New Roots will hold their 8th Annual Strawberry Jamm Festival Thursday, May 16th from 2:30 to 7 p.m. at the New Roots World Headquarters at 1800 Portland Ave. The festival allows SNAP benefit recipients to pool their benefits and cash to qualify as volume strawberry purchasers from VanMeter Farms in Clarkson, Kentucky. All strawberries must be ordered before 9 PM on Monday May 13th. Berries can be picked up at the festival as there will only be a small selection of strawberries available for walk up buyers.
“Pooling resources in this way makes local strawberries affordable and available to everyone,” said Eneitra Beattie, New Roots VISTA Americorps member and West Louisville Fresh Stop Market Manager.
New Roots is a local organization, which believes access to fresh food is a basic human right. It has helped to organize the Fresh Stop Markets, which are farm-fresh food markets that “pop up” at local churches, community centers and business in neighborhoods facing barriers to accessing farm-fresh food. The food is paid for in advance, so farmers don’t face the same degree of risk they do with standard farmers markets.
At this festival, all kinds of delicious strawberry dishes will be served, including vegan strawberry ice cream, “berrytinis,” and more. This year’s event will also feature a corn-grinding station from Sustainable Ag Louisville, “take a Pic with Strawberry Man,” seeds and starts from Louisville Grows, and other fun surprises.
Since strawberry supplies will be limited, buyers are encouraged to pre-order by calling New Roots at 502-509-6770 or emailing info@newroots.org or ordering online with a debit/credit card here. SNAP users please call the office to order. There will be nine Fresh Stop Market locations this growing season—six in Louisville, one in southern Indiana, one in Hazard, Ky, and one in Brandenburg, Ky. Please go to www.newroots.org for more information on all of the Fresh Stop Markets. Call 502.509.6770 for ordering information.
