Author: D.W.

For the Love of Farmers Markets-BC conference

Keynote speaker at British Columbia’s farmers market (BCAFM) conference is FMC’s Executive Director Stacy Miller: In her “Integrity at the Market speech,” Stacy will share the variety of models that farmers markets across the US are using to maintain authenticity and live up to the expectations of their communities, their customers, and their vendors.
“Trust, transparency, and the ability to empower consumers to learn and ask questions about food and farming are among the many unique values of farmers markets,” explains Miller, “but how do we honestly evaluate our progress in achieving these values?”

'For the Love of Farmers Markets'.

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Detroit Food Policy Council

For many well-designed food systems, the work started with a food policy council. Many of those had the help of longtime food policy council activist Mark Winne of Community Food Policy Council (CFSC). Winne was one of the early architects and supporter of dozens and dozens of food policy councils and even though there are many other food organizers assisting communities now, he still travels constantly throughout North America. Last May, CFSC hosted a very informative food policy conference which put many of those organizers and teams center stage to share their ideas. When people take the time to figure out their policy barriers to healthy food communities and create a democratic process to work in, they find themselves light years ahead when the sticky collaboration times come.
The Detroit council has excellent information on their site and many documents to use to research your own food policy work.
http://www.detroitfoodpolicycouncil.net/Home_Page.html
And, of course, so does CFSC:
www.foodsecurity.org

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Senate Briefing on local food policy issues

http://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/local-food-briefing-senate/

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SoulFire4TheGulf | Turtle Women Rising

SoulFire4TheGulf is a Gulf Healing Ceremony inspired by New Orleans Medicine Person and Musician, Dr. John. In Solidarity and Support of his vision, Turtle Women Rising and the tribal communities of Isle de Jean Charles, Pointe aux Chien, the Dulac Bands of the Biloxi, Chitimacha, Choctaw and the Atakapa Ishak Tribe join in Unity to welcome the Grandmothers, Elders and People of All Nations to support a Stand For The Earth April 16-20, 2012 in Mandeville and New Orleans, Louisiana.

SoulFire4TheGulf | Turtle Women Rising.

Support this wonderful work

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Urban Agriculture On the Rise – National Young Farmers’ Coalition : National Young Farmers’ Coalition

Report from Georgia Organics on the urban farming phenomenon.

Urban Agriculture On the Rise – National Young Farmers' Coalition : National Young Farmers' Coalition.

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11 “Donate Now” Best Practices for Nonprofits

A great article with tips for using donate now badges on your site. Everyone needs to find ways to increase their earned income so that they can add long term supporters and reduce the annual grant writing frenzy. The best way to do that is to make sure that your listings and website send the right professional message and reach as many supporters as possible.

11 Donate Now Best Practices for Nonprofits « Nonprofit Tech 2.0 Blog :: A Social Media Guide for Nonprofits.

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Racial Justice webinars

One of the areas in which farmers market organizers need to examine their own biases and be open and honest about the barriers in our part of the movement is on racial equity. We should tip our hat to the community farm movement, because these issues are being raised in many more communities that work on urban ag and with immigrant farmers but unfortunately, in my experience it happens much less often in the general farmers market movement.
We can begin to learn how to address issues by attending webinars like this. This series was brought to my attention by my colleague Oklahoma farmer, market organizer and food activist Demalda Newsome who is leading the way in her own community and also throughout the U.S. as a board member of the Community Food Security Coalition and SSAWG.

Webinar Series Registration
Register now for both sessions, and save $5 per webinar!
“Changing the Conversation on Race”
March 15, 1pm ET/10am PT
Avoid circular conversations around race that only lead to frustration and hurt. This session will help you move the discussion around racial justice past stalemate and towards one that’s more productive.
Presenters Kai Wright, Editorial Director of Colorlines.com, and Terry Keleher, Director of ARC’s Racial Justice Leadership Action Network will use examples from the award-winning Colorlines.com on framing sensitive topics.

“Taking Real Steps Towards Racial Justice”
April 19, 1pm ET/10am PT
Most people want to eliminate racism, but are not sure what to do or how to do it. Racism often occurs without consciousness or malice, but creating racial justice requires clarity and methodology.
Presenter Terry Keleher, Director of ARC’s Racial Justice Leadership Action Network will draw on examples of legal, policy and budgetary initiatives that have changed communities across the country.
In this interactive training, you’ll get practical tools to:
Talk effectively about racism
Keep conversations constructive and productive
Move from conversation towards actions and solutions
In this webinar, you’ll learn how to:
Counteract unconscious bias
Identify everyday opportunities for advancing racial justice
Move from institutional racism to “institutionalizing racial equity

If you want even more in-depth learning, save the date for November 15-17. ARC’s 2012 Facing Race Conference brings the most exciting thinkers, leaders, and activists together in Baltimore, MD. Early Bird registration is open now!

Link to registration

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Longtime vendors are heart of French Market: Letter | NOLA.com

In my old city is an old shed market that is constantly undergoing its own trials and tribulations. It is the very heart of our city, being the spot that Native Americans traded their wares and the French built the city around. However, in my lifetime it has become a set of buildings without a plan.
The link leads to a letter to the editor of our local paper and it and the ensuing comments are important to note as they come from some of the vendors. I am not sure the entire story is being told in this letter- well, let’s say it is not, nor did the letter writer expect to cover 250 years of history in it.

I will add that as a farmers market organizer I ran a weekday open-air market in this place as a favor to this corporation and its history as our market heritage, and one of the only things I was glad of post-September 2005, was that my organization could rethink that decision before reopening. We did not reopen that market- it was the only one that we ultimately did not and had more to do with resources and new management unknown to us, then the potential of the place. But, it was a difficult place to run an entrepreneurial market, and this is from someone who ran 3 others weekly and another holiday market every December.

There are many ideas that could work here, but none of them (in my mind) start with reducing the vendors without a strong plan to reinvent the base. I still am not sure the management know who their target audience is and how to reach them. I am not sure they even know how to find their target vendors or how to work with existing vendors to maximize their hard work and the market’s investment.
In short, even though I study markets daily, I am not sure of anything when it comes to the French Market.

Longtime vendors are heart of French Market: Letter | NOLA.com.

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How Mardi Gras Boosts New Orleans’ Economy

Economic measurement is the first ruler we need to apply to the world of food systems, and specifically to our farmers markets. In many ways, Mardi Gras has a lot of similarities to the alternative food system- it’s informal, held mostly within the public space and all about entrepreneurs. This report shows how spring Carnival season adds value to the GNO region. This type of evaluation wis possible for markets to have for their own by using marketumbrella.org’s SEED tool which shows the impact a farmers market has on its own region.

How Mardi Gras Boosts New Orleans' Economy.

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FMC Webinar: Price Comparisons

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Hershey-more than chocolate

As I have mentioned here before, the folks at marketumbrella.org began looking at market typology when they began designing their pilot tools NEED and FEED. Since going on my own, I have continued that research and share it back with them. I hope to do a paper on the subject on typology this year.
This story points to a “campus market” The campus market has characteristics such that resemble the food security market, in that supply (or competition) may be limited, shoppers are meant to be drawn from a smaller radius and intervention in health outcomes is more pronounced.

Organizers asked hospital staff to educate their patients about the opportunities to purchase local fresh foods and participate in free wellness programs offered at the market.
“The key differentiating point for a farmers market located on a medical center campus is the proximity of experts in areas such as medicine, public health, nutrition, kinesiology and psychology, which enables the market to serve as a credible community venue for powerful public health promotion,” George said.

Hershey

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Raw milk farmer closes dairy

“Allgyer operated Rainbow Acres Farm, a small dairy farm in Kinzers, in Lancaster County, Pa., that packaged raw milk and sold it to a group of suburban Washington, D.C., consumers called Grassfed On The Hill. FDA agents infiltrated the buyers’ group by posing as customers and placing orders for delivery across state lines.”

story

So glad they stopped that crime wave.

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