The Origins of Incentives: Incentivizing Behavior Change through the Farmers Market Model

The Farmers Market Coalition is proud to offer our first practitioner paper, “The Origins of Incentives,” by Richard McCarthy. Through the lens of Market Umbrella, the New Orleans farmers market network, McCarthy lays out a history of incentive programs in farm direct. This paper outlines the ways in which the rise in EBT technology was both a barrier and a spur to innovation as markets sought to remain accessible to shoppers across all incomes. As GusNIP once again changes the landscape of incentives, McCarthy suggests that as nimble, community-focused organizations, farmers markets retain the mandate to develop and pilot new program strategies in the field.

The Farmers Market Coalition and the GusNIP NTAE Center