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"The Dacula Farmer's Market"
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Rancho Alegre Farm
Every Saturday
**8:30AM-12PM**
Rain or Shine |
In This Issue:  *Greeting from Market Manager *Community Events: Upcoming & Recent Events *News Article, "An Old School Bus Brings Local Food" *Tip Article, "A Savings Tip from Grains-N-More" *Shopping Highlights, Dacula Natural Buyer's Club, Grains-N-More, & Johnston Family Dairy
*Farm Highlights, LEARN, RIDE, & GATHER at Rancho Alegre *Sidebar, This Week's Vendors |
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Greetings!
Somehow we survived the torrents of rain Saturday at the market. The rain was wonderful for local gardens and pastures. Salad greens, Swiss chard, turnips, radishes, and chicory are growing like weeds so they should be plentiful at this coming Saturday's market. Of course it is Buyer's Club day so you'll want to get your orders in by today by the end of the day.
On a sad note, I have given notice to the Dacula Farmer's Market. May 8th will be my last day as manager and as a regular vendor. Sugar Loaf Parkway is slated to go across Stokes Family Farm in the very near future. According to our most recent information, we expect their offer within the next 30 days and to lose between 3 and 5 acres of our prime pasture. My challenge is to plant thousands of trees to buffer the remaining farm from the new road and to rebuild pastures. We may also have to move the house and rebuild our buildings. Stokes Family Farm will still exist and sell beef, pork and produce. However, the the current farm took 30 years to build, and now we have to rebuild. If you would like to know more about the changes we are facing, please contact me at StokesFarm@bellsouth.net.
The Dacula Farmer's Market is a passion of mine. It has provided local vendors and customers a place to meet and share products since October of last year. Please continue to support the market under Pilar Quintero's guidance. She has been very generous to offer Rancho Alegre as a location for us all to come together. I'll look forward to seeing you all in the coming two weeks.
Pilar would also like to let everyone know that she is currently recruiting for Gwinnett Locally Grown. If you are interested in becoming a grower for this Tuesday online market, please visit gwinnett.locallygrown.net, create an account, and register yourself on the "Our Growers" page. She hopes this extension of the Locally Grown Network will come to fruition in late May or early June.
Warmest regards,
Anthony Stokes, Market Manager
678-863-9612
P.S. Please note that the market hours change to our summer hours of **8:30AM-12PM** this Saturday.
For the latest updates and reminders from the Dacula Farmer's Market, become a fan of our Facebook page. |
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COMMUNITY EVENTS
Upcoming Events:
*Check out the event calendar on our website for upcoming workshops about baking bread and cooking breakfast from Fran of Grains-N-More and from other talented creators.
*Rancho Alegre is trying to form a discussion and networking group for like-minded community members to gather at the farm once a month to discuss ideas and projects like community farming/land sharing and various natural and holistic lifestyle practices. If you have an idea you want to share or would just like to attend, email us.
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Recent Events:
*Rancho Alegre Farm was excited to host more than 500 Girl Scouts from the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta this past weekend for Camp Gwinnett.
*A warm and gracious thank you to Alexis Ayala and Anthony Stokes for coordinating the screening of the film Food Matters last month. It was well attended. The potluck dinner before was full of scrumptious and diverse dishes with more than enough for everyone. |
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| An Old School Bus Brings Local Food
When a central Virginia man became unemployed, he began something he had been dreaming up for a while. With chicken wire, burlap, old wood from a barn, and apple barrels, Mark Lilly fashioned a country store inside an old school bus.
Lilly was taking a class on emergency management and disaster science where he was learning about the terrible state of our modern food system. Then an idea suddenly came to him: wouldn't bringing farm fresh produce, meat, and dairy products straight from the farms to the people who want them be a wonderful way to support a local, sustainable food system?
About seven months ago, he started his school bus and a one-man business called Farm to Family. Farm to Family brings fresh, healthy foods from farms in and around Richmond to communities in the area. Lilly communicates with his customers through Twitter and Facebook and tells them where and when he will be somewhere and takes requests for visits. Read more of this article . . . |
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SAVINGS TIP from Grains-N-More
This is one of the ways I make my dollar stretch. I wait until Sun and Earth has one of their sales. Sun and Earth is where I get all my cleaning products. They are non-toxic, plant-based cleaners and the best I've found out there, both value wise and cleaning wise. They really work. Right now they have a buy one, get one free offer for the laundry soap. I just wanted to pass along this offer I got to all of you. They only offer this buy one, get one free deal maybe once or twice a year at www.sunandearth.com. It is much better to buy straight from the company. I save a lot of money every year by going this route and keep my family safe from toxic chemical exposure. Also, if you order $50 or more, you get $5 off their flat rate shipping. It's a great deal that I hope you'd enjoy!
Have a wonderful week,
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Dacula Natural Buyer's Club  Bringing affordable organic and naturally grown foods to you
Large box - $50
Small box - $30
Updates: To place your box order for this week's pick up at Saturday's farmer's market, contact Pilar by the end of the day on Tuesday, April 27th either by emailing her or calling (770) 339-3065.
The Dacula Natural Buyer's Club has heard that strawberries and lettuce from Georgia should be coming our way as well as vine-ripe tomatoes from Florida.
Don't forget to take a few minutes to take our Dacula Natural Buyer's Club customer satisfaction survey if you haven't already so that we can better serve you. We also invite you to become a fan of the Dacula Natural Buyer's Club Facebook page to be aware of updates and news.
By completing this incredibly helpful customer satisfaction survey, you'll automatically be entered into a drawing for a ton of awesome prizes, such as a large box of fresh produce, a one-month supply of raw milk (4 gallons total!), a one-month supply of farm fresh eggs (4 dozens total!), and a $30 gift certificate to be used toward your choice of a Rancho Alegre birthday party or summer camp.
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 We are excited to partner with Grains-N-More, an organic grain resource, to bring you grains, beans, seeds, and more. Daniel said the first grains order was a huge success so thank you to all who ordered, and we hope you enjoy the products. Take a look at the list of products here, and then call Daniel at (678) 982 4098 or email him to place your order by May 14th. |
Johnston Family Milk comes to us from a small, grass-based family dairy in Newborn, GA. The milk is lightly pasteurized to preserve more flavor and nutrients and is never homogenized.
Orders are placed and picked up through
the Dacula Natural Buyer's Club.
Click here for the product list and prices.
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 LEARN at Rancho Alegre
Rancho Alegre will offer Farm Camp & Horseback Riding Camp from June-July, Monday-Friday 8AM-2PM. Campers will learn self confidence, how to work as a team, and how to care for animals and the environment all while having unforgettable FUN. Your children won't be able to stop talking about their camp experiences! Online registration is now available on our website. Please keep us in mind for educational field trips and church trips also. |
GATHER at Rancho Alegre
Don't forget that Rancho Alegre Events, Inc. can host birthday parties, wedding receptions, business events, family reunions at our newly renovated 3,000-sq. foot rental facility or our two picnic pavilions.
For pricing and more information, visit our website. Then contact me by email or calling (770)-339-3065 to schedule an event. |
RIDE at Rancho Alegre
Learn more about Horses and Riding! Janice Gardner is one of the instructors who teaches riding lesson here at Rancho Alegre. She is also a certified stherapeutic instructor and can teach anyone with special needs. Please contact Janice for any questions or to schedule a lesson at (678) 316-4756 or Bachfan@aol.com. |
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2225 Givens Road
Dacula, 30019
| Join our Facebook page for updates and reminders
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Stokes Family Farm
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Bread of Life
- Cranberry Pumpkin Bread
- Wheat Dinner Rolls
- Whole Wheat Bread
- Ezekiel Bread
- Peanut Bars
email Sharon |
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Rancho Alegre Farm
contact@ranchoalegrefarm.com
www.ranchoalegrefarm.com
2225 Givens Road, Dacula, GA 30019
(770) 339 - 3065
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