#GivingTuesday is Setting the Wheels of Community Prosperity in Motion

By: Honesta Romberger       Posted On: November 25, 2015

This holiday season, we at the Farmers Market Coalition invite you to make your #GivingTuesday donation count toward the health and prosperity of farmers, families and communities across the nation.

What institution is more beloved, more rooted in tradition, hard work and community than your neighborhood farmers market?

It’s hard to believe that until recent years, these iconic local fixtures, in growing competition with large, corporate farms and big-box supermarkets, tenuously teetered on the brink of extinction – a prospect threatening to the survival of small farmers and access to fresh, wholesome food for our most vulnerable communities. Disastrous to the natural rhythm of an intricate food system, a national movement ignited to restore farmers markets as the beating heart for local food access, economies and social health.

Why should the success of farmers markets matter to you?

Regardless of where you live – be it a rural town or city – you belong to a community. Farmers markets set the wheels of community prosperity in motion, literally starting from the ground up, to stimulate local economies, increase access to fresh food, and create a festive space for neighbors, friends and farmers to come together.

How does this work?

Your local farmers work everyday to produce healthy food for your community. In turn, your community provides the money necessary to support farmers with a livelihood. This exchange keeps your community stocked with fresh, nutritious food, while allowing farmers to circulate more than three times as much of their sales back into the local economy than do their chain competitors. Farmers markets are the glue that keeps this system together, providing an outlet for farmers to sell and customers to buy.

But farmers markets don’t just happen. They take a lot of work, a lot of planning and a lot of dedication from organizers who lack resources, funding, and capacity. Committed to the success of their markets and farmers, organizers turn to the Farmers Market Coalition for the tools, programs and education needed to grow and maintain a thriving venue.

The Farmers Market Coalition has been a tireless advocate and resource center for farmers markets, farmers and vendors nationwide – helping common efforts nearly double the number of markets across the country since establishment in 2006. FMC acts as a persistent voice for policy concerns and fosters a solid, organized network of like-minded organizations.

Now is the time to vote with your dollar and say yes to local food, yes to local economies, and yes to local prosperity. Help us continue working for farmers markets every day, so they can remain a faithful service to communities, families and farmers for generations to come.
We thank you for your support!

Here’s to a cheerful holiday season filled with warmth, abundance and, of course, farm-fresh food,