articles

Multiplication Philanthropy – Dan Pallotta – Harvard Business Review

This is a great column on extending the thinking on philanthropy past a program grant or even just capacity building! Many of the foundations that work with public markets already do that, if you’re savvy enough to have the conversation with them. And it is also true that most of the markets I know miss the opportunity to leverage more money when they do get a grant by asking your grant officer if they have any ideas about other funders they might know who might also want to support the project.

Multiplication Philanthropy – Dan Pallotta – Harvard Business Review.

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La Via Campesina and the International Women’s Day

Today (March 8) is International Women’s Day. In the market world, we should honor our women entrepreneurs and also tip our hat to the overwhelming numbers of women organizers involved with public markets. La Via Campensina has long been promoting women in their worldwide peasant movement and today would be a great day to support their work.

La Via Campesina and the International Women’s Day.

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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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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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Southern Living’s 2012 Foodways Hero of the South: Crescent City Farmers Market Founder and Director

My old boss and ongoing collaborator on farmers markets theory and practice, Richard McCarthy has been honored with the Southern Living 2012 Foodways Hero of the South award. The runner up was the equally brilliant Poppy Tooker. Both are intimately involved with food system work in the South, throughout North America and across the globe. The Crescent City Farmers Markets are the fulcrum of the social justice movement in New Orleans and the two have been the most instrumental people in the scope of that work.
Congrats to them both.

McCarthy

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Just How Risky Is Entrepreneurship, Really? – Bruce Gibney and Ken Howery – Harvard Business Review

I’ve been writing a great deal about entrepreneurs lately. I think it’s because the media is fascinated with them during times of economic downturns, and also because I have been working directly with a lot of markets in the past year. Those markets usually ask me the same type of questions but often, the questions come in cycles. A year ago everyone was asking about tokens and wireless machines, and this year people are asking about rules and regulations – both their own and the ones that government requires them to follow.
My impression is much of this seasonal energy comes from their vendors; I hear from markets in the spring because its time to meet with their vendors or because they need to focus on getting new ones, or because the market wants to institute a new system for vendors.
The issue is there is not only one answer to any of their questions. Most of the time, I need to come to them and gather information about their place and their entrepreneurs to be able to assist them. Really, helping the markets understand their entrepreneurs and the community that they host the market in is largely what it takes to assist a market in beginning a sustainability cycle. So articles such as this one can help any market start to think clearly on their own about their own culture.

Just How Risky Is Entrepreneurship, Really? – Bruce Gibney and Ken Howery – Harvard Business Review.

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Slow Food Replies

We’ll assume you have been following the debate between some long-term Slow Food leaders and the current leadership. If not, check out this link to an earlier story on this blog:

Slow Food Fight

If you have, then you are probably ready to see this reply from Josh Viertel, Slow Food USA president.

The Soul of Slow Food: Fighting for Both Farmers and Eaters – The Atlantic.

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Mushrooming diapers (or diapering mushrooms?)

Allowing mushroom vendors in markets can be more complicated than it seems to outsiders. Since many mushroom vendors forage their product (which in turn means markets cannot inspect their sites) markets have to be creative while they practice what they preach (producers only rules!) The growing practice in this article may address although it seems to increase the need for production of diapers!


“Oyster mushrooms, Pleurotus ostreatus, can devour 90 percent of a disposable diaper within two months, observed Alethia Vázquez-Morillas of the Autonomous Metropolitan University in Mexico City in the journal Waste Management. (1) What’s more, the mushrooms grown on diapers are edible. Vázquez-Morillas has dined upon them herself.”
Conservation Magazine

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