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Discover You Can Takes off this Summer
Liz Comiskey July 13, 2011by Elizabeth Comiskey This spring, the Farmers Market Coalition teamed up with Jarden Home Brands, makers of Ball® Brand Fresh Preserving Products, in Discover You Can, a summer canning education program. Fifty selected farmers markets received stipends, canning supplies, and distribution materials in May. Now these 50 markets are in the middle of implementing programs…
Do Farmers Markets Matter to Your Senator?
Stacy June 28, 2011Tell them your community depends on the WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP), and that the WIC Fruit & Vegetable Voucher, which farmers are only authorized to redeem in fewer than 10 states, is no substitution. Ask them to stand with us, the nation’s more than 6,100 farmers markets, to restore full funding for WIC FMNP. If you want to tell them how many farmers and markets in your state depend on WIC FMNP, click here to find your state’s stats.
Farmers Market SNAP Sales Soar in 2010
Stacy April 19, 2011By Drew Love, FMC Research & Education Intern Over the past five years, the number of farmers markets and direct marketing farmers accepting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits increased 263%. That is only one of many promising figures to emerge from a forthcoming USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) report on SNAP redemption rates…
States advocate for legislation and regulation to support home-based micro-processing
Jen O'BrienBy Drew Love, FMC Research & Education Intern When the Food Safety Modernization Act passed in 2010, it established an important precedent by allowing smaller, direct-marketing farms to be exempt from many of the new federal requirements, provided that they could prove compliance with applicable state and local regulations. Now, a wave of legislative and…
FMC Responds to FMPP Proposed Rule
Stacy March 15, 2011On January 19th, a notice was filed in the Federal Register soliciting input on the proposed Farmers Market Promotion Program Regulation. This rule establishes eligibility and application requirements, the review and approval processs, and grant administration procedures. The announcement asks for comments on various aspects of the grant program, information-collection burden on applicants and reviewers,…
Market Manager FAQs Now Available in Printable PDF
Liz Comiskey February 14, 2011Last August, the Farmers Market Coalition (FMC) launched a new Frequently Asked Questions tool on its website, integrated with the Farmers Market Resource Library. Since its release there have been over 4,300 visitors to the page, and visitors spent an average of more than four minutes on the page, nearly twice as long as the…
A New Year Brings New Opportunities and Challenges
Jen O'Brien January 11, 2011Happy New Year, fellow travelers in the healthy food movement! It has been a tremendous year with lots of hard work… many new customers and farmers coming to market and lots of challenges to continue to serve at our highest levels. Just like you, the Farmers Market Coalition has met challenges and successes with determination…
FMC Announces Insurance Webinars to Start January 31st
Jen O'BrienThe first part of purchasing any policy is overcoming the sometimes overwhelming “legalese” that infuses most insurance research. The first webinar in FMC’s series, “Demystifying Farmers Market Risk and Being a Smart Insurance Shopper,” aims to identify all areas of legal exposure to risk, define the most commonly used terms, and identity helpful tips for analyzing and purchasing an insurance policy. Peter Kochenburger, University of Connecticut Law Professor, and Melissa Kauffman, from Jester Insurance, will both explain the essentials of understanding insurance policies, and the different factors that influence a policy’s price such as attendance, number of vendors, governance, items sold, and more. This session is scheduled for January 31st at 1 p.m. Eastern. Jeff Cole, Executive Director of Mass Farmers Markets and moderator for this webinar, emphasizes the importance of reviewing an insurance policy before purchasing it.
Marketshare Upgrades Offer Improved and Integrated Impact Evaluation Tools
Jen O'BrienFarmers market advocates often argue that markets bring economic opportunities to the surrounding communities. One can say that shoppers who visit the farmers market are more likely to visit surrounding businesses, or that the market itself generates income for the farmers and vendors. But how do you provide numbers to support these arguments? And how…
Call Now!: Senate Set to Vote on Food Safety November 29th
Stacy November 29, 2010Voting on The Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) is set to begin on the Senate floor this evening, November 29th. The bill takes important steps to improve corporate food safety rules, and, thanks to the support of advocates like you, now includes an important amendment that protects direct-marketing farmers and local food producers from…
