New Port Richey Library as Mental Nourishment
One of the ways New Port Richey Library helps its community is by fostering healthy, eco-friendly initiatives. These include:
With the community’s enthusiasm for sustainability and local foods, these efforts have proven successful.
Check out videos of these initiatives.
Tasty Tuesdays
Tasty Tuesdays began in the spring of 2012 when NPR Library became a pickup spot for produce boxes from Tampa Bay Organics. People placed orders online for boxes of fruits and/or veggies, plus add-ons like olive oil, coffee and honey.
The event gradually expanded to a weekly farmers’ market, offering local, organic and non-GMO goods.
To make it easy for anyone to sell, NPR Library set up free tables in their courtyard. With no overhead, vendors can charge less - a great help to low-income patrons.
Some of the more unusual items vendors have brought to market include:
- Nasturtium jelly
- Kombucha
- Moringa seedlings
- Essential oil insect repellant
- A giant rabbit (for Easter photos)
Tasty Tuesdays also hosts workshops by master gardeners and other experts. Organic growing techniques, rain barrels and water gardens are a few of the topics they’ve tackled.
Most customers hear about Tasty Tuesdays through word of mouth. The library uses social media, local publications and monthly talks by Associate Director Ann Scott to market the event.
The market has become so popular that regulars make sure to show up early, before everything sells out.
