Stepping Out of Our Comfort Zone! BeMoneySmartUSA Teen Shares Her Experience

Autumn and Alyssa get into the Farmers Market Spirit
with Face Painting creations by April May

At the BeMoneySmartUSA Farmers Market we are asked to perform a myriad of different jobs. One of  the jobs we perform is Hospitality. In this job we greet customers who visit our market with a hardy and happy "hello" and then proceed to assist them with their groceries and/or to find a specific farmer or vendor they are looking for.  We also take the opportunity to sign them up for our weekly announcements and monthly newsletters where they have the opportunity to learn more about our markets and receive additional savings in coupons.  Engaging with customers in this way has really helped me develop my skills in both sales and customer service.  It's not always easy to walk up to a complete stranger and engage in conversation.  Getting this hands-on first hand experience affords me the chance to practice the skills we are taught in both the financial and business courses offered through BeMoneySmartUSA.

Before I could even begin to work at the Farmers' Markets, I had to first complete a financial and business workshop taught by BeMoneySmartUSA.  These classes were free and I was afraid they would also be boring.  Instead they were chock full of great information and facts about the economy that I had no idea about.  Most importantly I discovered that I had the power now at my age to begin the process of preparing for my own financial future.  My age was actually an advantage and I recognized both my own power to create my own future and my responsibility to understanding our own family's budget and spending.

What Constitutes A Certified Farmers Market in California

In the State of California there are three ways you can open and run a certified farmers market. You can either be an association, a government agency or a non-profit corporation. As a non-profit, BeMoneySmartUSA is permitted and licensed by the California State Department of Agriculture to run and manage a Certified Farmers Market (CFM) where all of the farmers and vendors are all certified by the State of California Department of Agriculture and under the regulation of the County Agricultural Commission. The CFM was created by the State of California to allow farmers the opportunity to sell their produce directly to the public exempting them from certain packing standards, labeling, and sizing requirements, which saves the farmers money and those savings get passed onto you! There are also regulations and permits through the County Department of Health that we must comply with in order to have non-certified products which would include prepared foods like bakery goods and sauces.

Patrons who visit any one of the Farmers' Markets sponsored by BeMoneySmartUSA can expect that everyone of the Farmers represented are certified and in many cases certified organic Farmers.  Each of them will display their updated permit - Certificate of Agriculture - that lists all of the produce they grow and sell at our markets.  They sell what they grow and they sell locally grown produce.  In addition to the local produce found at these markets, patrons can also enjoy gourmet specialty food items that include home made fresh pastas, sauces, and jams.  Other specialties include a variety of salsa blends, ground corn fresh baked tortilla chips, tamales, Soups to go, fresh breads, pastries and interesting healthy blends of dips, hummus, and many other delicious choices.  

BeMoneySmartUSA Farmers' Markets are locations includes: Saturday, 8 am - 1 pm in Citrus Heights, Sunrise Mall behind Sears; Sunday, 9 am - 2 pm at the Carmichael Park in Carmichael; Wednesday 9 am - 1 pm in front of the Veterans Hospital at Mather and in the evenings from 3 pm - 8 pm at the Fair Oaks Plaza Park on Main Street in the Old Fair Oaks Village. All markets are open all year round, rain or shine.

BeMoneySmartUSA supports farmers, community and youth as part of the mission to provide educational programs to youth in our communities! Thank you for your support!
Written by Austin, 18 – Sonoma State College

Meet the Winners of the Salsa Contest at the Carmichael Park Farmers Markets

On Sunday, September 18, 2011 over 1,000 tastings were offered to patrons who visit the BeMoneySmartUSA Farmers Market at the Carmichael Park.  They all had the pleasure, yet difficult task of voting for their "Market Favorite Salsa".  Participants included both commercial/business entities and amateur/individual entrants.  Awards were given to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners in both categories.  Lines formed to taste fourteen different salsas!  Salsas entered included sweet salsas made with mangos, onions, and cilantro.  Others were more traditional with a combination of red tomatoes, onions, garlic, cilantro and spices.  There were mild and hot salsas that included some of the season's best jalapenos too!  There was something for everyone.  But, there was no doubt who had the best salsa and voted the Market Favorite(s).

BeMoneySmartUSA Farmers Market Offers Amazing Opportunities to Teens!

With economic times as tough as they are, teens too are in trouble when it comes to getting jobs.  That is why it is so fantastic that, through their  Farmers Markets, BeMoneySmartUSA offers a variety of job opportunities to teens not only to earn money but to learn valuable business skills.

Through the nonprofit’s Rent-A-Teen program, local farmers and vendors can hire youth who have been trained in the BeMoneySmartUSA business and financial literacy workshops to assist at the BeMoneySmartUSA Farmer’s Market.  In addition,

BeMoneySmartUSA offers other paid positions.  Teens may work in hospitality, greeting and helping those who come to the Farmer’s Market. They can also act as freelance writers, interviewing customers and vendors and sharing information in the Farmer’s Market monthly newsletter.

In addition to training teens, BeMoneySmartUSA gives back to the community! Workers collect several pounds of fresh produce from the farmers to donate to local youth charities, such as WIND Youth Services and Our Youth Breakfast Club.  “The Farmers Market is just an extension of the relevant experience and education they are all getting by participating in the Rent-A-Teen program and we are truly blessed to partner with an organization that gives back to youth and the community,” states Kelly Grady, mohter of three teenage girls who attended the finance and business camps and all work with BeMoneySmartUSA.

The BeMoneySmartUSA Farmer’s Market is a win-win situation for everyone involved:  the farmers, the teens, the costumers and local charities.  “We want to provide a model of business that helps the teens, the community and the businesses who participate to experience something more than the status quo,” says Don Hall, Market Manager, in this month’s Carmichael Times and American River Messenger.

At BeMoneySmartUSA’s unique Carmichael Farmer’s Market, youth gain job experience while earning an income, and advance their confidence and social skills while working with the community.  If you have not yet experienced the hospitality and plentiful selection of produce at the BeMoneySmartUSA Farmer’s Market,  please come for a visit!  It is open every Saturday at the Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, 8:00 am to 1:00 pm and every Sunday at the Carmichael Park from 9 am to 2 pm, rain or shine, all year round!

BeMoneySmartUSA is featured this month in the Carmichael Times as well as in the American River Messenger!  The articles provided  an in-depth look at how BeMoneySmartUSA is using its Carmichael Farmer’s Market to further its goal to financially educate youth. Free copies of the articles are available this month!

BeMoneySmartUSA works with schools, churches, youth organizations and businesses to provide FREE finance and business workshops to both youth and adults.  For more information about BeMoneySmartUSA workshops visit www.bemoneysmartusa.org. To sponsor a BeMoneySmartUSA program, email info@bemoneysmartusa.org or call (916) 806-3989.

Written by Clayton, 16, Folsom High School

Who Knew "Fungi" Could Be Be So Good For You!

At the BeMoneySmartUSA Farmer’s Market there are many vendors who come together to offer you a variety of foods.  The newest addition to the Farmer’s Market family is the Dragon Gourmet Mushrooms booth, overseen by Peter and Bobbi Gallagher and owned by Roxana Walker.

Dragon Gourmet Mushrooms sells fresh Shiitake mushrooms (their most popular item), Blue Oyster mushrooms (great in salads), and King Oyster mushrooms (good sliced on the barbecue). One basket
of mushrooms sells for $4 and two baskets for $6.  The mushrooms are grown in sanitized rice-straw without the use of pesticides.  They also sell a growing kit that includes everything you need to grow your own mushrooms at home.  “The mushrooms are all high in antioxidants and delicious in soups,” says Peter.

Visit the BeMoneySmartUSA Farmer’s Market to purchase produce from Dragon Gourmet Mushrooms as well as from many other local growers.  The BeMoneySmartUSA Farmer’s Market is open every Saturday at the Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., the Carmichael Park in Carmichael on Sunday from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm and on Wednesday mornings at the VA Hospital at Mather from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm and Wednesday evenings at the Old Village Fair Oaks Plaza Park from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm all year round, rain or shine!

written by Annina, 13 - Olympus Middle School

2011 First Annual Tomato Taste Off Contest was A Huge Success!

Display of tomatoes at Carmichael Park

BeMoneySmartUSA hosted two tomato taste off contest events at their certified farmers markets on Saturday, September 10 at the Sunrise Mall and on Sunday, September 11 at the Carmichael Park.  Many of the farmers from both locations proudly entered their many varieties of tomatoes to include heirlooms, cherry and hybrid varieties to compete for recognition as being the "best tasting heirloom tomato", the "most beautiful tomato", "the meatiest tomato" and the "sweetest tomatoes".  Patrons visiting the markets had the delicious and sometimes difficult task of tasting and only being allowed to vote for one tomato favorite in each category.

Teens earn while they learn at local Certified Farmers’ Markets in Citrus Heights and Carmichael

Chelsea uses her sales skills working for Mt. Moriah

Alex & CA Pistachios

While shopping the new Farmers’ Markets at the Sunrise Mall on Saturday and at the Carmichael Park on Sunday, both open from 8-1, it is not difficult to notice the many “red-shirted” teenagers hard at work behind the booths alongside the farmers and vendors who sell their produce and products at these weekly markets.   These young people are all students of a youth entrepreneurship program offered through BeMoneySmartUSA, a local non-profit who organizes and manages both of the farmers’ markets.  The venues provide opportunities for youth to participate in the organization’s “Rent-A-Teen” program to work jobs in communication, hospitality, marketing, media, journalism, event coordination, administration, and sales.  Students applying for these jobs are required to complete a minimum of 10-12 hours of financial and business training through the non-profit’s FREE education programs.  Once the students have completed the courses, they have the opportunity to apply for job positions offered at the markets.