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Author Archives: Honesta Romberger
FMC Announces Market Manager Fly-In to Capitol Hill
Honesta Romberger August 10, 2023FMC is thrilled to announce the upcoming Market Manager Fly-In in our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., scheduled tentatively for the 2nd week of September! What’s Happening? Thanks to generous additional funding from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and the Regenerative Agriculture Foundation, FMC has the opportunity to invite a select group of market managers to…
Farmers Market Managers are Eager to Make Change: A Report on the Anti-Racist Farmers Market Toolkit Community of Practice in 2022-23
Honesta Romberger August 6, 2023By Nedra Deadwyler and Nina Budabin McQuown The Anti-Racist Farmers Market Toolkit is a framework designed by Black food systems leaders for market managers to implement anti-racist practices throughout their farmers market community to improve experiences of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC). When the toolkit came out a year ago, the response was enormous!…
First-ever Congressional Resolution Recognizing National Farmers Market Week
Honesta Romberger August 2, 2023We are thrilled to announce that the week of August 6 – 12, 2023 has officially been designated as “National Farmers Market Week” through a first-ever congressional resolution recognizing the celebration, co-sponsored by Senator Padilla and Senator Ernst, with support from FMC! This is a monumental occasion for all involved in the world of farmers…
Sign-on Letter Supporting Reduction in Matching Funds in Local Farms and Food Act
Honesta Romberger July 6, 2023In an effort to improve the recently introduced Local Farms and Food Act and to seek a reduction in Matching Funds required as part of the Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) and the Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) grants, FMC recently circulated a sign-on letter among our networks. The letter has accumulated incredible support, with…
Beloved Community: Tips on Running a Juneteenth Event at your Farmers Market
Honesta Romberger June 25, 2023By Nina Budabin McQuown and Sagdrina Jalal Last week, communities and farmers markets across the country honored Juneteenth—celebrating the emancipation of enslaved Black people in the American South in 1865. For this post, we talked with Sagdrina Jalal, lead consultant on the Anti-Racist Farmers Market Toolkit, and award-winning local food systems organizer, about what Juneteenth…
Farmers Market Organizations Wanted for National Research Study
Honesta Romberger May 26, 2023FMC is sharing an opportunity to participate in a research study on farmers market organizations, conducted by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Services (AMS) and Dr. Hilary King at Emory University. They want your help to identify farmers markets across the country. Many farmers markets are run by organizations that exist to manage that one market. But just…
2023 FMC Updated Policy Priorities
Honesta Romberger May 11, 2023As Farm Bill negotiations heat up, we would like to take the opportunity to share our revised Farm Bill priorities. This update includes priorities related to the acceptance and processing of SNAP and other federal nutrition benefits at farmers markets, specifically the need to: Provide farmers and markets with appropriate and no-cost equipment to process…
Writing Anti-Racist Farmers Market Work Into Your FMPP Proposal
Honesta Romberger April 26, 2023Funding Anti-Racist Farmers Market Toolkit Implementation through FMPP A year ago, The Anti-Racist Farmers Market Toolkit came into the world, created by twelve Black food systems experts and led by Sagdrina Jalal and Nedra Deadwyler. It’s hard to believe that it’s been only twelve months! As farmers market operators and their communities seek to operationalize…
Meet 2023 Gus Schumacher Award Winner, Sagdrina Jalal
Honesta Romberger April 19, 2023Early last month, FMC was honored to present the 2023 Gus Schumacher Award to this year’s recipient, Sagdrina Jalal. Sagdrina’s work thrives at the intersection of food, community, and innovation. Born and raised in Savannah and a graduate of the University of Georgia, Sagdrina became the founding executive director of the Georgia Farmers Market Association…
FMC Board of Director Election Results Are In
Honesta Romberger March 21, 2023Congratulations to incumbent, Yescenia Mota who was reelected to another term, and to newly elected FMC Board Members Tasha Ardalan, Lynne Hartford, and Mandy Moody. We would also like to extend a huge thank you to outgoing FMC Board Members Swati Shaw, Hugo Mogollon, Qiana Mickie, and Brian Coppam. Their years of service have helped…
