Category Archives: national food system work

USDA report: Nutrition Assistance in Farmers Markets: Understanding Current Operations

May 2, 2013 – 7:30 am

I have begun to take notes on the 799 page report released by the USDA last week (authored by Westat) on nutrition assistance programs managed at markets/with direct marketing farmers.
This (FM Ops) is the first completed phase of the 3 phases of research. Next will be a FM Client Survey, followed by a survey of organizations administering SNAP at farmers markets.

First, the data collection info:

2 parts to this research of FM Ops

First, 9 markets were interviewed in depth, picked by FNs based on their FNS regions and level of population below poverty level:
Eastern Market, Detroit MI
Peachtree Road, Atlanta GA
South Boston, Boston MA
Clark Park, Philadelphia PA
Market On The Square, Mobile AL
Fort Pierce, Ft. Pierce FL
Wytheville, Wytheville VA
Sitka, Sitka AK
Overland Park, Overland Park KS

Second, 1682 farmers markets and 570 direct marketing farmers were surveyed organized in 4 groups:
1. Those that were SNAP authorized and had redemptions between July 1, 2010 and August 31, 2011-77.4% (FMS) and 68.2% (DMFs) response among this group

2. Those that were SNAP authorized but had no redemptions between July 1,2010 and August 31, 2011- 69% (FMs) and 65% (DMFs) response among this group.

3. Those that were SNAP authorized and had redemptions between July 1, 2007 and August 31, 2010, but had no redemptions after August 31, 2010 – 56.8 % (FMs) response among this group -FNS did not differentiate FMs from DMFs until 2010 so there is no individual data on DMFs.

4. Never SNAP authorized- 51.8% (FMs) response among this group. Same issue as above in tracking DMFs so no numbers for that group in this stratum.

Westat also conducted focus groups with 2 markets in DC and Maryland, with some fascinating input from the participants:
“They don’t all make you feel that way, but sometimes you come across one that makes you feel a little bit like, ‘Oh, another EBT card.’ I don’t think they all do it and it’s not every time, but few and far between. They make you feel a little embarrassed, like a second class citizen.”

Much more to come…..

By Darlene Wolnik | Also posted in case studies/research, Congress, farmers markets, farmers/farming information, food policy, food stamps (SNAP), governments, public health, public markets, SNAP, Typology of markets, USDA | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Women farmers doubled

April 30, 2013 – 7:30 am

Posted by Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan, on April 29, 2013

“A study released today by USDA’s Economics Research Service, Characteristics of Women Farm Operators and Their Farms found that the number of women-operated farms more than doubled between 1982 and 2007. When all women involved with farming are added up – including primary and secondary operators – they are nearly one million strong and account for 30% of U.S. farmers.”

http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib-economic-information-bulletin/eib111.aspx

By Darlene Wolnik | Also posted in Congress, diversity/racial justice, farmers/farming information | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Vermont Feasibility Report

April 25, 2013 – 7:30 am

Very proud to release the Vermont Feasibility Market Currency Report this week. I was contracted last fall to do this work by Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Marketing (VAAFM) in partnership with Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT).

The focus was whether there were opportunities to merge the coupon (FMNP and incentives) and SNAP programs into a universal currency for all of Vermont’s farmers markets (and also ultimately assist CSAs and other direct marketing outlets) in order to streamline the systems now being used.
The final report covers technology issues, market capacity, costs and outreach for the Vermont farmers markets and offers recommendations for streamlining through pilots and policy and further analysis.

This link takes you to my website where the report is listed and also to the NOFA-VT site where it will also be listed.

I am happy to talk about the report or to answer any questions.
Dar

http://www.helpingpublicmarketsgrow.com/vermont-feasibility-report.html

By Darlene Wolnik | Also posted in case studies/research, farmers markets, farmers/farming information, food policy, food stamps (SNAP), market vendors, public health, public markets, SNAP, Typology of markets, Where's Dar now? | Tagged | Comments (0)

Building a Racially Just Food Movement | IATP Food and Community Fellows

April 22, 2013 – 7:05 am

“Undoing racism in the food system requires more than good intentions. We must act, employing thoughtful strategies to attack polices and practices that uphold systemic racism. Additionally, and equally importantly, ridding ourselves of the internalized thinking associated with racism is a lifelong and intergenerational work. It requires a systematic process for learning about the social construct we call race, its history and various manifestations. Organizations in the food movement should hold mandatory, frequent, on-going anti-racism trainings. There are many good anti-racist trainers throughout the United States including DR Works, The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, and Crossroads.

Finally, food movement organizations must do things differently. All organizations planning food security, food justice and food sovereignty conferences should include a track that addresses racism in the food system. Major national conferences should have several workshop offerings in the track.”

Building a Racially Just Food Movement | IATP Food and Community Fellows.

By Darlene Wolnik | Also posted in community gardens, diversity/racial justice, farmers/farming information, social cohesion | Comments (0)

Vermont leads again

April 11, 2013 – 7:30 am

“Vermont is now officially, quantitatively the number one state in the union for local foods two years running, according to Strolling of the Heifers’ 2013 Locavore Index.”

Having spent some of the last 3 years working with Vermont food system organizers, I can tell you that this news was likely (again).
Sharing with your community – whether it is your talent or with your products – is embedded deep within the Vermont DNA and can account for part of their success in being #1 for local “eating”, but quite possibly a book that I am currently reading, “Fast Lane On A Dirt Road: Vermont Transformed 1945-1990,” may also shed light:

“The 24,000 farms of 1946 became 9,200 farms by 1964… and by 1990, 2400.”

superimposed over this info:

“The 1960 newcomers reversed the century-long exodus of the young and the restless and helped increase Vermont’s population from 390,000 to 445,000, the first jump of more than five percent in one decade since the 1830s.”

In other words, by the early 1960s the “halcyon” days of agriculture had given way to paved roads leading to ski lodges (in a state with over a thousand peaks over 2000 feet) and IBM jobs, yet had fewer people.
So, what may have saved the state from chasing the corporate buck and rich tourist to its economic death may have been those hippies who came a few years later looking for ways to live their values and start a new life.

And in a state now known for its progressive politics at the state and national level, it may surprise many to know that when the Republicans gave way to a Democratic governor in 1962, it ended the “longest run of one-party control in American history.” However, that change also meant more state programs and less local control which continues to affect the future of Vermont, especially in the role of agriculture and who will help decide what “local” will mean in the coming years.

What all this means to me is each state’s food organizers need to understand their demographic past and then adapt to current assets and trends just as I think Vermont has started to do quite well. In any case, congrats to the hardworking folks of the Green Mountain State.

http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/04/09/vermont-leads-nation-local-food

By Darlene Wolnik | Also posted in agricultural tourism, articles, farmers markets, farmers/farming information | Comments (0)

Simple online customer survey

April 4, 2013 – 7:30 am

Recently did a quick survey for Long Beach Farmers Market in Mississippi as their organizer mulls a decision to move the market to a green space with more parking and some shade, but away from the coffee-house and asphalt.This sort of decision, as many organizers have discovered, sounds like an easy decision but never is!
Mississippi Gulf Coast markets continue to manage the after effects of Katrina (where the damage was most severe) with their cities often just now finishing rebuilding their downtowns and green spaces.
Those spaces often come last after city halls, schools and roads so the markets have been the hosts for the few vibrant public spaces along the Gulf over the last 7 years.
The amount of work that it has taken to bring back these small towns that are vital for the state and region’s economic feasibility is mostly undocumented and much of it has been driven by individuals and volunteers. Markets too can take a bow.

Here are the results of the survey:

Charted answers

By Darlene Wolnik | Also posted in farmers markets, farmers/farming information, Main Street, Polls/Surveys, Where's Dar now? | Tagged | Comments (0)

Food by Boat: The Appeal of Floating Farmers Markets

April 2, 2013 – 7:30 am

Food by Boat: The Appeal of Floating Farmers Markets | EcoSalon | Conscious Culture and Fashion.

By Darlene Wolnik | Also posted in articles, farmers markets, farmers/farming information | Tagged | Comments (0)

California legislation about farmers markets

March 25, 2013 – 7:30 am

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-market-news-online-20130322,0,4932509.story

By Darlene Wolnik | Also posted in articles, farmers markets, farmers/farming information, food policy, governments, state associations, Typology of markets | Comments (0)

A Food Atlas For Everyone

March 21, 2013 – 7:30 am

Food AtlasFood Atlas by Darin Jensen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love maps. When I travel, I study maps online to have some sense of the geography underfoot, as much to understand who the people might be as not to get lost. It’s amazing how people appreciate that bit of homework when you go to their place.
I have maps of my city (New Orleans) and of my river (Mississippi) on the wall of my house and the Slow Food RAFT map (see below) on my business card.

Slow Food RAFT map

Slow Food RAFT map


I have books of maps authored by favorites such as geographical historian Rich Campanella and activist Rebecca Solnit, whose collaborative map book (“Infinite City”) of her home of San Francisco is a thought-provoking juxtaposition of right and wrong, culture and place.

When I came across the Kickstarter campaign for this Food Atlas, I jumped at the chance to support it. It arrived last week and I have read it while sipping my morning coffee (while reading about Strong Coffee traditions in the Middle East and “Bird Friendly” coffee origins), referred to it while writing about farmers markets (the one on SNAP and farmers markets) and studied the Texas Seafood Landings map after making flounder tacos just north of Lake Pontchartrain, home of most of the seafood catch for my bioregion. It’s a very new book and so won’t be found everywhere yet, but you can buy it from them now at
http://www.guerrillacartography.net/home

It is a wealth of maps on food production, distribution, security, exploration, identities and to pick out my favorites is to shortchange the breadth of this book.
It’s not just for activists, or “foodies” but for everyone and I think it could affect (and galvanize) people just as M. Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemna” did. I grow tired of long text articles about food (Yes, I do include myself in that finger pointing!) and would hope that this sort of map project could become a new way to educate and illuminate the small world that we live on.

I can’t wait for the editors to follow up on their promise to expand the reach of this series including to add more Asian and African food maps and to get this Atlas in hands everywhere. Its a bit heavy on maps of the West Coast and of the US, so much so that it occurs to me that having a set of food maps that show the lopsided view we have of ourselves in the US versus how others see us or experience us might be a good edition. In any case, hurrah.

..

View all my reviews

By Darlene Wolnik | Also posted in books, economic development issues, environmental issues, farmers markets, farmers/farming information, fishers, food history, food insecurity, food policy, food sovereignty, food stamps (SNAP), global organizing, industrial food system, public health, SNAP | Tagged | Comments (0)
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