The Statesboro Mainstreet Farmers Market will be ripe Saturday with fresh activities to celebrate local foods and farmers during National Farmers Market Week. 
Celebrity chefs will cook for market-goers, while canning experts demonstrate food preservation, all supported by the second of two national grants awarded to the four-year-old market. The Market is open Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the downtown Sea Island Bank parking lot.  
Celebrity chefs for the event are members of the Statesboro Herald family. Business editor Jan Moore and her husband Bill will join Herald president Joe McGlamery and his wife Susan to prepare dishes using fresh market meats, produce, dairy and other products from the dozens of Market vendors. More celebrity chefs will be featured each Saturday throughout August.
“We’re delighted to have celebrity chefs who are excited about our fresh, local food,” said Debra Chester, one of the Market’s founders.   “They’re showing Statesboro what they already know – any recipe is better with our own farmers’ produce.” 
Also, the Market’s season-long canning initiative, “Bringing a New Generation to the Table,” will feature Myrtis Akins on Saturday. Akins is a retired home economist from the County Extension Office.
The Food Channel recently named home canning as the top food trend, and Akins will demonstrate the simplicity of canning and explaining its nutritional and social value.
“Canning is gaining in popularity for two reasons,” Akins said. “You’re sure of high quality ingredients and nutrition at a lower price, but there’s also something intangible: the satisfaction of making something special yourself.”
Recipe books, coupons for canning supplies and other information is available to shoppers.
Two national grants awarded to the Market support the canning events. This spring, the Statesboro market was one of only 50 markets nationwide to receive a $1,500 grant to fund canning workshops, demonstrations and other event as part of a "Discover You Can" program from Jarden Home Brands, makers of Ball® Brand Fresh Preserving Products. 
In June, the Market received an additional $500 bonus grant based on the success of the program in garnering names of shoppers interested in learning more about canning. 
“This grant recognizes our local farmers’ hard work and our community’s hunger for these beautiful seasonal fruits and vegetables to enjoy year-round,” Chester said. 
Other events Saturday for the National Farmers Market Week celebration include family activities as part of the  CHILD (Children's Health Improvement and Lifestyle Development Coalition) program sponsored by Georgia Southern University, plus Celtic music performed by Matt and Eileen Guza on the Main Stage, and a Wellness Tent staffed by Fit by Julie.
The Statesboro Main Street Market is held weekly from 9 to 12:30 in the downtown Sea Island Bank parking lot. It was created in 2008 and now hosts dozens of farmers offering locally grown fruits and vegetables, as well as meat, dairy and egg products, prepared foods, live plants and crafts.
Shoppers can also order online at http://statesboromarket2go.locallygrown.net. Orders can be placed on Sunday beginning at 8 a.m. until Tuesday, midnight, and picked up on Thursday between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at Sugar Magnolia Bakery, 106 Savannah Avenue.