Program Review for 2025
By: Darlene Wolnik Posted On: December 16, 2025
As FMC moves into its 20th year, we are actively reflecting on our work over that time, even as we are planning for a more dynamic future where FMC is responding in real time to the needs of our sector while growing leadership and amplifying the innovation among our market leaders.
In terms of program, we continue to organize that work around the “clusters” we shared with you in 2024:
Networking/facilitation (+ membership)
Resource collection/creation
Sector Analysis
Product Development
Communication/Advocacy
Resource collection/creation
Our many toolkits remain available to all markets without any paywall. Check them out:
NFMW: https://farmersmarketcoalition.org/national-farmers-market-week/
SNAP: https://farmersmarketcoalition.org/education/snap/
FM Legal Toolkit: https://farmersmarketlegaltoolkit.org/
Anti-Racist Toolkit: https://farmersmarketcoalition.org/the-anti-racist-farmers-market-toolkit/
Advocacy Toolkit:https://farmersmarketcoalition.org/advocacy/
And our two newest:
1. In 2025, we worked with our partner, University of Wisconsin-Madison on releasing the Social Media Ad Project all of
which can be found in the Resource Library:
https://farmersmarketcoalition.org/types/social-media-ad-project/
2. We also completed a 3.5 year FMPP project which was focused on compiling all resources that are uniquely suited for
farmers markets into a lovely new website.
We also had our project consultant Amanda Edmonds (Beehive Strategies) do some intro videos for that site to help see how best to use the amazing, curated step-by-step resources compiled there: FMC’s You Tube videos
Networking/facilitation
-We began a new Community of Practice (CoP) with POP clubs across the country thanks to a partnership with PCFMA*. That CoP will focus on gathering ideas and innovations from existing clubs in order to update the (free) resources available through FMC. If you operate a current POP Club and want to join the CoP, fill out the form here: https://forms.gle/9Zir92gUZgfLKzsd9. For those interested in starting a new POP Club, check out the downloadable resources here: https://farmersmarketcoalition.org/pop-club-resources/
-Our 20 years of work state and network leaders through FMC’s monthly call, listserv, and one on one engagement continues to grow: Look for some new topic-focused calls, and some new faces from emerging networks.
-Other possible 2026 work includes a submitted proposal with our Ohio partners to implement a conflict resolution process for farmers markets, and a FMPP proposal to hold national webinars for new market managers and for building new network leaders to support farmers markets.
Sector Analysis
We are also offering sector-level support to Michigan State University for its 2026 National Market Management Survey. This is a survey done every 5 years or so to better understand the farmers market sector. It will offer a rich snapshot of profile data for market managers to use to compare to their own market, and to use for program and market day analysis. This is the project’s website, but look for more information soon on this late winter/early spring survey:
https://www.canr.msu.edu/national-farmers-market-management-survey/
Product Development
As you can imagine, we constantly field calls from technology companies, eager to test new ideas for program, market
management, and measurement shortcuts for market leaders. Get in touch with FMC if you have ideas- we have some
processes to work with technology providers. Here is our form if you are interested in our help in developing market-specific technology.
Communication/Advocacy
-We are working on a new advocacy newsletter subscription model, to help expand our reach and our support to do that vital work.
-With support from our advocacy partner NSAC, we are beginning a new Southern flagship market CoP in 2026, assisting those leaders with new state and national advocacy skills and connections. Expect emails to go out to southern Flagship market leaders in January.
For more on what a flagship market type is, check out these resources:
2. FMC has long used the Moon Typology and the accompanying research that began through Market Umbrella’s trans•act project. That multi-year project, which included FMC staff, gathered real-time data across the U.S. on market design and functions in order to share that information with support entities, funders, and policy makers to better understand how to work with them, fund them, and grow markets’ capacity.The typology, still unpublished although often referred to in many published research articles, is helpful to market operators as well in finding similar markets to their own, with operational methods, funding, and decisions that align with theirs.The typology is not static, nor will all markets fit neatly into one type.
Instead, like the market sector itself, it is best seen as a snapshot of U.S. market communities. Through the questions and data collected through this framework, we can see shared goals across regions via selection of market day places, rules, the market’s vendors and its program collaborations. Through this research we can also see how the local, regional food and civic culture (and its challenges and assets) further define (and sometimes thwart) the market’s management success.
Simply put, with this typology we can urge funders to more fairly assess success for markets in the US, not relying only on size or age, and helping to increase understanding of the many ways that markets are designed for their local places. This graphic is a simplified version of the typology so far, with more research needed by Dr. Moon and Richard McCarthy, its primary authors. https://farmersmarketcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/McCarthy-Moon-Draft-Typology-graphic-2025.webp
Membership
Lastly, we are ironing out the last wrinkles for how markets and networks will be able to directly engage with FMC, specifically looking at our membership model to decide what is the right one for 2026 and beyond. This is being done with assistance from our board, hired consultants and lots of discussion with market leaders across the U.S.
More on that very soon…
And here’s to a GREAT 2026 for markets.
Anyone interested in discussing program ideas with FMC, can reach out to FMC’s Program Director, Dar Wolnik.
* Funding for PCFMA’s POP Club project was made possible by a grant/cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the
authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA.
