With farmer’s market season winding down in Seneca County, Cornell Cooperative Extension nutrition educator Candace Riegel is urging residents to use their Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) coupons before they expire — and to double their EBT dollars while they still can.
Riegel joined the FLX Morning Podcast on September 19 for the monthly nutrition segment, covering everything from September’s Fruits and Veggies Month to upcoming pumpkin events and fall farm-to-school programming. Her core message: make a fruit or vegetable the centerpiece of every meal, whether that’s a smoothie bowl at breakfast, legumes as a main dish at dinner, or simply grabbing a piece of fruit before reaching for a snack.
With only a week or two left at local markets, Riegel encouraged shoppers to stock up on late-season produce for winter storage or preservation. Winter squash, potatoes, onions, cabbage, carrots, and beets can all be stored for months. Beets, she noted, last one to two months in a refrigerator drawer once the greens are removed. Cooperative Extension offers food preservation classes and has master food preservers on staff — call the office for tips or to find an upcoming class.
Cooperative Extension will also be hosting Pumpkin Days at the final sessions of two local farmers markets. The Seneca Falls Farmers Market wraps up October 1st from 2–6 p.m., and the Waterloo Farmers Market closes out on October 5th from 9 a.m. to noon. Attendees can pick up free small pumpkins for kids or pie pumpkins to try making homemade pumpkin puree. Riegel recommends sugar pumpkins or pie pumpkins — not large jack-o’-lantern varieties — for cooking and baking.
October is also National Farm to School Month. Highlights include apple taste tests in Seneca County schools, participation in Cornell’s New York Big Apple Crunch on October 10th at 2 p.m., and a farm-to-school training day for school food service staff at New York Kitchen in Canandaigua. Schools are also invited to attend Fun on the Farm at Hemdale Farms in Seneca Falls on Friday, September 27th, with a public day on Saturday, September 28th. Cornell will also be spotlighting New York State’s status as the number one beet producer in the country throughout October.
For more information on programs, classes, and resources, visit senatecountycce.org or call Cornell Cooperative Extension of Seneca County directly.