A Local Holiday Table

This fall has strengthened our local community, with many groups and local residents helping each other out after the devastating Lee flooding. In that spirit, The Bloomsburg Daily thought it would be nice if residents helped out local merchants, farms, and vendors this holiday season by buying gifts and sourcing your holiday meal ingredients locally. And if you think it’s impossible to create a meal with local ingredients during this time of year, you are wrong!

Check out these great ideas for both local gifts and food. And be sure to visit the other local merchants in Bloomsburg for all of your holiday needs!

Forks Farm Market

Forks Farm Market is in Orangeville and is both a fully functioning farm and market owned by the Hopkins Family. Their goal is to be the local source for fresh, clean, pastured poultry, eggs, beef, lamb, and pork of the highest quality using sustainable farming methods that contribute to the health of their customers, community, and environment. John Hopkins from Forks Farm tells us that this Saturday, December 17th, they will be having a special holiday market from 10 AM to 1 PM. In addition to their farm products including grass-fed beef, pastured poultry, and free range eggs, many other farms will participate bringing products such as farmstead cheeses, dairy products, sauces, herbs, and syrups. There will also be over 20 vendors in attendance who will be selling salmon, goat cheese/meat, veal, homemade breads, sticky buns, fresh roasted coffees, herbs, shampoos/soaps, pies and soups, and apple dumplings. Crafters will also be ready to help you find that perfect gift with alpaca wool products, jewelry, and handcrafted wood products. For more information and directions, check out their website.

Forks Farm Market
299 Covered Bridge Road
Orangeville, PA 17859
570-683-5820
http://forksfarmmarket.com

Wild for Salmon

Wild for Salmon is the creation of Steve and Jenn Kurian, who went on a trip to Alaska and did some commercial fishing and got “hooked.” They quickly realized the uniqueness of the product and the possibilities that lie ahead. They have grown to serve individuals, buying clubs, local farm markets, restaurants, and health food stores. Because Wild for Salmon has increased its sales by an average of over 20% per year over the last 4 years, Steve and Jenn have recently purchased their own boat and commercial fishing permit for Bristol Bay, AK. While the products aren’t technically from Pennsylvania (salmon don’t swim that far), we think you’ll want to patronize this great local business for many of your holiday needs. Popular holiday items include the Whole Salmon Filet, Smoked Salmon Spread, King and Dungeness Crab Legs, and Nova Lox. In addition, they are featuring three holiday samplers which make great gifts. The Alaskan Sampler contains a mix of white fish, crab, salmon, cod, and sole. The Wild for Salmon Sampler contains a mix of salmon products. The Smoked Salmon Sampler contains a mix of smoked salmon products.

Wild for Salmon
521 Montour Bvld (Rt 11)
Bloomsburg, PA 17815
570-387-0550 office
570-387-0552 store
http://wildforsalmon.com

Spices, Inc.

Greg and Penny Patterson decided to launch SpicesInc.com in early 2008 after leaving the corporate job that Greg had as the Chief Operations Officer at Dog.com. In a former life, Greg was also a restaurant operations consultant who helped fix underperforming restaurants. So getting back into the food industry was a logical step for him. Part of his mission is to give back. In July of 2010, they decided that they would begin donating 1% of their sales (not profits, but total sales) to help fight hunger in kids, their families and seniors in our country. Spices Inc. has literally every spice you can imagine (13 different kinds of peppercorns!) and some tremendous gift ideas, including many different spice sets. Some of these include the Big Game Wing Master Set, the Master Baker spice set, the Artisan Breads and Granola set, and for after the holidays, the Jump Start Your Diet Oatmeal Spice Set. In addition, for your cooking and baking needs, they have nearly anything you can imagine from pumpkin pie spice to breakfast sausage seasoning to granulated honey to Saigon Cinnamon. The possibilities are endless here and any food lover you know would love their products. I have yet to visit their 6th Street location, but rumor has it the aroma is unbelievable.

Spices Inc.
2 East 6th Street
Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania 17815
570-784-7478
http://www.spicesinc.com