News
Author Archives: Mykalee McGowan
Creating Size Inclusive Farmers Markets
Mykalee McGowan May 9, 2022If you attended the Nutrition Incentive Hub Convening, then you probably know that Ragen Chastain’s presentation, “Combating Anti-Fat Bias in Nutrition Incentive Work,” was a show-stopper. You can still view the presentation here if you didn’t catch it at the time! Meanwhile, we asked Ragen to write about how farmers market operators can address anti-fat…
Farmers Markets: Systemic Change Agents
Mykalee McGowan April 1, 2022In the last 45 years, farmers markets have gone from nearly nonexistent to a cultural touchstone associated with fresh, high quality, values-based foods and a system that facilitates billions of dollars in sales to small scale, independent farmers. Here at FMC, we eat, sleep, and breathe farmers markets. As a result, we see the incredible…
Welcome, New FMC Board Members
Mykalee McGowan March 16, 2022Spring is a time of growth and change, and every spring FMC’s Board of Directors holds elections and gets ready for the busy year to come. This year, we welcome 3 new members, 2 re-elected members, and a new slate of officers to our board of directors. Before announcing the new board of directors, we…
2022 FMC Policy Priorities
Mykalee McGowan February 16, 2022FMC’s board recently approved the organizations’ legislative priorities to guide our work over the next year. These priorities are based on input from market managers about challenges they have experienced, analysis from FMC staff, and feedback from our contacts at USDA and on the hill. A note on SNAP EBT: The fact that SNAP is…
What’s Up for 2022
Mykalee McGowanMany of you have noticed and commented approvingly on the expansion of the FMC team in the last year. We now have 10 team members which will expand to 12 in 2022 — so keep an eye out for job announcements this spring. Also, anyone interested in providing curated, short-term contracted training to market leaders…
Announcing the new Farm Direct Nutrition Incentives Guide Site
Mykalee McGowan December 8, 2021On December 6, 2021, we officially launched the new Farm Direct Nutrition Incentives Guide Site at www.farmdirectincentives.guide. The website is a comprehensive library filled with hundreds of resources for operators running Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/Electronic Benefits Transfer and nutrition incentives through farmers markets, community supported agriculture, farm stands and mobile markets across the country. This…
Integrating Sustainability At Farmers Markets
Mykalee McGowan October 13, 2021For many, farmers markets serve as a hub for sustainability, caring for your local farmer, and being environmentally conscious. Giving the community access to high quality, local produce at a fair price for both farmer and consumer is the ultimate goal for many markets. Creating a healthy space where the community can come together, chat,…
Four Farmers Markets Led By Indigenous Communities
Mykalee McGowan October 11, 2021Every second Monday of October marks Indigenous People’s Day, a holiday that honors Native people’s role in America’s past, present, and future. Traditional ecological knowledge and Indigenous sciences have shaped so many of our current farming practices and Native farmers, producers and makers have been fostering sustainable local food systems for centuries. In celebration of…
Lessons in Process: What we’ve learned supporting the development of an Anti-racist Toolkit for Farmers Markets
Mykalee McGowan September 1, 2021Since January, FMC has been supporting a work group of 10 Black food systems experts to develop an anti-racist toolkit for farmers markets. Led by Sagdrina Jalal (Lead Technical Advisor/Facilitator) and Nedra Deadwyler (Lead Researcher & Content Builder), this work group has been meeting monthly to examine farmers markets at a high level, identifying the…
Top 5 Farmers Market References in Popular TV Shows
Mykalee McGowan August 5, 20211. Parks and Recreation, Season 6 Episode 12 I love this episode because it feels like it could have been written by someone who’s spent a lot of time at farmers markets. Leslie Knope must have borrowed from FMC talking points in introducing the market: “It’s good for the economy, it’s good for families, and…
