THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

We are honored to receive Phoenix New Time’s Reader’s Choice Best Farmers Market!

Last month, inspired by Jack Johnson’s change-making generosity with All At Once Org, we organized a humble neighborhood clean-up with Local First Arizona that exceeded expectations. Read the full story »

“An individual action, multiplied by millions, creates global change.”

Jack Johnson is coming to town and we’ve got 4 free tickets to give away! Join us on Tuesday, August 28th for a unique concert experience centered around community, ecology, equity, and of course great music at AkChin Pavillion.

By making a donation to your local farmers market by 8pm August 24th, you’ll be entered in a raffle to win TWO tickets to Jack Johnson’s show with opener Bahamas. AND All At Once, who is partnering with Jack Johnson on his tour, will match your donation dollar for dollar – this is an opportunity to make a huge impact on our 12-year-old and ever-growing market.

Jack Johnson’s tour is highlighting nonprofits that are bettering our world in very diverse ways. Alongside us at the show will be…

• Blue Watermelon Project
• HeadCount
• Inland Ocean Coalition – Sonoran Desert Chapter
• Local First Arizona Foundation
• Reimagine Phoenix
• Trees Matter

It’s a good day when we can enjoy some great, authentic music while boosting the causes and efforts we care about. Make a donation and hopefully we’ll see you there one way or another!

In honor of Jack Johnson’s mission to make the world a better place, we’re hosting a NEIGHBORHOOD CLEANUP at the market this Saturday, August 25th. Join us for an hour or all day and together we’ll spruce the place up while making sure our trash goes to the right receptacles. 

Find details about our nonprofit Community Food Connections here.

1. It helps small farmers grow their business

Farmer’s markets provide a low-barrier entry point for a budding farmer for them to see if they can be profitable. Shopping at a farmer’s market helps small farmers keep their cash flow positive that helps them continue doing business. If they keep on going, with the support of shoppers, there will only be growth.

2. It helps the local economy and community

Our vendors come from within 50 miles of the City of Phoenix and it’s no surprise that most of the stuff they sell is locally grown or made. By shopping here, your money stays local; the money is passed on from one consumer to the next and helps establish a stronger local economy. The market also serves as a gathering place for the local community that helps build and strengthen relationships and camaraderie between neighbors of all backgrounds.

Read the full story »

Use it to top yoghurt, with milk for breakfast, or on its own for a snack. Grab a bar for a burst of hiking or biking energy or share it among your trail buddies broken into crumbles. This sounds like granola, except it’s not. This is “ungranola.”

Made with mainly a mix of nuts and seeds, Sarah Bea’s ungranola includes no grains, gluten, or dairy. Sarah Dunlop experimented with creating her recipe in 2015 when she and her daughter were trying the Paleo Diet, which does not allow eating grains or dairy. Sarah tried store-bought grain-free granolas, but couldn’t find any she really liked. So, she created her own.

Read the full story »

At the Open Air Market at Phoenix Public Market, we’re all about helping our community. We help farmers and local businesses get their products to the masses and we help the people of our local community by providing a place where they can easily access those local farmers and businesses to support them. As a nonprofit organization ourselves, we’d like to take a moment to highlight another nonprofit organization we work with that’s making an incredible impact right here in our community as well as around the globe.

Read the full story »

Shopping at a farmers market awakens the senses and makes us realize that the exotic is not so far away. It’s a multi-sensory activity where we learn about, interact with, and become part of our surroundings. This week, we discovered that our favorite restaurant treat is available through a few of our farmers: Shishito Peppers!

Shishito peppers are said to have originated in Eastern Asia. They are part of the Capsicum species, along with bell peppers and cayenne peppers. These crops generally do great in dry, hot climates and get more flavorful with more sun exposure. Lucky us – we’ve got plenty of that! Recently, shishito peppers have gained popularity and can be found usually as a finger-food appetizer at trendy restaurants. We found ours at Al Hamka Family Farm.

Shishito peppers vary greatly between crops – on the same vine, one may be sweet and mild while the one next to it is savory and spicy. That’s what makes them addictive! One local restaurant named them “Russian Roulette Peppers” because you never know what you’ll get, and if you’re into surprises, you’ll be digging for the hottest in the bowl.

Since they’re so easy to prepare, why not try them at home? Maybe even on the grill! If you’re extra DIY, a lemon aioli is easily prepared in a blender – add a little smokiness or zing with paprika or apple cider vinegar.

To start our shishito dinner, we first reached for an ice-cold beer. Then, we threw our peppers in a grill basket with some lime juice and zest, garlic, soy sauce, black pepper, and canola oil to coat. We used a microplane for the lime zest and the garlic. They cooked on high heat for about 10 minutes, tossing every four minutes or so to ensure an even char. Next time, we intend to take the char even further than this go-around. Having too many peppers and not enough surface area makes for overcooked peppers without much texture – though never lacking in flavor. A nice blended salsa or sauce could be made with these if they do seem overcooked!

We paired our shishitos with some shitake mushrooms from Southwest Mushrooms and some frozen potstickers. It made for a great weeknight meal that breaks up the monotony of salads, pastas, and meat-centric roasts. Each bite was definitely spicy! Dinner became a competition of how much heat we could handle…so it was nice to get the occasional mild pepper. Leftovers will go into brown rice with a drizzle of Saucy Lips Pineapple Thai sauce for take-along lunches.

Get inspired next time you’re at the Open Air Market by looking out for produce you don’t see year-round. A long, skinny pepper available by the handful? Ask the farmer what they usually do with it, where it comes from, why it thrives in our climate.

Shopping at a farmers market is nothing like shopping at a grocery store. It’s a multi-sensory activity where we learn about, interact with, and become part of our surroundings. This week, we discovered a new-to-us herb: Lemon Verbena!

During the last hour of the market, we happened upon Lemon Verbena at Maya’s Farm. We sniffed at the leaves wondering what it was, though the lemony aspect of it was very obvious. It smelled a little more floral than other herbs at the table, though everything at this booth toes the line between flower, herb, and vegetable.

Maya herself convinced us to take it home and experiment! She told us to make a tea with it by simply adding it to just-boiled water (being sure to take it off the heat once we put the leaves in). Lemon Verbena can also be used in salads, with fish and chicken, and whatever else lemon would otherwise be great with. We grabbed a couple bunches of it along with some of the robust rosemary next to it, and flaunted its beautiful smell to friends we bumped into on the way out of the aisle.

Little did we know…Lemon Verbena is highly medicinal! In its thin and bright green leaves, there is a high concentrate of antioxidant compounds, anti-inflammatory, and anti-spasmodic properties. It even moderates appetite and is a great anti-stress agent.