GusNIP NTAE Center Awards $500K in Capacity Building Grants

Hannah Fuller November 22, 2020

Thirteen 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, 2020

The 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, 2020

While 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, 2020

The 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, 2020

This 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, 2020

In 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, 2020

2020 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…

Disaster Preparation and Recovery: Farmers Markets

Hannah Fuller September 16, 2020

Learn what you need to know about markets and disasters on our Disaster Resources for Markets and Farms page.  Climate change is predicted to bring more frequent and extreme weather events to all parts of the world. This summer we have already seen historic fires, storms, floods and temperature swings—on top of a global pandemic.…

Drive-Thru Markets: Innovation to Keep Communities Safe

Hannah Fuller September 14, 2020

Market leaders are familiar with daily crisis control, but when the crisis is a global pandemic, the resilience and innovation of farmers market operators is vital. One way markets have adapted to COVID-19 has been by implementing drive-thru and curbside delivery and online purchasing methods.  Although diversifying sales and delivery methods have been effective ways…

Technology and Farm Direct Channels: Solving Problems

Katie Myhre September 4, 2020

Of all the definitions for technology out there, the one I like the most is “knowledge put into practical use to solve problems or invent useful tools.” In my experience fighting for a regional-based food network, the problems our food communities face have always been the focal point. At center of creating a strong local…