Farmers Market Coalition is kicking off a 2-year POP Club reflection and resource-share via a Community of Practice (CoP) among markets with POP Clubs, leading to a new revised Guide. This project is in partnership with the Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association (PCFMA)* which operates the club at many of their sites.

POP started in May 2011 at the Oregon City Farmers Market in Oregon City, Oregon. It was created by the market manager, Jackie Hammond-Williams in response to a grant offered by Clackamas County, Oregon for programs that improve the community’s health. The POP Club brought together families and farmers around fresh produce at farmers markets. The program’s mission was three-fold: (1) Empower children to make healthy food choices (2) Strengthen and sustain healthy communities through supporting farmers and cultivating future farmers market supporters (3) Expand farmers markets from a retail location into a place where children can try new foods and learn about healthy eating.

All current POP club members that participate in the CoP agree to share information on their POP club model and participate in at least 2 calls over the project period. They will be asked to review updates to the materials and possibly be featured in FMC’s POP Club social media posts.

If you operate a current POP Club and want to join the CoP, fill out the form here: https://forms.gle/9Zir92gUZgfLKzsd9

For those interested in starting a new POP Club, check out the downloadable resources here:
https://loom.ly/DKOHDYg

* Funding for PCFMA’s POP Club program was made possible by a grant/cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA.