Farmers Market Coalition

PLEASE NOTE: This year, in an effort make sure that federal funds were having the intended effect of promoting specialty crops (fruits, vegetables, herbs, etc.), the Specialty Crop Block Grant program funds can be used “solely” to promote specialty crops, which USDA defines here. FMC fully supports state department of agriculture use of SCBG funds for farmers markets… but please be aware that, moreso than in past years, these federal funds can only be used for programs which promote defined specialty crops, not just farmers markets generally.

Tags: farmers market coalition, Specialty Crop Block Grant, USDA

Next month, the great folks at Growing for Market will be publishing a new special Farmers Market Edition, and are offering copies to any FMC member to distribute producers for FREE!

Tags: farmers market coalition, growing for market, membership

Drawing on real life examples from farmers markets and related organizations, two leaders — strategic thinker Nicole de Beaufort and President of the Oregon Farmers’ Market Association Karen Wagner — will discuss how to identify the key strategic planning questions and prioritize objectives that serve to focus and clarify the work of organizations old and new. Participation is open to board members as well as organization staff.

Tags: farmers market coalition, strategic planning, webinar

After sending a small delegation to meet with the house staffers drafting the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009, the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) issued an op-ed on food safety which lays out their priorities for protecting food safety while not presenting undue burden on small-scale sustainable farms and those who direct market.

Tags: farmers market coalition, food safety, Food sAfety Enhancement Act of 2009, House energy and Commerce Committee, Op-Ed, PASA

American Farmland Trust is pleased to announce its first-ever, annual “America’s Favorite Farmers Markets” contest. The contest is a nation-wide challenge to see which of America’s farmers markets can acquire the most constituent votes over the course of this summer. The goal is to improve the connection between citizens and their local farms and food and to raise national awareness about the value of farmers markets in our communities.

Tags: American Farmland Trust, Contest, farmers market, farmers market coalition, growing local, No Farms, No Food

Make a list with backups. “Make a list of what you want to buy ahead of time, just like you do at a department or grocery store,” suggests Miller. “But remember to be flexible within food groups. Those killer hearth-baked baguettes might be sold out when you arrive, but that doesn’t mean you need to go buy the Safeway version. Consider a couple pounds of new potatoes from a different vendor instead.”

Tags: farmers market coalition, leah zerbe, rodale, saving money, shopping tips, stacy miller

Food safety is a serious topic. Farmers market supporters who want to ensure that food safety policy does not endanger the livelihoods of small direct-marketing farmers, and that regulatory changes are scale-sensitive and focus on the areas of highest risk (large, wholesaling production and processing operations), are encouraged to:

* Watch the opening of the Food Safety Working Group Listening Session at WhiteHouse.gov/live, kicked off by Secretary Sebelius and Secretary Vilsack, the co-chairs of the Working Group.

* Make comments in the White House’s comment form, or let the Working Group know on twitter (hashtag #WHsafefood) or at the white House’s Facebook page.

Tags: farmers market coalition, food safety, regulatory changes, white house, working group

The Farmers Market Coalition (FMC) initiated a study of state farmers market associations in January 2009, surveying all known existing farmers markets associations in the United States. The data collected in this survey, which represents responses from 26 participating organizations, is available in a new summary report on the FMC web site. The purpose of the survey was to identify how FMAs are organized, how they operate and what they need to effectively address the needs of farmers markets in their respective regions. An additional goal was to identify areas where FMAs could benefit from professional development, peer-to-peer learning and other services offered by FMC.

Tags: farmers market coalition, information marketplace, state farmers market associations, survey, Wendy Wasserman

In March, USDA Secretary Vilsack announced the People’s Garden Initiative, and broke ground on what will be a certified organic vegetable garden at the USDA’s headquarters in Washington, DC. The garden will be directly adjacent to the USDA Farmers Market, which is on Wednesdays, one block from the National Mall. In an inaugural meeting of the USDA People’s Garden Partnership Forum, Sec. Vilsack said that the garden is in keeping with his vision of USDA as leader in sustainability– “sustainable farms, sustainable diets, and sustainable rural economies.”

Tags: farmers market coalition, people's garden, USDA Farmers Market

Earlier this year, FMC surveyed 26 state farmers market associations (FMAs) to better understand how they are structured, what they do, how they do it, and what they need to do it better. This was the first opportunity FMC had to formally survey this group, building upon a 2006 study conducted by Project for Public Spaces, and the results were telling. According to the survey, while FMAs are growing in number and emerging as valuable service providers across the country, they infrequently engage in networking and professional development opportunities that would enable them to effectively support their thousands of member markets and producers.

Tags: farmers market coalition, state farmers market association, Wendy Wasserman