Beautiful Photos for Busy Market Operators Webinar

It’s a perfect day — the sun is shining, your market is full of happy customers, and the produce is looking extra vibrant. You take out your phone to capture the moment and when you look at your screen — the image doesn’t do your market justice. Does this sound familiar? You’re not alone!

Good photos are the foundation of a dynamic and vibrant farmers market social media. Even the liveliest market can look stagnant if the photos don’t capture the energy of the market. On the other hand, a bright and animated photo can capture the spirit of the farmers market and be your best tool for marketing and promotion.

Join fellow farmers market operators from across the country as they share their experience taking and sourcing photos from their community and using photos as part of a strategic social media presence. They’ll offer their expertise and show you how they source their photos, how they fit taking photos into their limited staff time, and what goes behind using photos to tell their market story and make their social media look like #goals.

Watch the recording here!

View just the slides.

Presenters include:
– Hannah Ladwig, Gorge Grown, Hood River, OR
– Simone Wai, Red River Market, Fargo, ND
– Jacqueline Fuller, Downtown Long Beach Farmers Market, Long Beach, CA

State Funding Round Table

In this roundtable session recorded in February of 2021, network leaders with experience obtaining state-level funding for nutrition incentives share their insights and experiences around the process of executing a campaign.

This panel grew out of the work that the Farmers Market Coalition has done in 2020-21 with panelists Molly Notarianni, Executive Director of the Farmers Market Fund and Elizabeth Borst, Executive Director of Virginia Community Food Connections and co-lead of Virginia Fresh Match. Molly and Elizabeth are the two authors of an upcoming practitioner paper with FMC that focuses on their 2019 campaigns to pass legislation in Oregon and Virginia respectively.

They’re joined by Adrienne Udarbe, Executive Director of Pinnacle Prevention, who has successfully campaigned for funding in Arizona, and by Alex Canepa of Fair Food Network, who provides policy support to SNAP incentive programs across the country as part of Fair Food Network’s technical assistance for the Hub. Alex has also worked on state-level policy in Michigan and Texas. Finally Frank Tamborello, Executive Director of Hunger Action LA, joins the conversation as a facilitator, moderating a conversation that focuses on partnerships across aligned agencies as an essential factor in successful state policy advocacy. Frank is a longtime collaborator with farmers markets and Nutrition Incentives programs in California, where he helped develop the Market Match program. 

Watch the roundtable below: 

This work is supported by the Nutrition Incentive Program Training, Technical Assistance, Evaluation, and Information Center (NTAE). The NTAE is funded by Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program grant no. 2019-70030-30415/project accession no. 1020863 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. 

Local Food and Local Solutions: Advocating for No-Cost Wireless SNAP Equipment at Farm Direct Outlets

Is the cost of wireless EBT equipment and service a barrier for farmers markets and farms in your state? State SNAP processing contracts could provide a solution.

Join Kate Fitzgerald as she shares expertise on tailoring no-cost EBT equipment options in state SNAP contracts to the needs of farm direct outlets.

This webinar, provided by Farmers Market Coalition, on behalf of the Nutrition Incentive Hub, provides an overview of:

• The role of SNAP processing companies and how states contract with them
• Wireless EBT-processing equipment and service options in various states
• How to communicate effectively with the appropriate people in your state
• How organizations can provide an effective connection between farmers markets and state agencies

Presentations slides

Oregon Farmers Market Association 2020 Census Results

Oregon Farmers Market Association recently released results from its 2020 census of farmers markets in a webinar titled “What Happened at Oregon Farmers Markets in 2020.” This presentation holds interesting stats about sales, attendance, and vendor level trends. It also dives into subjects like how Oregon farmers markets responded to COVID-19, widespread wildfires, and calls for racial justice in their communities during 2020.

Click the image below to watch a recording of the webinar.

Access the full presenter slides here.

2021 Annual Farmers Market Coalition Member Meeting

The 2021 Annual Member meeting took place on January 29, 2021 at 10am PT / 1pm ET on Zoom.

In this meeting, FMC staff presented an overview of the organization’s accomplishments and challenges through 2020 within the context of our five year strategic plan and shared our focus areas for the coming year.

• View the recording of the meeting
• Access the “Additional Resources” document referenced in the webinar
• View the slides from the webinar.

Additionally, we introduced the candidates for the FMC board positions and opened voting for the elections. Board voting is open to active FMC members only and is open through February 23, 2021. Log in to renew your FMC membership or become a new member here!

View the candidates for open FMC Board positions, and vote online through the member portal.

Graphic Design for Non-Designers Webinar

This webinar was held on January 20, 2021 by FMC Communications Staff.

Watch the recording to join the communications staff of the Farmers Market Coalition in this skills development workshop on graphic design basics for non-designers. This webinar is part of a series of marketing and communications webinars specifically developed for market operators. Participants will be guided through how to use free online web tools like Canva and Adobe Spark to make branded, high-quality graphics for their website, print, social media and other promotional materials. Market operators will leave with a set of easy-to-follow guidelines for making graphics look clean, professional and personalized for your market!

Registrants will be walked through how to use specific programs and how to make simple changes to communications and marketing materials to increase readability and clarity. The second half will be open to questions from market operators relating to graphics design and branding for farmers markets.

Access the slides here: PDF of Slides

Access the full recording here: Zoom Recording

The book referenced in this webinar is The Non-Designers Design Book by Robin Williams.

Do you have questions about this webinar? Email hannah@farmersmarketcoalition.org.

Match the Market: Adapting Nutrition Incentives to Various Food Outlets

Meet the Presenters

Farmers Market Coalition and National Grocers Association TA Center in partnership with the Nutrition Incentive Hub have teamed up to present Match the Market: Adapting Nutrition Incentives to Various Food Outlets.

Nutrition incentive programs, which offer a “buy one get one” model to encourage customers to purchase more fruits and vegetables, have grown in popularity over the years. Although they originated in farmers markets, today nutrition incentives have expanded to reach several food outlets, including farm stands, CSAs, co-ops, and grocery stores. Throughout this expansion, administrators have discovered that there is no “one size fits all” approach.

This webinar will discuss how nutrition incentive practitioners can adapt and shift their programs to meet the unique needs of different types of food outlets. Statewide and regional organizations that expanded their nutrition incentive program from farm direct outlets to brick and mortar outlets (or vice versa) will discuss their rationale for this shift and how they adapted their program accordingly.  They will share the lessons they learned along the way, including tips on marketing, capacity support, and outlet funding requirements.

Attendees will learn:

• Important considerations when shifting an existing nutrition incentive model to a new type of food outlet
• The challenges faced when making the expansion between farm direct and brick and mortar outlets
• The benefits of running incentive programs in both farm direct and brick and mortar outlets

Whether your organization is already preparing to implement a nutrition incentive program in a new type of outlet, or you’re simply interested in learning about the difference between how incentive programs work at farm direct and brick and mortar sites, this webinar will offer you insight into how you can successfully match the market.

Click the image below for the recording of the webinar

Access presentation slides here
Webinar Q and A

Thinking Inside the Box – Making Healthy Food Accessible with Curbside/Drive-Thru (Contactless) Models at Farmers Markets During COVID-19

Presenters

Farmers Market Leaders! Remember when everyone was talking about alternative delivery models and how to reduce contact at farmers markets? Let’s bring that conversation back!

Are you interested in learning to operate a curbside/drive-thru (contactless) model at your market? COVID-19 has impacted almost every aspect of farmers’ market operations. From wearing masks to social distancing, keeping shoppers and vendors safe has created new opportunities for innovation.

“Box programs” or curbside/drive-thru models have popped up across the nation to provide small and mid-sized farmers with an additional opportunity to sell their products and continuing to elevate farmers markets and make healthy food accessible to communities.

Largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, farmers market customers – including those in COVID-19 high-risk groups – are looking for lower-touch options.

In this webinar, market operators using this model will present on:

How to run a curbside/drive-thru (contactless) model in a farmers’ market, including offering SNAP/EBT payment and nutrition incentives (the match provided on SNAP benefits).

Participants will also get knowledge on best practices for:
Logistics and operations
Securing funding and staffing/volunteers
Compliance with COVID-19 health and safety guidelines

Attendees will leave this webinar feeling inspired and supported to run your own box program, or with a better understanding of how viable the program may be for your market.

Click the image below for the recording of the webinar.

Access presentation slides here.
Webinar Q&A
Min: 09:55 Land Acknowledgement/ Essential Workers Acknowledgement
Min: 18:00 About the Nutrition Hub
Min: 19:30 Presenter line-up
Min: 20:40 Presenter #1, Cristina Berthelot, Crescent City Farmers Market, New Orleans, LA
Min: 35:32 Presenter #2, Angie Warkentin, Visalia Farmers Marker Åssociation, Visalia, CA
Min: 51:48 Presenter #3, Megan Kenney, North Coast Growers Åssociation, Arcata, CA
Min: 1:06:05 Presenter #4, Ruth Arhelger, Rochester Farmers Market, Rochester, MN
Min: 1:18:37 Presenter Q and A

Online SNAP Basics: Nutrition Incentive Hub and NGAF Technical Assistance Center Webinar

Webinar Recording

Online SNAP Basics Slides

Online SNAP FAQ

Webinar: Raise Money and Build Community with Engaging Online Fundraising

July 29. 2020

Presentation slides

Panelists:
Caroline Fiore, Farm Aid Development Manager
Nora Chovanec, Texas Farmers Market Deputy Director

In this webinar host by the Farmers Market Coalition, Caroline Fiore, Development Manager at Farm Aid, will guide market leaders on a variety of techniques and strategies for online fundraising, including hosting effective and engaging online events. Community members are looking for ways to support local food systems and the essential services of farmers markets. Implementing online fundraising events and campaigns can be a great way to fund additional costs of PPE, market staff, and strengthen the financial sustainability of your market.

Participants will learn how they can engage with donors in their community, increase funding for their markets, and make giving online fun for everyone!

We’ll also be joined by Nora Chovanec of Texas Farmers Market, who will share her experience running a successful online fundraising campaign to cover increasing costs during the pandemic.

Market operators will leave the workshop with an understanding of how to raise funds to support their markets via a variety of online methods–just in time for National Farmers Market Week! The presentation will wrap up with an open discussion and Q&A.

Watch the Recording