Thanksgiving Traditions of the Essex Market | Episode 164

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PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

In preparation for Thanksgiving, join us for this interactive virtual program that will include live visits with vendors at the Lower East Side’s Essex Market and Thanksgiving-themed trivia We will learn about the best places to get all the fixings for your Thanksgiving meal, and how different communities celebrate the holiday and infuse their own culture’s flavors and traditions into the holiday meal. We’ll also be joined by artists Theresa Loong and Laura Nova from Feed Me a Story who will share audio clips of vendors and shoppers from their project documenting Thanksgiving traditions in the market. We will also share how the market is supporting the local community and helping those in need during the holidays. This program is offered in partnership with the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

Featured Vendors:

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Food for Good: How Non-Profits Are Creating Change Through Food

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Photo of Daytoine Shaw, a Black man wearing cap, glasses, and t-shirt with Reconnect Bakery written on it, holding a tray of muffins and giving a thumbs up

An Essex Street Market “Talk & Taste” event about food-based social enterprise

Many organizations are recognizing the value of entrepreneurship and culinary arts to inspire young people, build their skills, and equip them for challenges ahead. At this Talk & Taste event, offered in partnership with the Essex Street Market Vendors Association, we brought together three organizations that see the incredible value of food. The panel discussion included Lyn Pentecost, executive director of the Lower East Side Girls Club, and one of their longtime participants, Jocelyn. The Girls Club not only offers programs and facilities for young women to learn about cooking, but their La Tiendita stall in the Essex Street Market offers them the opportunity to learn the retail side as well, selling baked goods, aprons, potholders, and other textiles made by their participants. Jordyn Lexton is the founder Drive Change, a nonprofit that works with young people who have had contact with the criminal justice system, and operates for-profit enterprises run by their participant, including the Vendy Award-winning Snow Day food truck. Reconnect works with a similar population, helping young men in Bed-Stuy, Bushwick, and Williamsburg who have become “disconnected” to gain skills and confidence by running businesses, including the Reconnect Graphics print shop, Reconnect Café, and the Reconnect Bakery in the Moore Street Market. We were joined by Reconnect’s founder, Father Jim O’Shea, bakery manager Daytoine Shaw, and one of his bakers, Rayvon.

[UPDATE July 10, 2017: We are deeply saddened to have to share the news that Daytoine Shaw of Reconnect Bakery passed away suddenly last week. Daytoine was an incredible baker, mentor, and friend, and we will miss him terribly.]

If you missed the event, you can watch the whole discussion below or on our Facebook page.

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Thanksgiving Shopping at the Essex Street Market

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In preparation for Thanksgiving, we’ve put together a shopping guide so you can find unique, delicious, and affordable items right in the Lower East Side’s Essex Street Market. But when it comes to market shopping guides, we have big shoes to fill.

Starting in 1934, WNYC began hosting a daily five-minute segment at 8:25 a.m., Monday through Friday, targeted at housewives on topics related to food shopping, recipes, and healthy eating. Narrated and hosted by Frances Foley Gannon, Deputy Commissioner of the Consumers Service Division of the Department of Markets, the segment was heard by over 100,000 listeners daily. In preparation for the show, her team of researchers visited wholesale markets at 6 a.m. each morning to investigate and report on fair consumer pricing for the fresh ingredients of the day.>> Continue reading