farmers market

Farmers market at Portland International Airport

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Who says you can’t find healthy food at an airport?

For about a month now, Capers Café, one of the long-time concessionaires at Oregon’s Portland International Airport, has been hosting its own mini-farmers market out there on Concourse C with 12 linear feet of berries, melons, apricots and peaches for sale each Tuesday and Thursday.

“Owners Christian and Annette Joly live in Portland and have been managing this family-owned business for nearly 25 years. They receive fresh produce weekly from local growers in Hood River, Troutdale, Mt. Hood, and farmers along the Columbia River,” said airport spokeswoman Annie Linstrom. “They’re selling out daily, and it’s really becoming a big hit.”

Sheep, goats and bees at airports

Earlier this week, I wrote about Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport’s week-long pilot project to employ 100 sheep (plus a few goats) to munch on invasive vegetation on airport property. ATL’s program comes on the heels of SFO’s 8-year long use of goats to keep weeds at bay and a short-lived experiment a few years back at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Now comes word that the Chicago Department of Aviation is hoping to hire some goats to do yard work as well.

That makes perfect sense for Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, which has been going green by leaps and bounds. In addition to an in-airport aeroponic garden that is providing herbs and vegetables to some airport restaurants and to a brand new farmer’s market-like stand in the airport, there’s an apiary ( a bee hive yard) on airport property as well.

Farmer’s Market at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland

Here’s a great use of an in-city airport:

Burke Lakefront Airport (BKL), a general aviation airport on Cleveland’s downtown waterfront, will be hosting a farmer’s market with more than a dozen local vendors.

veggies

Each Thursday from 11:30 am until 2:30 pm, from now through October, vendors selling fruits and vegetables, locally-made ice-cream, baked goods, cheese, honey, jams, jellies and more will set up on the sidewalk in front of the terminal.

Organizers also promise cooking demonstrations, live entertainment, and free parking.

Have you seen something new at your airport?  Let us know!