The Rodale Institute Organic Market at Sacred Heart will open Thursday, June 2nd from 3 PM to 6 PM, and the Rodale Institute Organic Market at the Y will open Saturday, June 4th from 9 AM to 1 PM.
Allentown, Pennsylvania – Rodale Institute’s Organic Market at Sacred Heart opens on Thursday, June 2nd from 3 PM to 6 PM. The market will operate every Thursday from June through October at the Sigal Center: 450 W. Chew St. This is the inaugural season for the market, and there will be an opening ceremony and ribbon cutting to commemorate the grand opening. Representatives of Rodale Institute, Sacred Heart Health Care System, and Allentown City officials will be addressing the public about the importance of organic agriculture to build the health of our soils to grow healthful foods, and the benefits for our personal health by including more organic vegetables and fruits in our diets. La Ola Radio will be at the Market to promote the grand opening via their remote broadcast. Featured vendors are Rodale Institute, Patriot Farms, and Monocacy Coffee Co.
Rodale Institute’s Organic Market at the Y opens on Saturday, June 4th from 9 AM to 1 PM. The Market will operate every Saturday from June through October at the Allentown YMCA/YWCA: 425 S. 15th St. This is the second year of the Market’s operation, and there will be a remote broadcast by La Ola Radio to celebrate this season’s opening day. Shoppers will also be given the opportunity to sign up for the ‘Healthy Eating Challenge’, which will be a four week program to support and encourage market shoppers to incorporate more organic produce in their diets. During the four week program, there will be cooking demonstrations, recipe information and nutrition education to provide shoppers with all the necessary tools to integrate more organic produce in their diets. Featured vendors are Rodale Institute, The Way-Fare Baker, and Amurie Cosmetics.
Through direct point of sale with customers, the Organic Markets support a “know your farmer” culture. This culture involves promoting organic farming practices and understanding how a local and organic food-based economy can regenerate the health of our soil, food, and community. Shoppers can expect a variety of organic produce that includes more than 50 types of organic produce over the growing season such as kales, herbs, peppers, tomatoes, squash, melons, and apples. Other participating vendors will include local transitioning organic farms, certified organic farms, and other value added organic businesses. Along with increasing access to fresh, local, and organic produce in a food desert, cooking and nutrition education classes will continue to be offered at the Organic Markets this summer as well as weekly music and entertainment.
Affordability of organic produce remains a major focus of the Organic Markets’ mission. Rodale Institute is proud to announce a grant extension for the USDA Federal Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Program (FINI) for the 2016 market season. This extension will allow the Organic Markets to continue to match SNAP purchases dollar for dollar, thus reducing the price of healthy, local organic produce to customers that utilize SNAP benefits by half. The Organic Markets also accept the WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) checks.
For more information about Rodale Institute’s Organic Farmers Markets or to apply as an organic vendor, contact Organic Allentown Program Manager, Jesse Barrett, jesse.barrett@rodaleinstitute.org.
Rodale Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to pioneering organic farming through research and outreach. For more than sixty years, we have researched the best practices of organic agriculture and shared our findings with farmers and scientists throughout the world, advocating for policies that support farmers, and educating consumers about how going organic is the healthiest option for people and the planet.
Press Release Provided By Rodale Institute
