As we settle into fall, we’re excited to bring some new approaches to the WhatIsFresh Blog.
CHEFS
We’ve started by inviting some excellent New York chefs to contribute guest posts here on the blog, and they’ve graciously agreed to bring their thoughts and recipes to these pages. We’re very excited to bring you these new perspectives over the coming weeks and months!
OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW CONTRIBUTORS
As Meaghin moves on from a successful run writing for the blog, we have a new set of opportunities for people who want to contribute to one of the most popular Food blogs on the Tumblr network! Thanks to our awesome readers, the WhatIsFresh blog receives thousands of visitors every month and has been included as a top food blog in Tumblr’s Food Directory for the past year. We’re also a Tumblr Staff Pick.
If you’re looking to build an online presence in the food world, this is a great opportunity to connect with our existing audience. We’re looking for writers and photographers who are passionate about bringing their perspective on local food, farmers and markets to our readers. If you’re interested in working with us, please check out our job page for details: http://whatisfresh.com/home/jobs
Eat well,
Mike
Dear Farmers’ Market Enthusiasts,
Thank you for your continued support of What is Fresh! We’ve been busy making many updates (some behind the scenes and some visible) to make your user experience as smooth as possible. We hope you find the site helpful.
Mike is working on streamlining the user experience for both vendors and consumers. I am setting up a full summer schedule of farmer interviews and continuing my series of product and market profiles.
It’s now mid-May and new fruits and vegetables are popping up at the market every day. As Spring turns into Summer, the markets will be overflowing with produce. We need help relaying what is available, what is ‘especially’ good, and if any farmers have something extra at the market that day.
That’s where YOU can help us.
We are looking for Farmers’ Market Reporters at the local New York and Brooklyn farmers’ markets.
What?
Do you have a neighborhood market that you go to regularly? Well, we need your knowledge of that market! We are looking for your weekly updates (preferably on the day of the market) of what is available, what looks especially fresh, what vendors are absent at the market, etc.
How?
1) Email us your name and the market you’d like to report for.
2) Then, we will be in touch with extra details. Our goal is to give market goers relevant and up-to-date information, without impeding on your life! We can discuss which reporting method is easiest for you (email, text message etc).
Time Commitment:
5 minutes, once a week! Since going to the Greenmarket is already part of your weekly schedule, this should fit right in. We’ll work with you to make sending your updates be as quick and easy a process as possible!
We look forward to working with you!
Thank you,
Meaghin
Wow! WhatIsFresh.com has been up and running for six months. Helping New Yorkers connect to great local food and farmers markets is so much fun, and we’re very proud to be contributing to New York’s local food movement! But we’re also excited about the potential to do so much more. That’s why we want to encourage you to come collaborate with us!
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
There are many ways you can help WhatIsFresh.com become an even more valuable resource. A few examples:
- If you’re a frequent market shopper, help us collect information about who is at the markets and what they’re selling.
- If you’re a web developer who works in Rails, Javascript or HTML, help us improve the app. Mobile developers encouraged too!
- If you’re looking for a creative outlet, help What is Fresh with photos, videos, design and other creative projects.
WHAT’S THE WORK ENVIRONMENT LIKE?
We’re a small dynamic team. We are not a nonprofit. We operate like an Internet startup. That means that we make quick decisions and make things happen fast. We apply the latest technology and creative thinking to make the local food movement as accessible as possible. We think it’s a uniquely fun situation.
WHAT SHOULD I DO NEXT?
If you’re passionate about contributing to WhatIsFresh.com, we want to hear from you.
Please fill out the form on the site and we’ll touch base soon: http://whatisfresh.com/home/jobs
We look forward to hearing from you!
Mike & Meaghin
We’ve been up and running for about two weeks and the response has been amazing! Farmers are working with us to add hundreds of products and varieties to the site, and many have already started updating their profiles with news and updates.
There’s a lot more work to do, but before we start a busy week of improving the site, we want to thank the first group of farmers who took some time out of their hectic harvest schedules to embrace WhatIsFresh and teach us a little bit about what they do. These are some of our early adapters:
- Dancing Ewe Farm - A family farm that makes fantastic sheep and cows milk cheese in the old Italian tradition.
- Oak Grove Plantation - Is there anything the Blew family can’t grow? I don’t think so. Check out their profile for an amazing spread of fruits, vegetables, meat, baked goods and more!
- Paffenroth Gardens - There’s no better source of root vegetables in New York. Their WhatIsFresh profile lists 21 unique varieties of potatoes. Wow!
- Stokes Farm - A 6th generation New Jersey farm. It would be tough to think of a vegetable that you won’t find at Stokes.
- Underwood’s Shusan Valley Hydro Farms - By growing hydroponically, the Underwood’s are able to produce amazing vegetables straight through the winter. Craving juicy tomatoes in January? Check out Underwood’s.
- Violet Hill Farm - People rave about the quality of the meat you’ll find at Violet Hill. These guys also specialize in foraged veggies like Maitake mushrooms and ramps.
Thanks to all of our new friends! We’re off to the markets.
Eat well,
Mike
