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We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but it’s also one of the easiest to forget. Well, I say “forget” but what I really mean is “Oops I hit the snooze button 5 times”. Wouldn’t it be great if we had breakfast waiting on us every morning? These recipes may not be as good as having a live-in chef, but they will make eating food in the morning easy and manageable! Even if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t like to eat as soon as they wake up, these breakfast bites are easy to grab and take in the car or to the office. Best part? They’re totally kid friendly.

Egg Muffins

These are incredibly versatile and packed with protein (throw in some quinoa for an extra-satisfying version).

Overnight Oatmeal

I’ll admit, I was skeptical about the overnight oatmeal craze. I mean, who doesn’t want to start their morning with cold, soggy oatmeal? Turns out it’s amazing though. Try it before you knock it.

Pancake Bites

Ok, so these are not necessarily the MOST healthy make-ahead breakfast option, but look at how cute!! There is no way the pickiest eater in your family would not happily eat these in the back of a car on the way to school.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to volunteer at the ALFN Market? This post takes you step-by-step through a day in the life of our Saturday morning volunteers! Our shifts are divided into two sections: 8:00-10:15, and 10:00-12:15.

8:15 – Cofffeeeeeeeeee. The early morning shifts starts….early. Well, 8:15 early. Volunteers roll in to the kitchen at Christ Episcopal Church and fix some coffee before starting the morning’s work.

8:15-8:45 – Setup. After the main room is setup up with tables, volunteers move all the produce that farmers have been dropping off for the market out of the fridges and organize it.

8:45-9:45 – Inventory. Once the produce is arranged on the tables, the Food Club Coordinator hands out the inventory sheets, and the counting begins. Volunteers must carefully check that each grower delivered the correct number and type of product. Hopefully by now the coffee has kicked in!

9:45-10:00 – Snack Time. While the Food Club Coordinator vanishes to the office to finish getting ready for opening, volunteers can enjoy delicious snacks and more coffee, most of which are ordered right off the market! This is a great time to take advantage of your $5 volunteer credit and scope out the extras list too…

10:00 – Customers arrive. Our customers grab their order sheet and hand them off to volunteers in the kitchen and produce room to fill them. A volunteer’s job is to make sure that every customer is getting the correct quantity and type of product. If you’ve ever volunteered, you know how confusing the first few times can be! From a fridge full of eggs you have to find the right grower (usually we have 5 different farmers bringing eggs), the right size (medium, large, or jumbo?), AND the right color (green eggs are a thing!). This is why we encourage our volunteers to come back for a shift every month (plus you can get your free membership this way!)

11:45-12:15 – The Aftermath. Ok, so actually the market is so fun that time flies by while you’re helping customers. Before you know it, it’s time to start wrapping everything up. Volunteers start bagging orders that will be picked up on Monday, leaving messages with customers who missed their pickup (don’t feel bad if you’ve ever missed your order…it happens every weekend!), and tidying up the produce room and kitchen. Every volunteer leaves with some sort of treat, whether it’s discounted groceries or leftover volunteer snacks.

ALFN relies on dedicated volunteers to run our markets. Get involved with local food, and with your community! Now that you know what it’s all about, sign up for an upcoming Saturday shift.

“I feel this program is a great resource for my family.”

“[I get]…good quality food I normally can’t afford but helps my health.”

“[Green Groceries]…fills the gap in between shopping weeks and provides healthier options. Some of the veggies and meats I’d never tried before.”

These are just a few of the great comments we are getting from members of the Green Groceries Program at Christ Episcopal Church. The concept of the program is simple: getting fresh, local foods into the hands of low income families in need. Families receive a basket with foods like high quality meats, vegetables, fruit, bread, eggs, and honey every other week, and local growers receive full payment for their products.

Christ Church member Susie Shinn designed and implemented this program over three years ago, and it continues to be a growing, lively service with committed and welcoming volunteers. In February, Candace McCallister took over leadership of the program, with hopes of continuing Susie’s wonderful vision and expanding the program to serve more people in a fresh and sustainable way.

The program is a beautiful circle, supporting local growers, feeding local families with truly healthy food, and offering the rest of us the opportunity to share our bounty. The work of Green Groceries would not be possible if local people didn’t sponsor grocery baskets for their neighbors in need.

Green Groceries also has a strong partnership with ALFN in ordering and delivering the food. This week, if you make a donation to ALFN through Arkansas Gives, your gift will support Green Groceries and ensure that families in Little Rock have better access to nourishing, local foods.

By the 2017 Green Groceries Director, Candace McCallister

Support ALFN on April 6th for Arkansas Gives and help us continue to support programs like Green Groceries!

Ahhhhh, Spring is in the air! Literally. Is anyone not suffering from allergies right now? Possible death by pollen aside, now is the perfect time to start your spring garden. Maybe you’re someone with a large backyard garden looking to experiment with a new row of vegetables, or a total gardening-newbie who has a container pot that just opened up (hey, we know you didn’t mean to kill the last plant you had in it). Whatever your mastery level, be sure to check out the “Plants, Flowers, and Seeds” category on the ALFN Market and see what we have to help get your spring garden started. And if you are a total newbie, here are a few tips to help get you started this Spring!

• Be realistic. I know how it goes – you have that 10’x20′ patch of grass on the side of your house that you just KNOW would make the most beautiful garden. Before you go tilling up the whole thing, be honest about your time commitment. I don’t say this to deter anyone from taking the plunge, but growing your own food can be hard! If you’re a busy person and this is your first time planting, keep it simple. Something like an indoor herb garden can be the perfect thing to get your feet wet.

• Grow in soil, not dirt. If you’re growing in an urban environment, chances are the dirt in your background is not going to cut it. Growing in healthy soil is linked directly to the nutritional value and flavor profile of your plants, so if you’re growing edibles make sure you’re investing in great soil! Consider creating a compost pile to amend your soil, or if you’re not up to keeping up with the nitrogen-carbon ratios and the turning that good compost requires, invest in a quality product from a farmer’s co-op or the local soil experts at The Urban Food Loop.
• Talk to local gardeners. It can be tempting to click a couple of Pinterest links and think you have it all figured out, but online articles are usually very generalized and don’t take into account the specifics of a region (and our weather is no picnic to navigate). Whether it’s talking to a friend who’s a seasoned gardener or chatting with an employee at a local co-op, make sure you get a few tips from local growers!
• Try, Try Again! You will kill some plants. You may kill all your plants. It’s ok! The beautiful thing about seasons is they keep rolling around. If your spring garden is a total flop, do some research and try again with a summer garden. Keep it easy and fun!

-Claire H., ALFN Program and Market Manager

Bowls have revolutionized the way I eat, and I’m not talking about the ceramic Ikea dishes in my cupboard (even though I do think it’s superior to the plate, but that’s another blog post). Bowl dishes are the new trend in cooking that makes meal planning and throwing together healthy dinners SO easy. Really, try these out for a week and I promise you will never want to say “crockpot dump meal” ever again.

A bowl dish usually consists of a couple of veggies (and some fruit if any of your favorites are in season!), a grain or legume, a protein, and a healthy drizzle of sauce. They’re incredibly versatile and delicious, no matter if you make it vegan, vegetarian, seasonable, paleo, whatever. You can have fun and play with new flavor profiles (it’s so easy to stock your kitchen with Thai and Indian spices) or keep it simple! I like to prep a couple of ingredients over the weekend and mix and match ingredients throughout the week. Here are a couple of amazing bowl recipes to get you started – don’t be afraid to substitute in your favorite ingredients and get a little creative!

-Claire H., ALFN Program & Market Manager

Masala Chickpea Buddha Bowl from Full of Plants

Salmon Roll Sushi Bowl from Savory Tooth

Mermaid Smoothie Bowl from The Glowing Fridge

Healthy Chicken Shawarma Quinoa Bowls from Peas & Crayons

Tifany Hamlin wears lots of hats with many organizations in central Arkansas. She’s our current board chair, founder of Party with a Heart, market manager at Dogtown Farmers Market, and the new executive director with Be Pro Be Proud. A small town girl at heart, she knows how important it is to support local economies. That’s why she is passionate about local food and supporting our Arkansas farmers. When she’s not working (which is never, really), she and her husband, Harry love to travel all over the world.

How did you get involved with ALFN and when did you join the Board?

Tifany: We’ve been customers at ALFN since 2013. I loved being able to shop off season when my farmers market was closed. I joined the board in spring of 2015.

You just stepped into the role of board chair. Describe what that job entails and which part you’re most looking forward to.

What would you say to someone considering becoming a board member or a volunteer at ALFN?

Tifany: Our organization is small but very active. There’s lots to do and every volunteer has an opportunity to play an important role at ALFN. The board is friendly and hardworking. It’s a great place to plug in without feeling overwhelmed by a large group of people you may not know. I consider all of my fellow board members good friends who have the same passion about local food and life in general.

What’s your favorite thing to order from the market?

Tifany: Right now I’m obsessed with Barnhill Orchards green leaf lettuce. It comes washed and ready to use and lasts more than a week (if we don’t get it all used up way before then!). I also love Bluebird Hill Berry Farm eggs — these have been a staple in my house for years!

By Board Member Amy Pritchard

Oh, Arkansas winters! Last weekend, I sat on my porch in the 70 degree weather and planned my garden. This weekend, we’re reminded it’s still winter!  February reminds us that spring is just around the corner, but we’re not quite there yet!

Even though the spring vegetable season has not yet begun, you can still make a great local meal.  Chili is my favorite winter meal, because they are so easy to make with whatever you have on hand. Some weeks, I make complex meals from scratch. Other weeks, I’m too busy to even think about cooking. A chili is a great option for either: you can make it ahead for the week, or make an elegant meal.  Chili is very forgiving: just throw in whatever you have in whatever ratios you prefer, and you’ll have a great meal!  

I based this week’s recipe on Minimalist Baker’s 5 Ingredient Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili following the general instructions, but substituting in the ingredients I had on hand.  I used butternut squash, but the market still has some sweet potatoes available.  I added canned tomatoes instead of salsa. While I had planned to cook the black beans from scratch using ALFN’s bulk black beans, I ended up using canned beans.  For my spices, I chose chili, cumin, and chipotle (I love the smoky taste of chipotle. For added depth, add a canned chipotle in adobo sauce).  Let it all simmer together, and, voila!

The Arkansas Farmers’ Market Association announced the winner of its “Arkansas Best Market Partners” contest at the organization’s annual meeting in January. Christ Episcopal Church is being honored for its decade-long partnership with the Arkansas Local Food Network. Arkansas Local Food Network’s board members nominated the church for its role in sustaining the organization since it was a fledgling online market.

Beverly Dunaway, president of the Arkansas Farmers’ Market Association said the annual Best Market Partner awards are an opportunity to show appreciation for partners who provide important opportunities for farmers’ markets.

Katy Elliott, one of Arkansas Local Food Network’s founders states, “Our partnership with Christ Church has been instrumental to the success of our farmers market. Early on, they provided us with an affordable space and our connection to the congregation has helped us to build, expand and sustain our programs. We couldn’t continue to connect Little Rock with fresh, local foods without a partner like Christ Church.”

In addition to sharing space, church members are enthusiastic food shoppers and volunteers at the market. Going above and beyond, Christ Episcopal Church’s partnership offers Arkansas Local Food Network a unique opportunity to source healthy local foods for the church’s Green Groceries program benefitting lower-income families. Recognized as one of 13 “Good Food” organizations in Arkansas by the James Beard Foundation and FoodTank in 2016, the Arkansas Local Food Network owes much of its success to its strong partnership with Christ Episcopal Church.

For more information about farmers’ markets in Arkansas contact your local cooperative extension agent or visit the Arkansas Farmer’s Market Association website.

Once upon a time, our family dinner tables were adorned with in-season dishes made from backyard gardens or a neighbor’s farm. This simple way of eating has vanished, replaced by a highly complex food system designed to provide convenience and year-round food availability.

While it’s nice to mindlessly pop into a supermarket and not have to think about what food is in season where we live, this lack of awareness comes at a price. Many of the items we purchase from the supermarket have traveled thousands of miles (usually from another country) to get to us. They’re also not fresh. The dizzying array of chemical tricks we’ve developed to keep food looking good (can anyone say “1-methylcyclopropene”?) means that a “ripe” apple in the produce section may actually be months old.

Why should we be worried about our complex food system?  Our food purchases make a impact on our environment, health, and local economy. The Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture estimates that most of our meals travel 1500 miles to get to our plates.

1500 miles. Let’s illustrate this. Here are some of the things I might shop for in a typical day:

Bananas

Dominican Republic to Little Rock: 1749 miles

Avocados (because, guacamole)

Mexico City to Little Rock: 1445 miles

Coffee

Columbia to Little Rock: 2,380 miles

I’m going to stop there, because those three items alone have already traveled over 5,574 miles to get to me (because we haven’t even factored in the distribution centers for Supermarkets). By that time, my food might has well have come to me from Timbuktu. Literally.

This means that each of our meals costs WAY more than the number on the grocery bill, because we have to factor in the economical and environmental cost of the fossil fuel burned and carbon emissions over those 1500 miles. A study by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Iowa estimated that “growing and transporting 10 percent more of the produce for Iowa consumption…would result in an annual savings ranging from 280 to 346 thousand gallons of fuel”.

When we make a conscious effort to source more of our food locally, it’s better for everyone. It doesn’t have to be difficult either – Little Rock is home to some fantastic farmer’s markets and CSA’s (including ALFN’s Little Rock Food Club!). Here’s some examples of how far the food at our market travels to get to your home in Little Rock:

Apples

Lonoke to Little Rock: 27 miles

Beef

Center Ridge to Little Rock: 63.4 miles

Eggs

Atkins to Little Rock: 57 miles

Spinach

Vilonia to Little Rock: 37.6 miles

Let’s make an effort to improve our communities, our health, and our environment by choosing to eat more local foods!