Author: DW

Thank you Enid Wonnacott

The news this last weekend of the passing of legendary Vermonter and NOFA-VT Executive Director Enid Wonnacott begins a tremendously sad time for her friends and family, for farmers and farm advocates (most of whom were also her friends and family) across Vermont and indeed, for many of us across the U.S.

I was lucky enough to know Enid and to expect her smiling face and warm embrace on my trips to Vermont, usually done in conjunction with the annual Direct Marketing Conference held by NOFA-VT. The first time I met Enid was at the 2012 conference, briefly saying hello to her early that morning, before letting her and the rest of the team continue with their set up. When she went up later to introduce me, I was surprised to see her as the representative as we had only a minute together at that point. In her introduction, I was to learn what everyone else in the room already knew: Enid had a genius for seeing people quickly and clearly. She spoke about me, noting what she had learned from then NOFA-VT’s Direct Marketing Coordinator Jean Hamilton already and what she had observed all morning from my activities while there. It was specific, it was wise, and it set the stage perfectly for my keynote.

In my return trips to Vermont, Enid made time in her schedule to sit with me and ask questions about work across the country and to share with me what she was focused on in Vermont. Our conversations were almost always about two things in varying degrees: farmers and NOFA. Both groups were under her care, which meant they got her motherly mien and practical planning on their behalf.

Once in her world, one stayed in her circle. I saw constant examples of that when former staff returned to NOFA-Vt’s bustling and homey office in Richmond and she gave them her full attention while delighting in their stories, or watching her sit in deep conversation with farmers at this or that meeting, or even when I was at home in New Orleans and people would seek me out telling me, “Enid told me to come find you at the market.”

In most cases, those who choose the role of executive director of a statewide non-profit do so because they can manage all of the multiple reins needed: funding, staffing, program development, governance, partnerships, mission, strategy.  It always seemed to me that Enid had a light but sure hand at NOFA; in other words, one that left no doubt that she was leading. And one that left no doubt that the guidance of her team and their support of farmers were the most important things among all of those. That never-ending interest for people and her eagerness to make it all joyous means that NOFA-VT and her larger Vermont group is one of the most collaborative, intuitive and savvy set of individuals that I have the privilege of working with directly. It will be so very hard for them to go on without her, but I know she prepared them as well  as she could and they will have their thousands of interactions and bits of wisdom to draw from when needed. My pal Erin has stepped up to lead this team for now and I know Enid left this world knowing we would all be there helping her in this difficult time. And I know that Erin will meet the challenge.

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The last time I saw Enid, she came out to a dinner while I was in town (as she almost always did when able), talking to me at length about her family, about her own plans, about our shared friends and colleagues, and the hope embedded in our work. She believed in the future as anyone would who cared as much about land and people as she did, and I always left her presence with more determination and appreciation for both, and for Vermont.

Thank you, Enid. Thank you for all that I have gained because of you. I won’t forget your example.

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A few pieces by this brilliant woman:

https://vermontindependent.net/the-food-less-traveled/

https://localbanquet.com/item/consumers-as-coproducers

https://nofavt.org/blog/honoring-jack-lazor

and this is something I wrote about the affirmation at the top of this post that hangs on my wall.

https://darlenewolnik.com/2017/04/13/communicating-community/

 

 

 

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Farmers Markets Need Support to Collect and Use Data

For the past year and a half, I have been attempting to wrangle the last seven years of FMC’s technical assistance around market evaluation (and the last 18 for me) into some sort of timeline and “lessons learned” to present to researchers and partners interested in farmers markets and data.

The process of writing a peer-reviewed paper was new to me and my fellow authors and the entire FMC team soldiered on with me as best they could, cheering me on and adding much needed perspective and edits at different points of the process. After a year and a half of drafting and reviewing, we released the article linked below through the skill of the JAFSCD team, but also because of the support of the USDA/AMS team. I think it should be said as often as possible that the AMS team is firmly dedicated to assisting farmers markets with whatever trends that arise, and in developing programs at USDA that reflect the current conditions of markets in order to increase their ability to support family farmers and harvesters. The evaluation work is just one example of how they have watched developments and offered support where they thought applicable.
The reason for FMC to put effort into this type of academic article is to make sure that researchers see the opportunity to have market operators be part of the process around what data is collected via markets and market vendors, and how it is used. It certainly doesn’t mean that we think that all of the work to collect and clean the data should be shouldered by the markets only or that using the data is their work alone. I hope that is clear in this paper. But we DO think that market work is increasingly focused around managers and vendors making data-driven decisions, and so the way the market team spends its time and how well it analyzes and shares data also has to evolve. That isn’t our choice; that is the result of the world taking a larger interest in regional food and farming, as well as the constant pressure from the retail food sector. Many in that latter group want to cash in on the trust and authenticity we value without holding the same accountability to producers that we have. We have to fight that, and doing it with data is the best way.

Finally, we think there is still much to know about the barriers to embedding data systems for grassroots markets; this paper only covers what we have learned since 2011 and up to the beginning of 2018. Much more is constantly being learned and will be reflected in the TA we offer markets and their partners.

Please email me with comments and questions about the paper and its findings.

Dar

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FMC press release: December 18, 2018 – Collecting data at farmers markets is not a new endeavor. But until recently, the data was largely collected and used by researchers, often to understand the role farmers markets play in the broader food system. Over the last seven years, the Farmers Market Coalition (FMC) – a national nonprofit dedicated to strengthening farmers markets – has partnered with research institutions and market organizations to better understand how market organizations have begun to collect and use data.

While until recently it was rare for market organizations to participate in the collection of their own market-level data, more and more markets have reached out to FMC over the last decade for data collection technical assistance. In 2011, the organization began to identify common characteristics and impacts of market programs, and realized more research into evaluation resources and tools that could be used easily by understaffed market operators was needed.

In a new article published in the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development (JAFSCD), FMC outlines the industry need behind creating the Farmers Market Metrics (Metrics) program, and a timeline of the steps and partnerships that led to the creation of the tool, as well as best practices uncovered during its development.

Key recommendations include:

Create assigned roles for the market’s data collection team, and choose training materials that set expectations for seasonal staff, volunteers, and interns to maximize time and efficiency.
Prioritize staff support to allow market leaders more time to oversee data collection.
Gain vendors’ trust in the program for sharing and storing sensitive data.
Patience and support from funders and network leaders for each market’s level of capacity and comfort with data collection.
More assistance from funders and network leaders in helping markets select metrics to collect, as well as advancing data collection training for market staff.
The use of tools such as the USDA’s Local Foods Economic Toolkit, coupled with consistent support from academic partners, will encourage market leaders to delve more deeply into economic data and to feel more confident sharing results.

“FMC’s efforts to craft a suitable set of resources and a data management system for high-functioning but low-capacity market organizations has helped many stakeholders understand and share the many positive impacts their partner markets are making,” said FMC Senior Advisor and article author Darlene Wolnik. “But our analysis concludes that there is still foundational work to be done by those stakeholders to aid these organizations in collecting and using data.”

Wolnik continued, “The good news is that market-level data collection yields important information that markets can use to improve operations, share with researchers, communicate impacts to stakeholders, advocate for and promote vendors, and more.”

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Resilience: Having the courage to persevere – Farm Aid

This is so great.

Willie Nelson:

“It’s called resilience – having the courage to persevere – and we heard a lot about it in Hartford this September at Farm Aid 2018. Farmers reminded us how they love tending the earth and its plants and animals, in spite of the struggles. That love and their resolve inspires me. And I hope it inspires you, too.”
— Read on www.farmaid.org/blog/resilience-having-the-courage-to-persevere/

Farm Aid is one of the significant elders of our work, remaining focused on the needs of farmers, responding to their circumstances and amplifying possible policy solutions. The work they have done is so tremendous and grassroots, it sets the standard for all of our work.

This moment from 2018’s FarmAid concert was an obvious favorite among FMC staff:

Have you stopped at a farmers market lately?

Support the work of this important organization this year.

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Reading material

Dear colleagues,

I’m sorry for the absence from this blog, but have been happily knee deep in surveys and resource development for markets. So first, if you work for an organization that runs markets and the organization has not taken the national State of the Market survey yet, here is the link. Do check to make sure someone else in your organization hasn’t already answered, as we need only ONE response per organization.

I hope the year has been productive and promising for your work and that there are big plans for 2019.

My plans for the new year include increasing my activity to connect our food system work more closely to resiliency initiatives (i.e. disaster mitigation, climate challenges, economic apartheid)  from the municipal level to the international level.

As short and long-term ecological and economic solutions are sought for water, energy, and land planning, it is vital that local food activists and practioners are at the table. I hope to be a bridge while also continuing my work with markets to increase their diversity of uses and of users and to articulate their own theory of change.

In the meantime, here are some wonderful hopeful titles on my current reading list around farming and farmers markets. I hope you find some of them interesting.

 

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And this list of 10 podcasts is very helpful:

Ten Food Policy Podcasts to Listen to Now

 

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“We like to think of local today being where organic was 15 years ago”

 By Mary Ellen Shoup

BrightFarms is poised to bring its local greenhouse model to a nationwide audience with 15 hydroponic greenhouses to be built in the next three to five years as demand for locally-grown produce outweighs organic, shared BrightFarms VP of marketing and innovation, Abby Prior.

link to story

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Another Fresh Food Initiative grocery store recipient may close in New Orleans

The owners received a $1 million loan from the city’s Fresh Food Retailer Initiative, a program aimed at increasing residents’ access to fresh food. According to reports at the time, $500,000 of the loan was forgivable.

 

Seems to be a tragic confluence of bad-faith investments, management disorder, new disruptive businesses taking away some of the sales, and the lack of resilience in the city around its increasing environmental challenges. Still, I’d like to see what else this fund ended up supporting and what those places are doing now.

Some relevant quotes from Ian’s story linked below:

One of lenders that funded the store’s reopening was First NBC Bank, the local financial institution that collapsed last spring and continues to send ripples through the New Orleans business community. Boudreaux said his loan was acquired by another financial institution which has been more aggressive.

“We opened with the finances upside down to begin with, and it got worse,” he said.

The city also provided a $100,000 Economic Development Fund grant, and the Louisiana Office of Community Development provided a loan for $1 million. The store also received $2.2 million in historic tax credit equity and $2.2 million in new market tax credit equity.

 

Meanwhile, Boudreaux has accused some relatives of stealing money from the family-run business.

 

While these issues have been ongoing, Boudreaux pointed to the August 2017 flood as perhaps the last straw for the business. That disaster, spurred by a summer downpour that revealed widespread problems with the city’s drainage systems, swamped the store and knocked out much of its food-storage equipment.

Here’s my post on the first store closure that had been a recipient.

I mention Circle Food in this piece on another public market site:

The Advocate story

 

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Solnit on mutual aid economies

Almost anyone would say our society is capitalistic, based on competition and selfishness. But huge areas of our lives are already based on gift economies, barter, mutual aid, and giving without hope of return. Think of the relations between friends, between family members, the activities of volunteers or those who have chosen their vocation on principle rather than for profit.

Think of the acts of those who do more and do it more passionately than they are paid to do, of the armies of the unpaid at work counterbalancing and cleaning up after the invisible hand of the market and even loosening its grip on our collective throat. Such acts represent the relations of the great majority of us some of the time and a minority of us all the time. They are, as the two feminist economists who published together as J. K. Gibson-Graham noted, the nine-tenths of the economic iceberg that is below the waterline. Capitalism is only kept going by this army of anti-capitalists, who constantly exert their powers to clean up after it and at least partially compensate for its destructiveness.

Hope lies in the future, but my work on disaster and society convinced me that much that is remarkable is with us already, undescribed.

Rebecca Solnit

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Farmer Fleenor for Congress

Article from Bayou Brief, written by   on October 14, 2018

Loranger, Louisiana is an unincorporated town in Tangipahoa Parish, about fifteen minutes north of Hammond and an hour east of Baton Rouge. Its most notable “sightseeing” attraction, according to Facebook, is the Methodist Church, which had been listed on the National Register of Historic Places until its building was torn down and replaced three years ago. The Southern Baptists own a small summer camp there, Living Waters, on the banks of the Tangipahoa River.

There’s a local donut shop and a Dollar General, which both earn a mention on the town’s Wikipedia.

This place is tiny.

It’s also the hometown of Jessee Carlton Fleenor, the 34-year-old Democrat challenging Ralph Abraham, a two-term Republican congressman from Alto, another tiny town on the other end of Louisiana’s vast Fifth District.

Since qualifying, Fleenor has put thousands of miles on his old Dodge pickup truck, visiting all 24 of its parishes and the small towns that dominate its landscape.

Fleenor is a vegetable farmer. He grows lettuce, bell peppers, corn, broccoli, and cucumbers, among other things. It’s seasonal work, 12 weeks in the spring and 12 weeks in the fall. For the past few years, he’s operated what he calls a “farm to door” program, delivering bags of 8-10 items, including a small selection of fruit and flowers, every week to customers across the region. In the fall, he includes organic eggs and fresh bread as well.

He’s not in it to make a fortune. Most years, he says, he earns between $20,000 to $30,000; the average household income in the district is slightly more than $37,000 a year

https://www.facebook.com/VoteJessee/

He’s a millennial, a Democrat, and a farmer. And he is running for Congress in one of the nation’s poorest districts.

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Cleveland Clinic market

Pics from my visit today to the North Union Farmers Market held at the main campus of Cleveland Clinic. The market staff person told me it is wrapping up its 11th year; how time flies from my first visit the year it opened.

This market is a classic example of the “campus” type so named in the typology of markets that I have written about previously, and once we start to see some data from Metrics and state level data collection efforts, can begin to flesh out these types.

Some time ago, I wrote up a case study on those markets that had used FMSSG funding for focus group research to better understand the perceptions of at-risk and low-income shoppers; while researching that, I saw that this market had used their FMSSG funding to do a Frittata Project with Clinic lap band/bariatric surgery patients to adapt that simple  recipe using different market veggies. I thought it was a great educational activity approach for a hospital campus market to incentivize behavior change. Very situational and intentional which is what I like about the North Union family of markets; each has its own focus and personality. 

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