POP Club Participants Wrap Up for the Season

      Posted On: October 26, 2016

 

pop-club-collage-2016(1. Federal Way Farmers Market, 2. Federal Way Farmers Market, 4. Montavilla Farmers Market 5. Indianapolis City Market, 6. Indianapolis City Market)

This past summer, 49 markets offered Power of Produce Club (POP Club) programming at their markets with the support of a sponsorship from FMC and Chipotle Mexican Grill. The program helped to create relationships between families and farmers, provided an opportunity for kids to learn about their local food system, exposed them to new healthy foods, and created more returning shoppers at the market. Each program was uniquely executed per the market’s needs, and they all offered children’s activities, and $5 vouchers for the kids to spend on fruits and veggies. With their purchasing power, kids could select their chosen produce; sometimes they picked something they had sampled at the tasting table, sometimes they ventured into the unknown with a new veggie, and of course many stuck with what was tried and true!

FMC is looking forward to using the experiences shared in the 2016 POP Club reports to update the POP Club materials available to FMC members. New activities, marketing materials, and updated guidebook will be added this winter for 2017. We hope to see more markets utilizing the resource as the program continues to expand in the coming years.

bellevue-farmer-scavenger-hunt“I love buying my own fruit and vegetables. Matt is my favorite farmer!” -7 year old who formed a great relationship with a Growing Washington farmer and shopped there every week with his POP Bucks. Bellevue Farmers Market, WA.

indianapolis2 The Indianapolis City Market (IN) staff worked to create partnerships with local schools, including Indianapolis Public Schools. Through this partnership, Indianapolis City Market was able to secure school field trips to the market over a four week period.

leesburg Leesburg Farmers Market in Virginia hosted lots of activities, such as the How Does Your Garden Grow? Game, and created more returning shoppers at their market.

seattle2016_photo-3 seattle2016_photo-6Does this scene look familiar? Lake City Farmers Market in Washington State had quite the layout for their Zucchini 500 Race. Kids decorated zucchinis and raced them down a track, also tasted zucchini bread baked by a farmers market bakery.

seattle2016_photo-8Chipotle Mexican Grill provided Tomato Grow Pots, Activity Books, Recipes, Scavenger Hunt Materials, customized vouchers and the funds to reimburse them.

(photo: Lake City Farmers Market, WA)

aurora-2016-pop-3 “I like that I get to choose what to buy” (Aurora Farmers Market, IL)

kansascitymarketThese kids from the City Market in Kansas City, MO were thrilled with their huge watermelon, and came back the next week for cantaloupe!

We are looking forward to incorporating all of the experience from our participants into our resources. Stay tuned for details.