The Restoration Farm farmstand in Old Bethpage

As the harvest season comes to a close, make sure you don’t miss out on these Nassau and Suffolk County farmer’s markets and farmstands.

Amityville Farmers Market

631-323-365, July 3–Oct 14, Saturdays 7am–12pm. Jams and jellies, flowers, plants, breads, pies and baked goods. 911 Memorial Parking Lot, Broadway (Rt 110), Amityville. www.LongIslandGrowersMarket.com

Bayville Farmers Market

June 6–Sept 5, Saturdays 8:30–Noon. Bayville Commons lot, Bayville & Ludlam Aves.

East Meadow Farmers Market

631-323-365, July 7–Oct 14, Thursdays 10am–2pm. Nassau University Medical Center, 2201 Hempstead Tpk, East Meadow. www.LongIslandGrowersMarket.com

Fort Greene, Brooklyn Farmers Market

Year Round, Saturdays 8am–5pm. Worth the drive during the winter and for the amazing dairy and meat selection not found in Nassau! Fresh seafood, herbs, salad greens, chicken, beef, pork, bacon, turkey, plants, herbs, salad greens, fresh flowers, apples, cider, milk, yogurt, butter, cheese, honey, ice cream, baked goods, mushrooms, seasonal fruits and vegetables. Fort Greene Park, corner of Washington Park and Dekalb Ave, Brooklyn.

Friendly Farms Farmstand, East Meadow

516-486-2448, March–December, 10–6 Mon-Sat, 10–5 Sun. Closed Mondays before Memorial Day. Family farm with certified organics & local harvests of corn, heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, string beans, melon, peaches and more. 832 Merrick Ave, East Meadow. www.friendly-farms.com

Garden City Farmers Market

631-323-3653, June 3–Nov 24, Tuesdays 7am–12pm. County Seat Dr, behind State Supreme Court Building, Garden City. www.LongIslandGrowersMarket.com

Glen Cove Farmers Market

631-323-3653, June 6–Nov 21, Sundays 7am-12pm. WIC and Senior FMNP participant. Downtown Village Square, Glen Cove (intersection of Glen, Bridge and School Sts). www.LongIslandGrowersMarket.com

Hempstead Village Farmers Market

July–Oct, Fridays 7am-Noon. Hempstead Village Farmers Market – Christ Presbyterian Church, Fulton & Washington Streets.

Huntington Village Farmers Market

631-323-3653, June 1–Nov 23, Sundays 7am-12pm. Free range chicken and beef from upstate NY, teas, relishes and chutneys, wine, cheese spreads, nut bars, wheat grass, bakery items, lavender, honey, homemade ravioli and more. Ample parking. Public parking lot, Main St (Rt. 25A) & Rt. 110 intersection, Huntington. www.LongIslandGrowersMarket.com

Islip Farmers Market

631-323-3653, June 6–Nov 20. Saturdays 7am–12pm. Town Hall parking lot, Montauk Hwy (Rt 27A), Islip. www.LongIslandGrowersMarket.com

Locust Valley Farmers Market

631-323-3653, July–November, Saturdays 7am–1pm. Across from Post Office, Forest Ave, Locust Valley. www.LongIslandGrowersMarket.com

Long Beach Farmers Market

631-678-5227, May–Sept, Wed 11am-7pm, Sat 9-2. Oct–Nov, Wed 11am-5pm, Sat 9-2. Three Long Island vegetable farms, including one certified organic; fresh fruit and juices; specialty mushrooms; honey; eggs; organic bread, pastry and pies; local fresh fish; Zagat rated ravioli, and pasta products; pickles; knishes; raw milk cheese and pork products. Kennedy Plaza, 1 West Chester Street, Long Beach. www.longbeachny.org

Lynbrook Farmers Market

631-323-3653, June–November, Saturdays 8am-1pm. LIRR parking lot, Sunrise Highway, Lynbrook

Mineola Farmers Market

Mid-July–Thanksgiving, Tuesdays 7am-1pm. 101 County Seat Drive.

New Hyde Park Farmers Market

July–Mid-November, Wednesdays 11am–2pm. LI Jewish Medical Center lot, 400 Lakeville Rd.

Organics Today Farmstand, East Islip

631-650-4424 Memorial Day–Oct. Call for days and times. Organically grown fruits and vegetables, specializing in heirloom tomatoes, grape vines, trees, berry bushes, handmade birdhouse, farm and garden supplies, books and more. 169 Washington Street, near Drexel St, East Islip. www.OrganicsTodayFarms.com

Oyster Bay Farmers Market

516-922-6982, July 30-Sept 24, Fridays 1-6pm. Long Island produce, honey products, seafood, organic eggs, artisanal cheeses, homemade soap, organic dog treats, organic smoothies, handmade totes, heirloom fresh & canned tomatoes. Across from Oyster Bay post office, 1 Shore Ave. www.oysterbaymainstreet.org

Port Washington Farmers Market

516-883-0887, June–October, Saturdays 8am-12pm. Only completely organic market in NY state. Fresh organic produce from Long Island, goat cheese, honey, organic bread and baked goods, flowers, our famous “market muffins” and scones, and fantastic organic coffee (with organic milk and organic sugar). Town Dock off Main St, Port Washington. www.grassrootsinfo.org

Restoration Farm Farmstand, Old Bethpage

Old Bethpage, 631-383-1050 June 19–Sept 25, Saturdays 11am–1pm. Organic and family-owned farm & farmstand featuring vegetables, berries, herbs, flowers, honey, baked goods & homemade preserves. Old Bethpage Village Restoration parking lot, 1303 Round Swamp Road, Old Bethpage www.restorationfarm.com

Rockville Centre Farmers Market

631-323-3653, June 6–Nov 21, Sundays 7am–Noon. Corner of Sunrise Hwy & Long Beach Rd, Rockville Centre. www.LongIslandGrowersMarket.com

Roosevelt Farmers Market

July 11–Oct 31, Sundays 11am–4pm. 380 Nassau Rd., in parking lot.

Roslyn North Hills Farmers Market

631-323-3653, June 3–Nov 24, Wednesdays 7am–1pm. Cheese, smoked meats, milk, wine, seafood, cupcakes, pickles, home made relishes, chutney and more. Christopher Morley Park, Searingtown Rd, Roslyn. www.LongIslandGrowersMarket.com

The Manhasset Chamber of Commerce and the Port Washington Federal Credit Union will co-sponsor an Environmental Educational Fair on Saturday, October 2 from 10AM to 4 PM at a the Lakeville-Manhasset #2 Firehouse, 1 Community Dr. East in Manhasset. Come enjoy the live music, exhibits and vendors to help you go green, speakers on ecological issues, wine tasting, job board, gift basket drawing and more!

The Chamber’s Go Green Committee seeks to engage a broad spectrum of industry experts, manufacturers, educators and environmental leaders in the organization of this event. The objective is to educate business owners and residents about the latest developments in ecological and energy efficient products and services, while producing an event that is entertaining and family friendly. The fair represents an opportunity for everyone.

Businesses committed to environmental concerns, specializing in eco-friendly products and services as well as companies engaged in construction, transportation, fashion and sustainable products, embracing environmental technologies are invited to participate as vendors by renting an informational/display table.

In order to defray incidental costs related to the event, the Go Green Committee is presently soliciting additional sponsors. Sponsorships in the amount of $100.00 and above are especially appreciated. On going product and service recognition in press coverage and all promotional materials produced for the event is offered in return. For further information, please contact: Lee Temares at (516 627-8688), or e-mail her at Leemanhassetcc@aol.com. Application forms may be found on the Manhasset Chamber of Commerce website: www.Manhassetny.org.

For up-to-the-minute info on the fair, visit their ReSprout profile page.

The U.S. Green Building Council Long Island Chapter (USGBC-LI) is requesting business owners help in supporting the PACE Assessment Protection Act. The Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) finance programs are local government solutions that help home owners finance energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements. A dedicated petition page has been created on the USGBC-LI web site for businesses to easily add their signature, voicing concern over the future of PACE.

Recently, new proposals from the FHFA (Federal Housing Finance Agency) has stated that residential PACE financing programs do not qualify for the financial requirements of the federal mortgage programs of Fanny May and Freddie Mac. This announcement will be detrimental in the ability of homeowners to use PACE financing to fund clean energy and energy efficiency projects for their home.

Vince Capogna, Chairman, USGBC-LI noted, “The first PACE program in the nation designed to address energy efficiency was founded right here in Babylon, Long Island in 2008. These programs help expand local businesses, create jobs locally, aid in conserving energy and significantly reduce carbon emissions, all which ultimately help our fellow Long Island home owners and communities.”

PACE allows home owners to upgrade the energy efficiency of their homes through long-term financing options that are repaid through an assessment on property taxes, providing greater financial stability, increased home value, all contributing to increased local community revenues. To help support the continuance of this highly important program, please visit the USGBC-LI PACE web page and let your voice be heard.

USGBC is a non-profit organization dedicated to sustainable building design and construction. USGBC developed the LEED building rating system, which is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions. USGBC’s core purpose is to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life. USGBC-LI works to bring these values to the communities of Long Island.

Enjoy nature and get some exercise at the Farmingville Community Day, August 22, 12-5pm at the Farmingville Hills County Park & Schoolhouse.

All Day Activities

• Historical schoolhouse tours
• Guided 1.2 miles hike by local Scout Troops
• Letterboxing adventure (just like a treasure hunt!)
• Nature  project with the Troops (Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, etc.)
• Explore a Farmingville Fire Department fire truck & Suffolk County Police patrol car
• Storytelling in the Park with Sachem Public Library
• Snacks, refreshments, Ralph’s Ices & Village Pizza specials
• Prizes & face painting from local PTAs, ACE Marketing & Promotions, FRA and other participants
• MCs: LI Radio personalities Scot Mason & Glen Calderone

Itinerary

• 12 pm – VFM Post 400 Flag Ceremony at Schoolhouse, Opening remarks by Suffolk County Legislator Tom Muratore
• 12:30 pm – Portuguese American Center Folk Dancing
• 1 pm – Family Yoga Demo with Mary Beth Dark
• 1:30 pm – FRA Beach Ball Challenge for Kids (free beach balls!)
• 2 pm – Cheerleading demo by Sachem Sports Club
• 2:30 pm – Helping Hands Outreach Ministries Performance
• 3:30 pm – Lacrosse Demo by Sachem Sports Club
• 4 pm – Something, Long Island’s only 4 piece acoustic Beatles tribute band
• 5 pm – VFW Post 400 Closing Flag Ceremony

For more information, visit the organizer Farmingville Rocks!

According the summer edition of the ReSprout Lean & Green Guide, there are 10 farmers’ markets and farmstands in Nassau County, but up until two weeks ago, Oyster Bay, despite it’s Revolutionary War heritage, has never been one of those lucky towns. No more! Last Friday marked the the second week of the town’s first and brand new farmers’ market. It will operate 1-6 pm every Friday until September 24 in front of the Oyster Bay Post Office at 1 Shore Avenue.

Some of the vendors include Peter’s Produce fruits and vegetable grown on Long Island; Bee Pharm, raw honey and honey products; Eddie Armstrong organic eggs; Horman’s Best Pickles; MeCox Bay Dairy artisanal cheeses; Soaps by Susan, homemade soaps; Sunnyblue Preserves, jellies and jams; The Barkery, organic dog treats; Urban Oasis organic smoothies; fresh fish and clams; fresh baked breads and pastries; organic heirloom fresh and canned tomatoes, floral bouquets and potted herbs; and fashionable hand-made tote bags to carry all of market purchases home.

So, besides all the harvest goodness, what made Oyster Bay finally organize the market? According to Danielle Olesen, a OBMSA representaive, “a company from Brooklyn, DoTank, chose Oyster Bay as the site for a downtown revitalization project. They take a part of a downtown that is below potential and through planning, design and organization try to revitalize the area. One of the parts of the revitalization was a farmer’s market. We had such an overwhelming response from the community that we decided to try to start our own.”

For more information or to volunteer or participate, please contact the Oyster Bay Main Street Association (OBMSA) at (516) 922-6982. Vendors are still being accepted. Please bring tents and tables; there is no fee for vendors to join.

So, after talking to one of my favorite clients I felt the need to investigate tracking website visits through print advertising. It’s a tough subject for us print publishers. Google, for instance can prove that someone clicked on their ad to arrive nice and neatly on your website’s front porch. Print advertising is trickier because of two important things.

For one, a print ad delivers the company name (paid Google ads sometimes do and sometimes don’t.) What often happens then is that when the prospective customer is in sudden need, the name of you, the print advertiser, occurs to them, and they either Google your company name or look it up in the phone book to get the contact info. It’s rare that the original print advertisement is laying around unless the prospective customer was sure they would have a need for your services fairly soon. So when the advertiser asks the all important, “How did you hear about us?” question, guess what they say? The web. And even if you dig deeper (“Where on the web?” or “How did you find our site.”), the answer is “I Googled you.”

The second reason print advertising is so tricky to track on the web is an obvious but utterly unacknowledged one — if a customer is looking at your print ad in the second decade of 21st century they are simply more likely to type in your website on their computer or their smartphone than pick up the phone. That’s it; that simple. In fact, you could be getting dozens of hits this way, without ever getting a single phone call or walk-in because a prospective customer doesn’t like what they see on your website.

This “Everything-To-the-Website” funneling action is the reason, among many, why one of the most frequent things I hear in my Marketing Analysis is that company websites are responsible for a large part of inquiries. It’s because websites are often the last stop for a customer before they make the call or walk into your business. But it’s important to realize that a company’s website is a destination with no worth if people are not arriving at it. Excluding the top 5% of the more interactive websites, a standard company website is simply a digital version of a paper brochure. Brochures are worth nothing if they are in a box in the back of your store; websites are worth nothing if they are getting no hits. If you have both brochures and a website, what do you do? You hand out your brochures; you mail them. And you drive traffic to your website by telling people, emailing the URL, and putting it on your print products.

So the question is, how do we track that link between seeing the print ad and visiting you website? Did someone type in your URL because they had your business card or because they saw an ad?

This article discusses some solutions and I have some solutions as well. Stay tuned for the next edition of the Lean & Green Guide!

http://blog.unionstreetmedia.com/internet-marketing/track-print-ads-for-roi/

It’s time again for one of my favorite green networking events, the U.S. Green Building Council Sustainable Cocktails. Come join us Tuesday, September 28th! This event is still free to members (a great reason to join the chapter by the way). Non-members will be charged $20 for those who book online and $30 at the door. This is an open networking forum for members and professionals to share ideas with members of the board and other chapter members. The evening will provide an opportunity to share ideas and learn more about the importance and positive impacts of building green on Long Island through sustainable design and learn more about the U.S. Green Building Council.

Tuesday, September 28th, 2009
5:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Legal Sea Foods restaurant
160 Walt Whitman Road (at the Walt Whitman Mall)
Huntington Station, NY
USGBC Members $0, Non-Members $20 online, $30 at the door
RSVP Online

And, as if all this fun wasn’t enough, the next night, Wednesday the 30th, is the first ever Long Beach Green Drinks. This event is the inaugural event for the “Green Shores Initiative,” a community wide program to dramatically reduce the use of energy by residents of Long Beach, Atlantic Beach, the Five Towns, Oceanside and nearby communities.

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
6 PM – 8:30 PM
Minnesotas Grill & Bar
959 W. Beech Street
Long Beach, NY
$5 donation incl. food
phyllis@ligreen.com

The summer solstice event of Green Drinks Huntington was a smashing success, so now they’re bringing it back for the fall equinox. Relax and have some good green fun with others who are passionate about the environment, renewable energy, green jobs, energy efficiency and more. There will be live Brazilian music by Hypno Smoothie, a complimentary buffet, plus wine & beer, and video presentations. Come join us!

Thursday, September 24th, 5PM
Cinema Arts Centre
423 Park Ave
Huntington, NY 11743-2803
Suggested Donation: $8
RSVP or for info

Paper clips or staples? This is definitely not a debate for the green faint of heart, nor for random dinner parties. Though it might make an interesting icebreaker at a Green Drinks event. My vote in the fight to the death question of paper clips versus staples? Paper clips most definitely. Here’s why:

1. They’re reusable. Granted, some of your paperclips might be given away to clients, so they won’t be reused by you, but if you use a lot of staples in your interoffice communication, you could save big by switching to paperclips.
2. They’re stealable. Okay, maybe “stealing” isn’t the proper word. Paperclips are like twist-ties and plastic shopping bags; everyone amasses them from random inbound sources. If you actually have a system of receiving the free ones people give you, like a cup on your desk, and a reason to use them, then you’ve just attached your paper for free. Stop the presses!
3. 100% recycled paperclips are available. This came as a shock to me, even, but placing my bi-monthly office supply order at www.thegreeoffice.com I did indeed discover paperclips made from 100% recycled steel. Why not help increase the demand for recycled products?
4. No jamming stapler to worry about. ‘Nough said. Anyone who’s dealt with a particularly grumpy stapler knows that it wastes time, eventually goes in the landfill when you finally explode one Monday morning, and it often ruins the paper you are trying to staple if it jams up, meaning you’ll have to print even more paper. Not very green at all.
5. Easy swapping of sheets help preserve paper. We’ve all done it—printed our 7 page proposal, stapled it up, only to find a typo on page two. Now you have to go find your stapler remover (good luck) and hope that removing the staple doesn’t damage the rest of the pages so badly you have to do a full reprint. Again, green? Hmmmm, not so much.
6. Larger paperclips can hold more paper than staples. Maybe you have a high speed heavy duty stapler built for huge documents. Most of us don’t. If you have a small box of those big daddy paperclips, you don’t need to worry.
7. Paperclips look more impressive than staples. There is no statistical or empirical evidence on this. All I know is that high-end expensive companies like lawyers and CPA firms send me stuff on thick cream-colored stationary with shiny paperclips and low-end companies give me stuff on thin, flimsy inkjet paper with staples. Which one would I rather be? Um, the one who earn a lot of money.

Final verdict? If you want to save money, impress your clients, green your little part of the world, save time, reduce frustration, and save paper, use paperclips.

Last week, I attended the as always super welcoming Long Island Entrepreneur Meetup put on by Yvonne and Howard Bisk and struggled, yet again, with how to explain ReSprout’s money back advertising guarantee. This guarantee is simultaneously one of the most innovative things about the Lean & Green Guide and an utter thorn in my side because I have yet to be able to present it in a way that sounds 100% authentic.

Where We Got The Crazy Idea

The Resprout guarantee actually began when I was employee several jobs ago. I spearheaded a moneyback guarantee ad program, executed it wonderfully, won a client, and then was nearly threatened with being fired when my new boss realized there was a money back guarantee component to the newly won ad contract. He thought he was going to lose his shirt. What I wanted to explain at the time, but never had the gumption to say in all my employee glory was, “Don’t you believe in our publication? If you believed, you wouldn’t worry about the money back guarantee.” I believed in the publication. It delivered results and for the few percentage of the businesses it didn’t, it wouldn’t hurt us to refund their money.

Later, as a rather renegade and atypical magazine ad salesperson, I often heard from my advertising clients, “Can you guarantee this will work?” or “How do I know I’ll get calls?” Again, I was still an employee and I simply didn’t have the power to guarantee our ads, even though I would have if I could.

Why Other Publishers Don’t Offer Advertising Guarantees

The advertising industry is not one known for innovation. It has been structured the same way for decades, with air time and ad space sold like commodities based on ad sizes and hugeness of audience. Customer service is not part of the equation, as ad agencies typically fill that role, and unfair pricing abounds letting the big guys pay small and small guys pay big. The behemoth advertising monopolies support the status quo because it keeps them in business. Why offer a guarantee or customer service or anything else that clients clamor for if the industry giants are doing great just as they are? This often bothered me about the industry I was a part of. I just didn’t understand why we couldn’t give people and the businesses that supported their families what they wanted and needed from ad companies.

You Are Not Buying An Ad

Publishers and the majority of their advertisers believe they are buying ads.  Advertisers ask about size, about CPM (cost per thousand readers, as applied to a full page ad). They ask about number of readers, number of copies, as if they’re comparing bags of chips at Costco. Publishers are mostly to blame for this. Our rate cards proudly proclaim prices by the ad size or by the amount of audience. In turn, advertisers compare prices between publishers as if all other things were equal, as if a Lexus sedan were the same as a Honda sedan just because they’re the same size and both have the same lifetime mileage expectancy. By selling ads as space, we, the publishers were perpetuating that myth.

But publishers don’t sell ads. We sell results, not because we want to sell results, but because that’s what advertisers are really looking for when they buy an ad. Most publishers are afraid to admit that they’re selling results because that means that they’d be in big trouble if the results failed to appear. So when the disappointed clients proclaims “It didn’t work,” the publishers somehow are off the hook because they did everything they could—they provided the ad space.

But is that all we can really do as publishers? Just provide space? Don’t we know better than anyone what kinds of ads work? Which images are better? What times of the year are best? The most successful calls-to-action phrases? Can’t we help our clients more than just selling them commoditized space? Can’t we make sure they get the results they’re after, even if they don’t realize at first that what they really want are 10 calls a week and not a big glossy ego-boosting ad on the back cover?

Why Refunds Are The Right Thing To Do

Let’s talk about a something business people don’t often discuss among their spreadsheets and P&L reports and gross profit margins. Let’s talk about ethics and morality. And let’s pretend that both of these high-minded ideas don’t effect the bottom line, although any MBA educated in the last ten years would tell you otherwise. If you are a good person you do not want to take something from someone without giving something in return. It’s a simple idea that seems to get lost when people become LLC’s and the word “paycheck” becomes “annual revenue.” Just because it’s two companies doing business instead of two people doesn’t mean ethics applies in any lesser degree. ReSprout gives a money back guarantee on advertising because I, April Zubko, don’t believe people or the businesses they own should pay for something they don’t receive. If you don’t get the results you were looking for, you don’t pay, that’s it. I’m not in the business of stealing. I like to sleep at night.

Sure, But What’s the Fine Print

I often see disbelief when I talk about ReSprout’s money back advertising guarantee. I know that it’s partly because a money back guarantee is rarely done in our industry and that they haven’t heard the fine print and until they hear it, disbelief will be suspended.

So here it is. And it’s pretty short. I believe that things that have to be said with too many asterisks next to them perhaps should not be said at all, so I keep my fine print down to three things—just enough to keep my CPA happy. For one, the guarantee only applies to year long ad commitments or longer. The reason is because we know one-time shots are rarely effective; most marketing gurus would back up this opinion. If the unfortunate situation arises where an advertiser truly doesn’t get what he’s looking for from the ads, there are only two simple steps for him to follow in order to get his full refund on his entire ad campaign. He just needs to 1) make sure that his account is up to date on payment and 2) that we receive something in writing within 60 days of the last date of the last ad run saying why he was unhappy. That’s it!

If any of this sounds even slightly believable, I’d love to chat about your business and see what ReSprout can do to help start getting you some results. Contact us today or I can contact you.

Now to condense all this down for the next Long Island Entrepreneur Meetup. Sigh.