News
Metrics and Beyond
Ben Feldman December 10, 2020As 2020 comes to a close, farmers market operators across the country are reflecting on a year like no other, reviewing their results, and attempting to use the lessons to plan for 2021. While the future remains uncertain in many regards, the ability of markets to plan and prepare for the future is tied to…
2021 Call for Board Nominations
Hannah Fuller December 3, 2020The Farmers Market Coalition is currently soliciting nominees who are interested in running for a seat on the Board of Directors during the 2021 annual election. FMC’s volunteer Board of Directors consists of individuals with demonstrated leadership experience in the field of farmers markets or sustainable food systems, and who support the FMC mission of…
Practicing Gratitude (in Utter Chaos)
Stephanie Fenty November 23, 2020This year has been a stressful, difficult, painful, and unpredictable one for everyone across the country. I don’t need to reiterate the tragedies that have come to a head this year, as I am sure that they are at the forefront of everyone’s minds as folks try to prepare and plan for an unusual and…
GusNIP NTAE Center Awards $500K in Capacity Building Grants
Hannah Fuller November 22, 2020Thirteen grants will help nutrition incentive and produce prescription projects strengthen impact and sustainability in high-need communities. The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program National Training, Technical Assistance, Evaluation, and Information Center (GusNIP NTAE) awarded a total of $500,000 to 13 nutrition incentive projects, including SNAP incentives, and produce prescription projects across the country to support…
GusNIP Grantees Announced
Hannah Fuller November 12, 2020The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) recently announced the recipients of the 2020 Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) grants. More than $32 million was awarded to 30 grantees operating across 22 states. The awarded programs included increasing the fruit and vegetable purchasing power of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance…
Farmers Markets as Part of Disaster Resilience
Hannah Fuller October 28, 2020While wildfires are a natural occurrence, over the past decade we have witnessed years of record breaking recurring wildfires throughout the US, with 2020 being a particular devastating year for communities throughout California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado and neighboring states. News coverage of the millions of acres burned is fading, but the effects of disasters of…
USDA Farmers Market, Local and Regional Food Systems Grants Announced
Hannah Fuller October 2, 2020The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced this week that it has awarded $27 million in grant funding through the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program (FMLFPP) and $9.3 million in grant funding through the new Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP) grant program. The grants fall under the Local Agricultural…
Hitching Your Market’s Wagon to a Star
Hannah Fuller September 30, 2020This post was originally published on Darlene Wolnik’s Helping Public Markets Grow Blog. This blog was originally created during the period that our Training & Technical Assistance Director was working as an independent consultant to markets and to FMC. The focus of the blog continues to be opening discussions around systemic change and a theory…
Inspire Civic Engagement at the Farmers Market
Hannah Fuller September 28, 2020In the wake of the passing of the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg, we hope that all Americans will mourn the passing of a historic member of our Supreme Court and be motivated to actively engage in our political process. These are times when we must lift our collective voices to create the country and systems…
2020 S.D. Local Foods Conference sees changes, opportunities for producers
Diana Broadaway September 24, 20202020 S.D. Local Foods Conference sees changes, opportunities for producers Yankton, S.D.- The annual South Dakota Local Foods Conference (SDLFC) is celebrating its tenth year. The 2020 event, Nov. 5-7 will be the first held entirely online. The SDLFC Planning Committee looks forward to discussing the new opportunities that this year has brought to local…
