For More Information:
Suzanne Pingree (608) 262-0588 or 262-8826
spingree@facstaff.wisc.edu
NEW IN MADISON: A VIRTUAL FARMERS' MARKET
Whether you're new to Madison, seeking vegetarian recipes or looking for
produce that's in season, there's a web site made for you. Just type
http://www.madfarmmkt.org/ and you'll find all you need to know about that
seasonal ritual, the Dane County Farmers' Market. You can take a tour,
take a
quiz, find a new recipe or find your favorite vendor.
The Dane County Farmers' Market and the University of Wisconsin-Madison
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences developed the site to teach people
about buying food from local sources. Agricultural journalism professor
Suzanne Pingree's research team found out what customers wanted to know.
Students interviewed vendors and wrote the text, and graduate student
Victoria
Jagar developed the web site. John Hendrickson, an outreach specialist
for the
Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, contributed much of the
information
about farming.
For those who haven't been to the market, the web site presents a virtual
tour.
A general information section offers links to a calendar of events and a
map of
downtown. (Maps of the market itself weren't possible, as some vendors only
sell on a temporary basis and others come in to take their places.)
Click on seasonal produce to find facts about the latest fruits and
vegetables
with links to profiles of vendors and a "Test Your Vegetable I.Q." quiz.
Click
again and you'll find recipes from growers, local chefs and good cooks. Once
you try a recipe, you can send in your feedback.
Other links will take you to food preservation techniques. You can even
click
on "blanch" if you don't know what it means. Another link will take you
directly
to the University of Wisconsin-Cooperative Extension's home page.
But the site isn't just a compendium of food tips. It also tries to persuade
people to buy more than coffee and pastries. A "Making the Connection" quiz
offers some tough questions about food costs, food processing and food
distribution. For instance, do you know how far, on average, foods travel to
get to your plate? Or how many people handle food before it gets to the
supermarket?
Local chefs know. Madison restaurants ranging from Bluephie's to
the Blue
Marlin find that the market offers fresh ingredients they can't get
anywhere else
Names of restaurants that frequent the farmers' market are just
part of an
extensive resource list. Best of all, like any other link, you don't
have to go
through the entire web site to find the resources. So once you've
used the site
to see what's new, you can come back to find out how to store
the 15
spaghetti squash you just bought.
Michelle Miller
Pesticide Use and Risk Reduction Project
Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems
University of Wisconsin - Madison
U.S. Mail: 146 Agriculture Hall 608.262.7135
Campus: 1535 Observatory Drive 608.262.5200
Madison, WI 53706 fax 265.3020
www.wisc.edu/cias/ mmmille6@facstaff.wisc.edu
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