Many of us awoke this morning to find a light frost skimming our world.  Our home gardens are dwindling, the wool socks have emerged from the back of the drawer. It is undeniable that winter is upon us.

Hillsdale Farmers’ Market continues through the winter, switching from a weekly market to twice a month after Thanksgiving. Our first winter season market will be Sunday, December 4th. In addition to our regular market offering, December 4th will also be our first Stock Your Shelves event.

 Stock Your Shelves is all about preparing for winter. This event gives the Hillsdale community a chance to buy in bulk and save, all while preparing for the leaner months ahead. Maybe you are a baker stocking up on nuts, ghee, and cocoa for the long cold nights spent making warm cookies. Maybe you prefer to pickle beets or onions, keeping the bright flavors of summer around as long as you can. Maybe you’re like me and none of those things are in your wheelhouse! I plan to take advantage of Stock Your Shelves to fill my freezer with quality meats, making wintertime dinners easier to prepare and plan.

Taking advantage of this one-time event is easy. Use our Stock Your Shelves homepage to find your favorite vendor who is accepting pre-orders. Peruse their products and make your selections for convenient pick up at the market on Sunday, December 4th. Ordering ahead ensures that you won’t face sold out stock, no matter what time you make it to market.  Our market has many wagons for your use, to make it easier to bring your large orders back to your car. (40lbs of potatoes may be a delicious soup season investment, but it’s hard on the biceps!)

Unfortunately, the majority of our vendors are not able to take direct pre-payment via Oregon Trail Card. If they can, it will be noted on our homepage. We have options, though! If you want to use your SNAP/EBT benefits to participate, contact the vendor and let them know. They can create an invoice for you and we will run your Oregon Trail card at the Information Booth on December 4 to pay for your order. We very much welcome this work-around. It is important to us that our entire community has the opportunity to participate in Stock Your Shelves.

Events like this help your favorite farmers thrive through the winter. Pre-purchasing allows them to know exactly how much to bring to market, which reduces on excess labor. Selling large quantities of their crop to individual households streamlines the process for them. And seeing their crop go to excited shoppers is always a huge bonus.

Click on the link here to see what we will have available to you. The variety is enormous: smoked fish, dried beans, beets, onions, bone broth, winter squash, sausages, truffles, nuts, albacore, mushrooms, lamb, beef, grains, flour, popcorn, and so much more.

What will you spend this winter cooking? Take the next few weeks to talk to your household, flip through your recipe books, and listen to your cravings. Pre-order deadline dates vary by farm, so be sure to check all the details listed on our Stock Your Shelves homepage. We can’t wait to see all the winter market meals made possible by planning ahead, pre-purchasing, and supporting your local farmer.