Holiday Harvest: Urban Harvest Has Your Holiday Needs
On any given Saturday morning, in the lot at the corner of Buffalo Speedway and Westheimer Road, you’ll find tents and stalls overflowing with local produce, fresh eggs and poultry, cheeses, and baked goods, alongside a few food trucks and throngs of shoppers. This is Urban Harvest’s Saturday Farmers Market, a gathering of vendors — ranchers, farmers, and food sellers — all from a 180 miles radius around Houston.
Over 30 years ago, two Fourth Ward activists, Deacon Malcolm McLemore and Deacon Jean Cameron, started a community garden in their neighborhood along with Dr. Bob Randall, one of the founders of Urban Harvest. Their garden grew and grew. The simple act of growing food brought neighbors together to share recipes and seeds, to solve problems about crime and blight, and to eat and celebrate together. The seed that was planted by the success of this garden led to the creation of Urban Harvest seven years later. Since 1994, Urban Harvest has cultivated communities of gardeners, educators, farmers, and neighbors to launch thriving gardens and farmers’ markets. Today, the nonprofit provides support to over 160 community gardens, school gardens, education and classes, and, of course, the farmers market. Which is a great place to do your shopping during the holidays.
“You can precoder your turkeys from, Tejas Heritage Farms and Three Sister Farms while supplies last,” says Tyler Horne, director of the farmers markets for Urban Harvest. “And if you want a great side to go with your holiday meals we have prepared foods from Monica Pope, Little Kitchen HTX, Craft Pita, Sally’s Persian kitchen, Blackwood Farms, Taha Spreads, and more.”
The Saturday market, which began in 2004 with just seven vendors, today has more than 100 sellers, and is one of Texas’ largest farmers markets. Original vendors such as Animal Farm, Atkinson Farms, and Wood Duck Farm, are joined by sellers of fresh Gulf Coast seafood, locally produced honey, flowers, cheeses, coffee, olive oils, and prepared foods from baked goods to Indian dishes. The market is open year-round from 8:00 a.m. to noon on Saturdays, and in 2020 the organization launched its mobile market, bringing fresh foods to underserved and food-insecure communities.
But don’t just think about your own table for the holidays. A lot of the items offered at the market can make beautiful gifts.
“Some great shelf-stable holiday gifts from the market include organic pecans from Rio Grande Organics, bonsai trees from Sugar Land’s Cabrera Farm, cajeta from Blue Heron Farm, margarita mix from A Casa, dried flowers from Addy’s Flower Farm, a wreath from Animal Farm, and bean-bar chocolates from Xocolla,” says Horne. You’ll find the handmade wreaths available around Thanksgiving, and the cajeta, a Mexican caramel sauce made with sweetened goat’s milk, is sold by Christian and Lisa Seger, who also sell whimsical calendars and mugs decorated with pictures of their Nubian goats. The farm uses sustainable agriculture practices, and Animal Welfare Approved standards for their herd.
If you’re not shopping for a goat fan, how about a grow-your-own-home mushroom kit?
“Flying Saucer Farms sells these baggies of what look like dirt,” says Horne. “You cut a slit in them, and you can grow about a pound and a half or oyster mushrooms.”
Another good gift idea this season are the spice-infused honeys, which Horne says are a big trend right now. But there’s one thing you won’t find in abundance this year.
“We used to say, ‘put a citrus in the bottom of the stockings!’ but this year, Texas has lost much of its citrus industry.” From 2020’s flood and hurricane damage to Winter Storm Uri in 2021 to this year’s draught, the state has produced less citrus than usual and often, the fruits are smaller. “I’d say we only have about 20 percent of our usual citrus,” says Horne. “I had six trees in my backyard, and only one survived this year.”
Which is a shame since citrus tasting and buying orange trees are popular at events, like the upcoming Winter Fest on December 10. You can expect plenty of gift ideas, delicious snacks, those gorgeous holiday wreaths, and even a photo op with Santa.
And, if there’s a gardener on your shopping list, you can get them the gift of gardening classes through Urban Harvest, as well as a copy of Year Round Food Gardening for Houston and Southeast Texas by Urban Harvest’s founder Dr. Bob Randall. This 12th edition covers how to adjust food plant lists, planting schedules, and more for our warming climate. It can be purchased online at urbanharvest.org. And while you are there, maybe you’ll make a holiday gift to the community with a tax-deductible donation to Urban Harvest so they can continue to promote local, fresh, sustainable foods.