Dear MMN Participant, June is Meatless Monday Needham’s one year anniversary!! Thank you for being part of this journey with us. In our second year, we hope to grow our community and spread the message of the health and environmental benefits of eating less meat. Invite your friends and neighbors to join us! Last month we asked all pledgers to complete a short survey about participation since taking the pledge. If you haven’t taken the survey yet, there’s still time. You can access it here. |
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THE GROWING SEASON!
Yippee! Farm Fresh Produce Is Here, if you know where to find it… |
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Farm fresh produce is a welcome ingredient for any meatless meal, whether the main course, a hearty sauce over pasta or rice, or grilled sides—the possibilities are endless. In Needham we are lucky to have two excellent sources for locally grown produce: |
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Volante Farms is a Needham treasure. They have a steady supply of farm fresh produce as well as other food and plant items—plus wine and beer. Visit their website to see what’s in stock or just drive by and look at their sign. |
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Maybe your daily routine takes you to other nearby towns? Farmers Markets are going on all over at different days and times. Here are a few in the area: - Brookline, Thursday, 1:30-6:00 pm
- Dedham, Wednesday, 2:00-6:00 pm
- Natick, Saturday, 9:00 am-1:00 pm, open year round
- Newton, Saturday Market, 9:30 am-12:30 pm
- Newton, Tuesday Market, 1:30-6:00 pm
See the Mass Farmers Markets website for more locations. Check the local market website to confirm time, opening date, location, and possible COVID restrictions. Enjoy! |
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Needham Community Farm Needs Volunteers! Harvest season is here and Needham Community Farm has volunteer openings to help with harvests and other farm chores. Harvest volunteers help Farm staff harvest, wash, and pack vegetables for their CSA and mobile market. Anyone can sign up to help with the smaller harvest on Fridays, but volunteers need to complete one Friday harvest before signing up for the bigger, fast-paced Tuesday harvest. Farm volunteers help with farm tasks like weeding, planting, turning the compost, and many more projects. Please sign up here to volunteer. Before volunteering, don't forget to fill out a 2021 waiver and a COVID waiver if you haven't already for 2021. Please complete these waivers to volunteer. |
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Needham Farmers Market The Needham Farmers Market has opened for the season! In addition to fruits and veggies, vendors this year are selling nuts, breads, condiments and more. Sign up for the weekly newsletter for a list of vendors that will be at the market and links to their websites. |
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Plant-based Cooking Demonstration from the Massachusetts Sierra Club Learn how to make healthy plant-based food with the MA Sierra Club’s Plant-based Planet Team. In this free demonstration, the team will demonstrate how to make various plant-based dishes at home. Questions are welcome! The demonstration will be Sunday, June 27, from 6 - 7pm. To participate, sign up here. |
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WEB RESOURCES
Eat Less Meat, Save Water!
Project GreenPlate, a group of high school students in Cambridge, recently kicked off a Meatless Monday campaign! They are urging people to eat less meat in order to reduce the waste and pollution of water, which is one of the serious environmental impacts of animal agriculture. They’ve made a fun and educational video that you can watch here. Recipes We Like
With farmers markets opening and the weather heating up, we’re looking for simple, fresh recipes. This recipe for Burrito Bowl with Guacamole and Salsa requires almost no cooking (just the rice!) and uses lots of fresh greens and herbs. The recipe is flexible, so feel free to make substitutions. If you only have time to put together the burrito bowl, it's hearty enough on its own to be an entrée salad, or you can add guacamole and salsa from a store or farm stand. |
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Or try this recipe for Asian Spring Rolls with peanut dipping sauce. The spring rolls are loaded with fresh veggies and they’re fun to put together! This recipe requires a little advance planning if you don’t normally keep bean thread noodles and rice paper wrappers on hand, but the finished spring rolls are worth the trouble. If you’ve never used bean thread noodles or rice paper wrappers before, you can learn how to prepare them (it’s easy!) on the five-minute video that accompanies the recipe. |
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CHECK OUT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE... to see dishes prepared by your Needham neighbors and to share yours! |
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