RESOURCE LIBRARY
Browse by Category
- Anti-Racism Work (25)
- Boards, Mission, and Governance (28)
- Communities of Practice (3)
- Emergency Response (61)
- COVID-19 (61)
- Advocacy (5)
- Market Guidelines/Toolkits (21)
- Market Signage (9)
- State/Local Guidelines (12)
- COVID-19 (61)
- Evaluation (112)
- Customer base (20)
- FMC Evaluation Resources (6)
- Impact Reports (15)
- Pricing (4)
- Farm Business and Marketing (62)
- Farm Inspection and Enforcement (27)
- Food Justice (21)
- Food Safety and Handling (43)
- Funding and Grants (33)
- FMPP/LFPP (10)
- Insurance, Liability, and Licensing (27)
- Management and Operations (147)
- Market Start-up and Development (69)
- Other (13)
- Promotion, Outreach, and Special Events (74)
- Public Policies (37)
- Rules and Vendor Applications (29)
- SNAP/EBT and Nutrition Programs (119)
- State Association Development (14)
- Vendor Fees and Market Finances (14)
- Webinars (27)
- FMC (18)
- Partner Organizations (9)
Category: Advocacy
Advocacy Toolkit Walkthrough Webinar
National Farmers Market Week is coming up and it is a fantastic opportunity for farmers markets to engage with elected officials and other policymakers in their local communities!
To make sure you have all the information you need to work with the materials, FMC’s Executive Director, Ben Feldman, walks us through our Advocacy Toolkit in this webinar recording. Farmers markets and other food organizations can serve as powerful agents of change in their communities and making your needs known through engagement with policymakers is essential.
Iteration, innovation, and collaboration: Supporting farmers markets’ response to COVID-19
Commentary on COVID-19 and the Food System authored by the Farmers Market Coalition for the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development
Family Farms and Farmers Markets Are Essential
Farmers Market Coalition urges federal, state, and local leaders to protect our nation’s food producers and farmers markets through federal stimulus and clear operational guidelines
Washington, D.C., March 18, 2020 – Congress is close to passing its second multi-billion dollar stimulus package and is hard at work on a third – this one focused on small businesses. As a national nonprofit organization providing support to 1,200 market organizations representing nearly half of all farmers markets in the United States, Farmers Market Coalition (FMC) urges Congress to ensure that the next stimulus package explicitly includes support for family farm businesses and farmers markets. Farmers markets are a vital economic force in America, both locally and nationally, accounting for $711 million in sales annually. By providing much-needed relief in the next stimulus package, Congress can keep the economic engine of America’s farmers markets humming, while also providing much needed food access to consumers across the country.
“Farmers markets deserve to be included in the federal aid package.” said Ben Feldman, Executive Director of FMC. “Unfortunately, neither of the first two packages are guaranteed to provide aid to American farmers who sell directly to the public, nor to the communitybased organizations who operate farmers markets. Farmers are America’s original small businesspeople, and farmers markets are an essential food access point for communities seeking fresh, healthy food – in particular for low-income families who are able to access the freshest fruits and vegetables through markets’ SNAP EBT and WIC programs.”
FARM 2 FACTS – Alfonso Morales, PhD
“COVID: What Can Government Officials Learn from Farmers Market Managers?”
Farmers markets operate on a few simple principles:
- They connect locally produced crafts and foods with consumers.
- They are places consumers practice community.
- They convey information and opportunities people will discover and make their own.
For generations, marketplaces have contributed to the community in many ways:
- Promoted individual and public health,
- Served as conduits for information and healthy food,
- Offered opportunities for exercise and social life,
- Provided learning opportunities for immigrants and every other sector of a community.
The Brookings Institution and Project for Public Spaces
“Farmers markets are vital during COVID-19, but they need more support”
-
- FULFILLING ESSENTIAL HEALTH AND ECONOMIC NEEDS
- ADAPTING TO PUBLIC HEALTH REALITIES
- FARMERS MARKETS NEED MORE SUPPORT
