Blog
2022 Year End Review & Update
Dear Countryside Community, As the year winds down, Countryside is warming up to big changes. On November 30, the Countryside board of trustees met to elect all new leadership for the organization. This new board is made up of Countryside Initiative farmers, farmers’...
What’s in Season: Winter Edition
Don’t click away. There is such a thing as a winter produce season in Ohio. Granted, it pales in comparison to our generous peak harvest season, but it’s nothing to discount either. First things first, winter farmers’ markets are a real thing in Ohio and you can...
Local Food Systems Are Still Worth Fighting For
“Food system” is no longer an unfamiliar term to most of us. In the days after the pandemic started it was hard to miss headlines, notices at the grocery store, or conversations with friends about how much our routines around food changed—and how much of it wasn’t...
Why Do Winter Farmers’ Markets Need to Exist?
Don’t click away just because you see the word winter. It’s coming and we have to deal with it eventually. One way to make the harsh realities of winter a little lighter is to keep some of your warm-weather routines, and visiting the farmers’ market can be one of...
What’s in Season: Fall Edition
The leaves in the valley are beginning to change, and so is the seasonality of produce available at the market. Typically when we think of autumn produce, we think of apples, pears, pumpkins, squash, and local favorites, pawpaws. Lucky for us Ohioans, there's actually...
Egg Nutrition: What Makes a Pasture Raised Egg So Healthy?
By Mike Jones, Farmer/Owner of Tierra Verde Farms Healthy Eggs: What We Knew in 1932 In the 1930s, scientists and food producers were creating the first plans to take poultry off family farms and raise them in confinement. To enact their plans, they needed to...
Too Hot To Handle: Spicy Peppers at the Farmers’ Market
If you're a lover of hot sauces and flavorful foods, don't discount the power of locally grown peppers. You can find a variety of spicy peppers at the Countryside Farmers' Market this time of year, so let's see how you can put them to use. Spicy Farmers' Market...
Bison Sausage and Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash
Somewhere between summer and fall you will find the season’s first acorn squash. With their sweet, yellow-orange flesh and a slightly nutty flavor, acorn squash are rich in antioxidants and a can’t-miss seasonal treat.
Looking Ahead to the Future of Countryside
Dear Friends, Our outgoing CEO, Tracy Emrick, recently shared a blog titled “Looking Back at Countryside: It’s Our 23rd Birthday.” Reading this as Countryside’s incoming director, I am humbled by the vision that has been shared by so many over the years and the...