorbs most of the liquid, adding more of the reserved pasta water if necessary to keep it a little saucy, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the crème fraîche. [If using heavy cream, because it’s thinner, I’d cook it it onto the pasta for 30 to 60 seconds on the stove.] Adjust seasoning, if needed, and finish with chives and cheese. Eat right away.

Rachel’s Table provides food via the vendors and patrons of the Westfield Farmers' Market to "Reduce Waste and Relieve Hunger." Market customers may bring unexpired non-perishable items from home, or make fresh produce purchases for Rachel's Table the day of the Market, and bring them to the Market Table, where they will be held until pickup at the end of the day. Rachel’s Table volunteers will deliver to agencies that feed the food insecure in Westfield as well as further into Hampden, Hampshire or Franklin Counties. Your purchases will go far in alleviating hunger amongst our neighbors. 

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"Summer has always been good to me,
even the bittersweet end, 
with the slanted yellow light."

– Paul Monette