Good language in here for project proposals that involve taking student groups to farms and gardens. That the number of children involved in creative outdoor activities fell so quickly is shocking and can be addressed by activities that markets organize. Also, how access to nature can be a creative stimulant for later learning could also be the basis of your project for your targeted market day activities.
The remarkable collapse of children’s engagement with nature – which is even faster than the collapse of the natural world – is recorded in Richard Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods, and in a report published recently by the National Trust. Since the 1970s the area in which children may roam without supervision has decreased by almost 90%. In one generation the proportion of children regularly playing in wild places in the UK has fallen from more than half to fewer than one in 10. In the US, in just six years (1997-2003) children with particular outdoor hobbies fell by half. Eleven- to 15-year-olds in Britain now spend, on average, half their waking day in front of a screen.
In her famous essay the Ecology of Imagination in Childhood, Edith Cobb proposed that contact with nature stimulates creativity. Reviewing the biographies of 300 “geniuses”, she exposed a common theme: intense experiences of the natural world in the middle age of childhood (between five and 12). Animals and plants, she contended, are among “the figures of speech in the rhetoric of play … which the genius in particular of later life seems to recall”.
Studies in several nations show that children’s games are more creative in green places than in concrete playgrounds. Natural spaces encourage fantasy and roleplay, reasoning and observation. The social standing of children there depends less on physical dominance, more on inventiveness and language skills. Perhaps forcing children to study so much, rather than running wild in the woods and fields, is counter-productive.
UTNE Altwire – If children lose contact with nature they won't fight for it.
It is true that we still await a major city seriously investing in community food systems as their economic bridge to a new renaissance – sure, it could be Chicago. It would be great if it was Chicago.
Chicago Urban Farms Initiative: Englewood Could Become Major Agribusiness Hub.
Another great idea from my hometown market, Crescent City Farmers Market. They have come to the realization that their annual fundraiser takes so much energy and time away from their markets and in a very busy holiday event season, has a limited return. Truly, for an non-profit of their size to do these type of events and make less than 20 grand means it’s not usually worth the wear and tear on the market community. Some markets see their event as their educational event each year, and if it’s used to expand the reach of the market as well, then the return can be less. But for a market like CCFM, which is well-known already, going another way to raise unrestricted income seems appropriate.
Instead, they have worked with some of their close supporters and vendors to offer skills and experience for a price. The list is great and should shake out some good cash for the markets.
Always innovating over there at Market Umbrella…
For markets looking for a good deal on online database management should check out salsa labs. In their own words:
These are a few of our best qualities:
Experts at helping you build your base of support with a seamless, online platform to fundraise, advocate, communicate and organize
Enterprise-ready infrastructure for greater insight and engagement with your community, no matter what numbers of supporters, chapters, campaigns or programs you may have – from 100 to 100 million
A Network of more than 40,000 peers and partners all supportive of your mission and ready to help in our online community Salsa Commons, in our virtual seminars, at our community events and at our annual conference
98% Average Client Support Satisfaction Rating – really, what more is there to say? Our top-notch services, support and training team is downright obsessive about making certain you are as happy as possible with Salsa.
This is a good overview of the work Wholesome Wave does and how it came to be. Their impact is certainly being felt and the partnerships that they have created with markets and market networks are crucial to the goal of building the community food system.
For-profit and non-profit incorporations are still hot topics among markets. Recently, there has been a flurry of comments on the FMC Listserve about 501(c)3s, which shows how this is still an emerging field.
The B Corp is another layer for corporations to consider. It allows for some parallel benefits to exist side by side, and Ben and Jerry’s has joined their ranks it seems:
Ben And Jerry’s Becomes A B Corporation | Co.Exist: World changing ideas and innovation.
Since the Community Food Project RFP is out and proposals are due November 28, this handy new guide should be very useful. As someone who has written one and had it funded, I will say that this grant program is a very useful way to pull off an in-depth pilot for extending and expanding food systems. Good luck to anyone that is working on one.
As a massively populated area with some of the most fertile farmland prepares for some very bad weather, maybe their markets can use this time to help expand the idea of product choices as a way to assist their farmers.
The Case For Eating Ugly Fruits and Vegetables | Care2 Causes.
The link below is an earlier post on extending market shoppers with “kits”:
Market Kits
A few years back, a group of market managers and market farmers were formed into a Farmers Market Working Group by the Wallace Center to create some best practices and resources. We worked hard to offer useful tips and pictures that would actually assist market vendors with marketing their products. The resources also include some videos and all are available on the FMC Resource Library.
News from Farmers Market Coalition:
We are about to send out the market beet, our Autumn newsletter, and it includes a pretty fantastic lineup of webinar topics and experts. To expedite the approval process for our webinars, we are asking that people use their member # in the registration form.
And, here is the schedule:
FMC capacity building webinars take place on the second Tuesday of every month, unless otherwise noted. Webinars are for FMC members and provide an opportunity for interactive learning and skill development from experts in the field.
November- Purpose Defined: Developing a Market Mission Statement
November 13, 2012, 1 pm eastern
Presenter- Darlene Wolnik, Independent Researcher and Trainer – Community Food Systems
and FMC Market Programs Advisor
Moderator- Jen O’Brien, Interim Executive Director, Farmers Market Coalition
Read More and Register Today!
December: Event Fundraiser Success Stories
December 11, 2012, 1 pm eastern
Presenters- multiple farmers market managers including:
Megan McBride, manager, Easton Farmers Market, PA
Donita Anderson, executive director, North Union Farmers Market, OH
Moderator- Leslie Schaller, director, ACEnet
January: Vendor Stories: Vendor perspectives on Market Organization
January 8, 2013, 1 pm eastern
Presenters- Multiple direct marketing farmers
February: The Power of POP: Oregon City presents their children’s market program
February 12, 2013, 1pm eastern.
Presenters- Jackie Hammond Williams, market manager, Oregon City Farmers Market
Natalie Roper, FMC intern, student, UVA- replicating POP in Charlottesville, VA
March: Farmers Market Promotion Program evaluation
March 12, 2013 1pm eastern
Presenters- Stacy Miller, Farmers Market Coalition
Also in early 2013
Farmers Market Coalition member meeting
~and~ 2013 FMPP application process
In the arc in the maturation of a market shopper, it is clear that one type of shopper quickly adopts the grower mentality and begins to supplement their purchases with items they grow themselves, often with advice from the market vendors they buy from. A savvy market would do well to capitalize on that thirst for knowledge with products that allow backyard growing or canning or preserving. One of my favorite examples (although not a market vendor!) is the oyster starter kit that Taylor’s Seafood sells out of their store front in Puget Sound. Designed for people with waterfront property, it teaches these folks to harvest a small amount and offers basic understanding to those with this valuable real estate of the need for a balanced ecosystem.
This mushroom kit is a great idea and versions of it should be available in markets across the US. Another example might be a box of slightly damaged fruit with ingredients and instructions for making a pie, or culled tomatoes with small bunches of herbs and instructions for sauce.
We spend a great deal of time attracting new shoppers to our markets, but need to take the time to keep the longtime ones too.
Our Story – Back to the Roots | Mushroom Kit – Yields up to 1 1/2 lbs in 10 Days.
Helping Farmers Markets Grow 