Author: D.W.

Slow week in New Orleans coming up

I hope all Slow Food leaders come visit us in May. If you do, let me know, I’ll be leading one of the tours.….

Slow Food USA National Leadership Conference
May 17 — May 19, 2013
New Orleans

Come to the French Quarter of New Orleans for a national gathering of Slow Food chapter leaders and volunteers. Connect with fellow leaders, experience the local culture and build your skills and knowledge in workshops designed just for you.

Who: Slow Food USA Chapter Leaders and Representatives
When: Friday, May 17 at 9:00am — Sunday, May 19 at 3:00pm
Where: Astor Crowne Hotel, 739 Canal Street (at Bourbon Street)
French Quarter, New Orleans
Highlights:

Town Hall Q&A with new Executive Director Richard McCarthy
Skills Building & Informational Workshops
Traditional Crawfish & Shrimp Boil Dinner (with Veg options!) at The Edible Schoolyard
Louisiana’s Ark of Taste Foods and Heritage Dishes
Slow Food Tent at the Bayou Boogaloo Festival
Cultural Tours & Side Trips
Live Jazz, fresh fish and fun in the heart of the French Quarter. Need we say more?

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What the Nonprofit Annual Report Is, Why It Is Necessary, But More Importantly – How It Can Be Powerful In Increasing A Nonprofit’s Fundraising, Volunteers, Public Relations, and Marketing Results

Excellent information to consider:

Seeking Grant Money Today: What the Nonprofit Annual Report Is, Why It Is Necessary, But More Importantly – How It Can Be Powerful In Increasing A Nonprofit's Fundraising, Volunteers, Public Relations, and Marketing Results.

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

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…..

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Women farmers doubled

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

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6-10 of the Top 10 ingredients

6. To have community-produced energy:
More solar panels on our rooftops. Everyone should be able to invest in solar panels for their homes, apartments and office buildings. The ability to invest our money into solar energy projects is paramount, and our friends at Mosaic are experts in doing both of those things.

Billy Parish, Mosaic: Mainstage speaker

7. To live and work in harmony with the natural world:
There are countless innovations that are inspired by nature. Economic systems can be designed like living systems in which there is no waste, but rather every output becomes a nutrient to another subsystem. Janine Benyus is the expert!
Janine Benyus, The Biomimicry Institute: Vision speaker

8.To adopt a “Buy Local First” purchasing initiatives:
Communities can thrive by thinking “Local First” in every aspect of their purchasing. Alignment of their economic development policies and buying from local sources keeps money in the community. We know there may not be a local option for everything (all you caffeine junkies know what I’m talking about), but if we make it easy for hospitals, universities and other local institutions to connect with local producers and providers, there will be greater impact. These people are all doing it!
Stacy Mitchell, Institute for Local Self-Reliance: Towards a Localist Policy Agenda
Matt Raker, AdvantageWest: Economic Development and Community Capital
Carlos Velasco, Fuerza Local: Local First 2.0

9.To tap into community capital:
We need to unleash local money! We need local banks, investors, and community foundations to drive investment into our local businesses. Many of the most pioneering businesses and farms that are critical to a thriving local economy have the most difficult time gaining access to traditional sources of capital, so we need innovative and relationship-driven solutions for funding. Hear from the people on the ground.
Don Schaffer, RSF Social Finance: Integrated Capital and Connections
Michael Shuman, Cutting Edge Capital: Rethinking Investment
Dawn McGee, Goodworks Ventures: Rethinking Investment
Paul Hogan, John R. Oishei Foundation: Community Foundations and Grassroots Funders

10.To connect leaders and spread solutions:
There will be hundreds of local business networks, incubators, hubs, and people to learn from in your community, so connecting people in meaningful ways to share ideas and spread innovation is key to our learning and momentum. Let’s talk openly about what worked and what didn’t. Create gathering spaces that bring people together and foster collective work at all levels. We are better together! These two dynamic women are making it happen.
Deborah Frieze, The Berkana Institute: Cultivating Leadership for Localism
Angie Hawk Maiden, ACENet: Economic Development and Community Capital

(1-5 are found here in this earlier post)
Learn more at BALLE’s 2013 conference, held in Buffalo NY this year:
http://bealocalist.org/2013-balle-conferenceBALLE 2013

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FMC Discover You Can program participants for 2013

• Bellingham Farmers Market, Bellingham WA

• Bushwick Farmers Market, Brooklyn NY

• City Market, Kansas City MO

• CitySeed, New Haven CTCommunity Farmers Market, Bowling Green KY

• Countryside Conservancy, Peninsula OH

• Downtown Evanston Farmers Market, Evanston IL

• Downtown Farmer Market, Salt Lake City UT

• Durham Farmers Market, Durham NC

• Farmers Market Association of Toledo, Toledo OH

• Foodchester, Inc. Pleasantville NY

• Greater Springfield Farmers Market, Springfield MO

• Green City Market, Chicago IL

• Hub City Farmers Market, Spartanburg SC

• Lancaster Market, Lancaster NY

• Las Vegas Farmers Market, Las Vegas NV

• Mainstreet Farmers Market, Statesboro GA

• Minnetrista Farmers Market, Muncie IN

• Moscow Farmers Market, Moscow ID

• Neighborhood Farmers Market, Seattle WA

• New Orleans Food & Farm Network, New Orleans LA

• North Central Texas Farmers Market/Cowtown Farmers Market, Fort Worth TX • Omaha Farmers Market, Omaha NE

• Oregon City Farmers Market, Oregon City OR

• Rochester Downtown Farmers Market, Rochester MN

• SD Weekly Markets, San Diego CA

• Seacoast Eat Local, Exeter & Dover NH

• Smart Markets, Fairfax VA

• Teller County Farmers Market, Woodland Park CO

• Ypsilanti Farmers Market, Ypsilanti MI

©2013 Hearthmark, LLC dba Jarden Home Brands. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Hearthmark, LLC dba Jarden Home Brands, Daleville, IN 47334. Hearthmark, LLC is a subsidiary of Jarden Corporation (NYSE: JAH).

 

 

More about this popular program

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Vermont Feasibility Report

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.

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

Report

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

“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.

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Breakdown of how people use social media

How many markets are using Pinterest or Instagram, I wonder?

Social media demographics

Social media demographics

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Impact on neighborhoods must always be considered

One of the reasons that I stress markets over festivals as a tool for building community cohesion (and yes, there are excellent exceptions to that rule) is the negative impact that poorly designed open air festivals often have on their neighborhoods. Since the organizers do not have to be back there for some time after their staged event, it allows them to bypass getting input beforehand or feedback afterward from the surrounding area.
In contrast, when markets run weekly or even more often than that, they must rely on the goodwill of the neighbors to make it work and must fit into the fabric of daily life.

The festival that brought this post on says they are about the greening of my home city, yet they have an event that lasts for more than 10 hours that creates tons of trash, noise pollution and drives the nearby lower income neighbors away from quietly enjoying their tiny slice of bayou on their weekend. Furthermore, the scale of it is immense and the neighborhood itself gets little to no benefit from this event. To be clear: this is NOT a festival ground, but a small green space that is the bank and grassy area of the bayou that runs through the city of New Orleans. There are no parking lots nearby. These three blocks are in a quiet area with four parks less than three miles away, including one of the largest parks in the U.S. that is desperate for events like this to get funds to be viable. Instead, these organizers come to an open space that is managed by the levee district, probably knowing that the agency has no infrastructure to oversee this or to know how to charge them for the repairs needed for the space.

One respected organizer of markets once told me that they preferred markets over festivals because they believed in the transformative power of connecting people through everyday life, through simple public interactions with time and space to talk over asking them to spend a suspended 12 hours recreating (buying?) culture in an inauthentic setting.
Well, I do like festivals – I just attended the French Quarter Festival which has grown from 2 tents in Jackson Square in the first year to a very well attended event in a neighborhood that has the infrastructure to manage it AND still has the smarts to put most of the noisiest stages away from the residential areas. With older family members in the Quarter, I can tell you that the FQF noise does not hamper their weekend enjoyment, which is not true for those directly impacted by this event. I also attend the JazzFest, which started as a block party and then quickly moved to the Fairgrounds when it outgrew its blocks. I don’t attend the JazzFest as often I used to, as the entry fees are prohibitive now for locals, but I do tip my hat to the amount of money and support over the last 40 years that they have given to their constituency – musicians mostly – and for the fact that they manage an extremely professional event that does not severely impact the neighbors, as the fairgrounds have buffer areas for noise control and they have staff that patrol for trash and they manage traffic and parking very well (from someone who lived NEXT to the JF for a few years!)
I simply wish these newer festivals would spend some time realizing proper scale, for how to use proper outdoor events to promote neighborhoods and about the give and take that open air farmers markets and well-run festivals build with their neighbors and attendees.
Festival Info | New Orleans Earth Day Festival & Green Business Expo.

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