{"id":128949,"date":"2023-05-23T12:00:53","date_gmt":"2023-05-23T17:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=128949"},"modified":"2023-05-23T12:00:56","modified_gmt":"2023-05-23T17:00:56","slug":"oxford-community-market-and-public-library-launch-farmers-market-101-summer-educational-series-thursday-may-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/oxford-community-market-and-public-library-launch-farmers-market-101-summer-educational-series-thursday-may-25\/","title":{"rendered":"Oxford Community Market and Public Library Launch\u00a0Farmers Market 101 Summer Educational Series Thursday, May 25"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Oxford Community Market<\/strong> and the Lafayette County and Oxford Public Library <\/strong>will launch its 2023 Farmers Market 101<\/strong> series of classes at 5:15 pm Thursday, May 25<\/strong> at the library. The first class to kick off this free educational and enrichment series is <\/em>“On a Roll! Homemade Egg Rolls”<\/strong> with OXCM vendor Irish Leigh <\/strong>of Manila Skillet<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0Local farmers markets are known for being full of fresh produce, farm-raised eggs and meats, and beautiful artisan baked goods, but markets are also full of talented, skilled people carrying on important food and agricultural traditions: the local farmers and food producers who work hard to keep their communities well-fed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI marvel each week at the wealth of talent, skill and knowledge in our local food community,\u201d said Oxford Community Market director Betsy Chapman<\/strong>. \u201cThese people who grow and produce local food are quite literally experts in their field – pun intended.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being surrounded by all of the knowledgeable farmers and food producers each week at the market gave Chapman the idea of creating a series of educational classes featuring OXCM vendors as the instructors in classes that showcase fresh, local ingredients sourced from local farmers as well as teach practical life skills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

OXCM first collaborated with the Lafayette County and Oxford Public Library to launch the Farmers Market 101 class series in 2022 and it was a hit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe actually made homemade jelly in the public library. Surely a first,\u201d said Chapman, \u201cWe also hosted classes on topics like organic gardening, beekeeping, West African cuisine, and Southern cooking. People just loved learning about local food and farming and interacting with our farmers in this fun and educational way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was important to OXCM that this series of educational classes be free and accessible to the public. So the public library was a perfect partner and has supported nine classes in 2022 with several more planned for summer and fall of 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe love our partnership with the market because it helps us provide diverse and interesting programming to our patrons,\u201d said Lafayette County and Oxford Public Library head librarian Laura Beth Walker<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The series of summer classes include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summer Farmers Market 101 Classes, Thursdays:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n