Order a Fresh, Organic, Free Range Turkey for Your Family This Thanksgiving

Rent A Runner Now has partnered with local Piper Hill Farm in Bellefonte, PA to offer fresh, organically-fed, free range turkeys for Thanksgiving! All turkeys have been raised on Certified Organic feed and never caged, on grass from Day One. They are freshly prepared the Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving and will be available for pick-up in Exton that evening.

Most of the turkeys are Toms and larger than commercially-grown birds. You are likely to have a lot of wonderful leftover meat for freezing. Hey, if you’re going to go through the trouble of roasting a whole turkey, why not make it count?

If you want to make this Thanksgiving a memorable and healthful one, this is a great way to do it! Orders must be placed by November 7th! For more information and ordering, visit http://www.rentarunnernow.com/turkey.htm

More About Rent A Runner: RARN is the premier concierge and errand service for the individuals, families, and small organizations of Pennsylvania’s Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware Counties by providing them the highest levels of individualized service.

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This Week at The West Chester Growers Market (October 16th)

It is so delightful to visit the Market during the Fall. Spring is the time for the Market to start, bringing the beginnings of harvests and bumping into familiar friends again. Summer is hustling and bustling with all sorts of fruits and vegetables, which is exciting and invigorating. And then there is Autumn. The Market is settling down (not in popularity or foot traffic, mind you!), the weather is cooler, and there is a general feeling of ease as one strolls from vendor to vendor. There is something comforting about the sites of apples, cider and pumpkins. These sights are the mark of good things to come: cold weather, cozy sweaters, football games, and super fun (and tasty!) holidays! Autumn brings with it a feeling of anticipation and excitement like no other season of the year.

I love it. 🙂

This week will be the LAST WEEK to submit a guess for the Guess the Weight of the (Pumpkin) Family contest. Many entries are already in, but don’t miss your chance to win the entire pumpkin family to display at your house! Winner will be chosen AFTER the Market on Saturday, and can take their prize home next week, October 23.

Another exciting Market is gearing up for tomorrow. Our bi-weekly vendors will be present, with all their awesome goodies. Apples are coming in full swing, as well as the hearty cold-weather vegetables. It’s never too late to start thinking ahead for your THANKSGIVING feast…::CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING!::

National Farmers Market Week – August 1st – 7th

Did you know that August 1-7 is National Farmers’ Market Week? If you haven’t been to a farmers’ market yet this summer, this coming week is the week to do it.

This time of year, there’s no reason to buy produce that’s been shipped from Timbuktu. These days the farm stands in our area are filled to overflowing with juicy ruby-red tomatoes, luscious fuzzy peaches, scrumptious green beans and colorful rainbow chard. We’ve been buying local produce all summer, and the flavor is out of this world. Just yesterday, my 7-year-old daughter declared passionately, “Mom! I like fruit better than candy!“

Buying fresh and local stimulates our local economy and promotes goodwill within the community. You might even see someone you know! And there’s nothing quite like looking into the eyes of the person who produces your food and knowing exactly where it comes from and how it is grown.

If you’re not sure where to find a farmers’ market, check out this list of area farmers’ markets on Eat Local Philly. Or you can search by county on the site as well.

And if your favorite farmers’ market is not listed on the site, please let us know!

Jo-Lynne is the founder of Eat Local Philly. When she’s not seeking out new sources for local foods, she is probably elbow-deep in bread dough or musing on weighty topics such as fashion and reality TV on her personal blog, Musings of a Housewife. You can also find her beautifying the blogosphere at DCR Design.

July 24th: This Week at The West Chester Grower’s Market

Spending summer Saturdays at the West Chester Growers Market is a beautiful thing. Last Saturday, Hubby and I meandered around The Market with Little Chica. Now that Little Chica is almost 2 (in 2 weeks!), we’ve been attempting to walk around The Market sans stroller. If you have visited the WCGM at all this season, you will have noticed the increased traffic in the Market parking lot. I thought this might make Little Chica either overwhelmed or totally wired. But, it turns out, she loves the sights and sounds of The Market! She points out pretty flowers, names fruits, and is overjoyed when she sees a doggie. It makes walking around from vendor to vendor more fun and less stressful! For any Market Goers with kids, I’m sure you understand!

With North Star Orchard making their first appearence, we made sure to hit up their stand…CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING

* Visit the WCGM Saturdays 9 AM to 1PM, Rain or Shine, May through November on the corner of Church and Chestnut Streets in downtown West Chester, PA *

Eat Local, Philly!

This is a guest post brought to you by the brilliant Jo-Lynne Shane. Just wait until you hear about her newest venture!

I’ve always enjoyed finding local vendors for various foods. I like the personal touch, what can I say? And there is something almost romantic about eating food that is fresh off the farm, grown through personal toil and picked with loving hands. But it wasn’t until I read The Omnivore’s Dilemma that I developed a passion for supporting local farms and businesses by eating food that is grown locally and harvested in season. As best as I can, I am opting out of the industrial food chain in favor of foods that are grown closer to home by people who truly care about the animals they raise and the land they farm. I want to connect with the source of my food, look the farmer in the eye, see the cows grazing on green pasture, and I want my children to know this experience as well.

Here in Chester County, I’m fortunate that there are so many options for local food — from farms to CSAs to farm markets to whole food stores. There are so many options, I have spent the last six months or so researching online, asking around, and checking out new farms and stores to find local produce, meat and dairy.

And it seems that I am not alone. There is a revival, of sorts, going on in our country. Thanks to books like In Defense of Food and movies like Food, Inc., people are waking up to how animals are raised in industrial farms and what goes into their food. They are seeking out better options, but it can be intimidating and overwhelming and unfortunately cost prohibitive at times.

I get a lot of questions when people find out how we eat and where I shop, and I hear the same thing time and again… “It’s just so overwhelming.” “I don’t know where to start.” “I know I need to find a source of ______ but I just haven’t had the time.”

So last week I launched a new website called Eat Local Philly. The purpose is to provide a resource for local food sources in the Philadelphia area but from a personal perspective. I want it to have a real voice, but also be useful and help people find locally grown and produced foods in our area.

Of course now I’m trying to get the word out! I’ve already had a great response, and the ladies behind the Philly Burb sites are generously allowing me to have a regular column on their county blogs to share with you what I find and help spread the word about Eat Local Philly. You can subscribe by email or RSS to receive daily updates, and I’ve also started a Facebook Page as a means of connecting with those in our area who are looking for sources for local foods as well as those who want to share what they find. There are already some good conversations going on the Discussion Board so feel free to check it out and jump right in!

I can’t possibly cover the whole region by myself, so I’m taking submissions. I would love to hear from you if you know of a place not yet covered on the site. If you HAVE shopped at one of the places we’ve reviewed, please take the time to leave a comment on that entry and let us know about your experience there, what you like to buy, and really anything you want to share that might be useful to others.

I would love to make Eat Local Philly THE go-to resource for local foods in the Philadelphia area. Won’t you help me!?

Jo-Lynne is the founder of Eat Local Philly. When she’s not seeking out new sources for local foods, she is probably elbow-deep in bread dough or musing on weighty topics such as fashion and reality TV on her personal blog, Musings of a Housewife. You can also find her beautifying the blogosphere at DCR Design.