- Worthington Farmers Market
First Winter Market Nov 7! New Personal Shopping & Delivery Service. It's Winter Squash Season!
Winter Market Kicks Off This Weekend
Please join us for the first market of the winter season at The Shops at Worthington Place (7227 N. Hight Street)! See our Market Map and Producer Listing below for vendors participating in this week's market. More than 40 local farmers and makers will be there! And while most vendors will be located inside the mall, a few of our larger meat/egg and produce vendors will operate in the parking lot in front of Talbot's.
The Worthington Farmers Market will be open every Saturday from 9am-12pm EXCEPT Saturday, November 28 and Saturday, December 26 when we are closed to celebrate the holidays. We invite you to safely shop fresh and local with us! Our winter season opens in November and extends through the end of April.
PANDEMIC SAFETY PROTOCOL
Before visiting the Worthington Farmers Market, please familiarize yourself with our pandemic safety protocol, outlined below:
The City of Worthington and the Governor's office require wearing a facial covering when in public places in Worthington and throughout Franklin County.
We thank you, in advance, for wearing your mask for the duration of your visit to the Worthington Farmers Market in support of the health of our vendors, volunteers, staff and other customers. For more information on this requirement, click here.
Open Hours: 9am-12pm*
*9am-10am: Reserved for customers in high-risk populations (senior citizens, immune compromised, expectant mothers and other vulnerable people). If you are not a high-risk customer, please wait until after 10am to visit the Market.
10am-12pm We welcome all shoppers.
Please enter the Market only through the designated Market entrances and exits, as noted on our Market map.
In order to ensure plenty of social distancing for our customers, entrance into the Market will be limited. Each guest visiting the Market will be counted as they enter and exit to ensure we are not exceeding our capacity. Please be patient if we have reached our customer capacity and you are asked to wait to enter the Market.
Pre-ordering for pick-up on Saturday is still an option at this location, though instead of driving, you will walk-thru to pick-up your items from the individual vendors from whom you have ordered. You are welcome to pick-up anytime during open market hours.
Personal Shopping & Delivery Service
The Worthington Farmers Market is delighted to partner with Grocery Boss, a personal shopping, curbside pick-up,
and delivery service now available in central Ohio. If you're unable to visit the market, or just want to avoid indoor crowds for the time being, Grocery Boss is here to help!
Visit their website, grocery-boss.com, to learn more about the services available and download the shopping app.
If you have any questions, contact owner Angel Lyons at 614-381-7945, or contact her via the Grocery Boss Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/Thegroceryboss.
Veggie Spy
Winter Isn't Here Yet, But Winter Squash Is!
November is National Native American Heritage Month. So, let’s focus on squash, which was a staple for the Native Peoples of the northeast US. The word “squash” comes from the Algonquin term “askutasquash". Natives ate squash (and pumpkins) raw, roasted, baked, and boiled. Mashed squash was added to cornmeal for sweetness and the pleasing texture. The Iroquois uses squash blossoms to flavor stock. The Chippewa cut squash into strips and dried them for later use. Others twisted squash strips together to make rope.
Squash varieties are divided into summer and winter. Summer squash, such as zucchini, are harvested in the summer when the plant is immature. It has thin, edible skin. Winter squash is harvested in the fall (now!) and has a thick skin that some do not consider edible. Compared to summer squash, winter has a denser texture and firm flesh that is suitable for stews, soups, casseroles, and desserts. They are called winter squash because they have a long shelf like and can be stored for months. Pumpkins are technically a winter squash.
Winter squash has lots of vitamin A (more than summer squash), vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. It kas also has flavonoids like beta-carotene and lutein that are being researched for inhibiting cancer cell growth. And don’t forget the seeds! They are an excellent source of protein and vitamins.
There are dozens of varieties of winter squash. Here are some varieties you can get from 9N Farm, Franklinton, and Rock Dove. Van Scoy also has winter squash, but they will not be at the Nov. 7 Market. They will be back on Nov. 14.
Acorn Squash, true to its name, is small and shaped like an acorn. It has sweet, slightly fibrous flesh and is ideal for baking. They are typically dark green, though yellow and multi-colored are also available.
Butternut Squash are beige and bell-shaped. It has a fine-textured orange flesh that has a sweet, nutty flavor. The taste is a bit like sweet potatoes. It is ideal for soup because it isn’t stringy.
Carnival Squash gets its name from the orange and green speckles and stripes that adorn it. It is related to acorn squash and can be used as a substitute. The flesh is sweet and good for stuffing and baking.
Delicata Squash is an heirloom variety that has green and cream-colored stripes. Unlike many winter squashes, its skin is thin and edible. It is excellent when baked or stuffed.
Kabocha Squash is a Japanese variety with a round, squat shape, a hard, dark green exterior, and yellow-orange flesh. It has a light texture and a flavor some compare to a cross between pumpkin and sweet potato.
Spaghetti Squash comes in a variety of shapes and colors, but is typically oblong and colored white, yellow, or orange. When cooked, the flesh becomes stringy and looks like, of course, spaghetti. It is great for soups and as a pasta substitute.
Bonus Variety! North Georgia Candy Roaster Squash is an unusual heirloom variety originally cultivated by Cherokee Indians in the Appalachians. Orange in color, this oblong squash can get very large - up to 2 feet long! It has a pumpkin-like slightly nutty, sweet flavor. And the longer you store it the sweeter it will get! You can find this at 9N Farm.
The Versatile Vegan has tons of winter squash recipes. One of her faves is this easy recipe for Baked Acorn Squash: https://mayihavethatrecipe.com/baked-stuffed-acorn-squash/. Note you can substitute regular fusilli for the chickpea version in the recipe. And check out Gillogly Orchard for the apples!
Another simply and yummy recipe is this one for Brown Sugar Delicata Squash: https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/delicata-squash-recipe/.
Finally, since we are getting into soup season, try this recipe for Curried Butternut Squash Soup: https://minimalistbaker.com/curried-butternut-squash-soup/. And don't forget to add the garlic to your Market shopping list!
Fresh Picks This Week: Apples (13 varieties!), Arugula, Baby Italian dandelions, Beets, Broccolini, Cabbage, Callaloo, Carrots (baby white, orange), Cauliflower, Celery, Collards, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Garlic, Garlic Scapes, Green beans (also yellow, purple, haricot verts, Roma), Ground cherries, Herbs (basil, chives, cilantro, dill, lemon balm mint, oregano, papalo, parsley, rosemary, tarragon), Kale (dino lacinato, Siberian), Kohlrabi, Komatsuna, Leeks, Lettuce (baby, heirloom, bibb, romaine, blends, & others), Melons, Microgreens & shoots, Okra, Onions (candy, white, mini-purple, sweet), Peaches, Peppers (bell, jalapeno, Aji Rico, Anaheim, banana, cherry bomb, habanero, serrano), Popcorn, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Purslane, Radishes (French breakfast), Scallions, Shallots, Shiitake Mushrooms, Squash! (multiple varieties), Sweet Corn, Swiss Chard, Spinach (baby), Tomatillos, Tomatoes (heirloom, cherry), Zucchini *** Note quantities are limited ***
The Worthington Partnership is pleased to announce that COhatch is furthering its investment in the Worthington community. Together the organizations will continue to drive initiatives to bring positive attention to the historic district, and support professional development and educational seminars for local merchants and business owners. The Partnership also will support soon-to-be-announced COhatch community events geared toward improving the lives of local residents.
COhatch will provide funding, hosting venues and people resources to help design and plan future programs for the community in collaboration with the Old Worthington Partnership. You will also see the COhatch airstream trailer, a multi-purpose office on wheels named "Mobi" at various events.
Thanks to COhatch for bringing energy and resources to Old Worthington! We are thrilled to work even more closely together to enhance the Old Worthington experience.
For more information, or questions related to any of our services, please contact us via email at worthingtonfarmersmarket@gmail.com.
The Worthington Farmers Market is an event of The Worthington Partnership.