Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Channel 12 Story

Mark Hollen, a  Tygart Valley Growers Association member was featured in a news story on WBOY Channel 12 (Here). Filmed at Mark's farm, Mark did a great job demonstrating the level of care he takes in growing and handling his produce. His beautiful farm in Valley Furnace provided a very scenic background to the news story. The interview lasted around 1 hour as Stacy Jacobson filmed Mark working on his farm, interviewed Mark and Ben Nemeth and filmed her narrative piece. It was a nice experience, and WesMonTy appreciates the great focus on local food that Stacy Jacobson has provided. This is great exposure for the TVGA and the work that is being done to increase sales of local foods into local markets!

This was part of a larger story by Stacy Jacobson that is focusing on local foods being sold into local restaurants and grocery stores. Her story focuses on the recent sales to Stonewall Resort. A very special thank you goes out to Stacy Jacobson for covering this story.

 

Monday, August 15, 2011

Ingredients

This movie looks interesting. Has anyone seen it?

 

http://www.ingredientsfilm.com/

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Cooperative Development Meeting w/ Tom Snyder

Tom Snyder from the Ohio Cooperative Development Center presented information and answered questions for the TVGA last Tuesday.

Dr. Snyder presented a binder and handout with some really valuable information on starting a cooperative. He explained that cooperatives have a lot of benefits for growers who are trying to market together, such as exemptions from anti-trust laws, liability insurances and access to larger markets.









We look forward to working more with Dr. Snyder and the OCDC in the future!

Monday, August 1, 2011

State Requirements for selling Jams, Jellies and Honey

Today we assisted a nice gentleman to register his operation so that he could sell jams, jellies and honey at the farmers market. After some searching online, we found the document needed to register with the Department of Health and Human Services.

It can be downloaded here:
Registration Form for Sale of Home Canned and Prepared Foods

One simply needs to print the form, submit it to their local DHHR office to register, and follow all labeling requirements.

Another helpful document is the Farmers Market Vendor's Guide. It has basic information on registering your products and who to speak with about each product. That can be downloaded here:
Farmers Market Vendors Guide

For the canned good labeling a vendor is required to label any major food allergens present in the product. The list of major food allergens from the FDA website is as follows:
"FALCPA identifies eight foods or food groups as the major food allergens. They are milk, eggs, fish (e.g., bass, flounder, cod), Crustacean shellfish (e.g., crab, lobster, shrimp), tree nuts (e.g., almonds, walnuts, pecans), peanuts, wheat, and soybeans."

The webpage can be found here: http://www.fda.gov/Food/LabelingNutrition/FoodAllergensLabeling/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/ucm106890.htm#q4