POP

POP Club 2021

July 7, 2020 By marketeditor

POP Club will be returning to the Wednesday Market this summer on June 30. Get ready for fun, food, and adventures in farming! As COVID-19 restrictions have lifted, we will be doing in-person activities again this year.

The Power of Produce (POP) Club provides a fun opportunity for children ages 5-12 to engage in the local food system through conversations directly with farmers, educational games and demonstrations, and exposure to new fruits and vegetables.In addition to participating in educational activities, POP Club kids receive a POP Passport allowing them to collect a stamp with each visit. Kids who collect 4 stamps will win a prize! POP Club kids will also receive a $2 POP token with each visit. POP tokens are to be spent on fresh fruits and vegetables at the market to empower children to make healthy shopping decisions.

Stop by every Wednesday between 3-6pm at the High Rock Park market to participate in POP Club. This year’s season will run for 10 weeks, from June 30 until September 1.

POP Club Calendar 2022

June 21, 2022 By marketeditor

Sponsored by The Christopher Dailey Foundation

www.saratogafarmersmarket.org

Wednesdays, 3-6 pm

June 29 End of School Celebration

Free Concert by Jack & Steve Zucchini

Pizza garden activity at POP Club

Jodie Fitz & Fidget Plants a Pizza Garden

Crafts with the Saratoga Spring Public Library

Free face painting by Artsy Fartsy Facepaint

July 6 Explore herbs with Pitney Meadows Community Farm

Smell, touch, and taste various herbs, and vote for your favorite

Tea tasting with mint and lemon balm tea

July 13 Fit food with Cornell Coop. Ext. Food & Nutrition

Bicycle-blend a smoothie with the Fender Blender

Take the 2 Bites Challenge and sample in-season veggies

July 20 Flower power with the Saratoga Springs Public Library

Lollipop flower craft

Flower ID activity

July 27 Buzz like a bee with Little Wings Farm School

Honeybee craft

Learn about our pollinators’ favorite flowers

Try a taste of local honey

Aug 3 Construct with 4-H Robotics

Hands-on robot demonstrations with Ozobots

Giant robot demo on the lawn

Build fruit and vegetable constructs with toothpicks

Aug 10 Musical food with Caffè Lena Music School

Make percussion instruments out of recycled tins and dried beans.

Learn about beans and their nutritional content

Aug 17 C.R.E.A.T.E. Community Studios

Activities TBA

Aug 24 Our 5 Senses with The Children’s Museum of Saratoga

Sensory garden activities

Aug 31 Go fishing with the Saratoga Springs Public Library

Paper plate fish craft

Take the 2 Bites Challenge and sample in-season fruit

Learning about the importance and tastiness of local farming

June 22, 2021 By marketeditor

By Emily Meagher

Friends of the Market Host POP Club, photo courtesy of Pattie Garrett

School’s out for summer! That means a few months of family fun, relaxing, and, well… boredom. The Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s Power of Produce (POP) Club is here to keep local kids active and learning all summer long with educational activities, interactions with their local farmers, and challenges to try fresh market produce to get even the pickiest eaters to try new fruits and veggies.

This year’s POP Club, now in its 6th season, will run June 30 through September 1, every Wednesday at the High Rock Park market. Children may show up any time between 3-6 pm to participate in a fun, educational activity. Every week’s activity will be hosted by a community guest, including the Saratoga Springs Public Library, Cornell Cooperative Extension Food & Nutrition, Caffe Lena Music School, The Children’s Museum of Saratoga, Northern Rivers, and C.R.E.A.T.E. Community Studios. Children may participate in cooking demonstrations, scavenger hunts, crafts, gardening, and farmer meet and greet that provide nutrition and education.

Children who participate are given a $2 POP coin to spend on fresh fruit and vegetables at the market, and they will earn a stamp in their POP Passport – four stamps earn them a prize.

Buying produce with a POP coin gives kids the opportunity to meet farmers, learn money skills, and make smart food choices. “It’s great to see kids as young as kindergarteners come up to our stand, excited to shop for themselves. Especially when that week’s POP tasting has been a fruit or vegetable they hadn’t tried before but realize they like, and then spend their token to get more,” says Mark Bascom, owner of Owl Wood Farm and the market association’s president.

POP Club is open to all local children but is especially geared toward those aged 5-12. It is a free program, made possible through the generous support of the Christopher Dailey Foundation and the Adirondack Trust Company.

On Wednesday, July 7, 3-6 pm, don’t miss POP Club at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s ‘End of School Celebration’. This free family event will offer activities for children of all ages and a concert by Jack and Steve Zucchini (formerly of The Zucchini Brothers)!

This week’s recipe: Popsicles for All

Find more information and get updates on this season’s POP Club on our Facebook event page!