national food system work

The Crop Hop: Celebrating Family Farmers & Supporting Farm Advocacy

The Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA’s mission is to cultivate markets, policies, and communities that sustain thriving, socially just, and environmentally sound family farms. RAFI works nationally and internationally, focusing on North Carolina and the southeastern United States. RAFI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Pittsboro, North Carolina and incorporated in 1990.

Learned about this excellent organization on my last visit to Carrboro North Carolina while I was there working with my colleague Sarah Blacklin, (she late of the Carrboro Farmers Market and now working on statewide analysis of meat production); RAFI’s excellent deep work with farmers is one of the reasons that North Carolina are seeing entrepreneurial farming in larger numbers, and I am sure that they are more than willing to share that credit with a host of other NGOs and universities as well.

This fundraiser idea is a great one and no matter where you are in the US, you might want to look into it and support their work more closely.

The Crop Hop: Celebrating Family Farmers & Supporting Farm Advocacy.

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The MOON magazine | The Future of Food

This month we gather around the topic of food—a subject everyone loves. Food is the great convenor, the global common denominator, the alchemical substance that pulls parties into the kitchen, makes friends out of strangers, puts flesh on our bones and smiles on our faces.

But all is not well in food land, despite the colorful array of products on U.S. grocery store shelves. One third of Americans are overweight; diet-related diseases are skyrocketing; our food is being designed to addict, rather than nourish; bees are dying; biodiversity is being lost; and modern agriculture is based on massive inputs of petroleum—a finite resource.

The MOON magazine | The Future of Food.

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State and Network Leader Discussion Series

Calling all State Association and Market Network Leaders: Please register for the FMC State and Network Leader webinar discussion on July 8th, at 4pm EST/1 PST. We will be discussing the Mobile Market App and any challenges that markets and networks face using smart phone technology. Darlene Wolnik, independent consultant to public markets, will be moderating. Please be ready to ask any questions or share comments during the call, or feel free to submit questions beforehand. This is meant to be a discussion among leaders, not an informational webinar.

Last month, several participants called in to the webinar via phone only. Unfortunately, due to the limitations of this technology, those participants were in ‘listen only mode’ and couldn’t speak or ask questions. If possible, join the webinar through your computer AND your phone, for optimum sound and participation!

However, these calls are recorded and notes taken so everyone can share after the call is over. If you are a network leader and have not received the invitation, email Liz at farmersmarketcoalition.org to receive a registration.

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Where you from?

http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2013/05/31/michigan-tracks-cattle-from-birth-to-plate/

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Nutrition Assistance Report Part II

More quotes and odds and ends from the Nutrition Assistance Project Report. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Research and Analysis, Nutrition Assistance in Farmers Markets: Understanding Current Operations by Sujata Dixit-Joshi et al. April 2013.

I hope this is helpful to those readers that don’t have the time to read 799 pages!
Here is a link to my original post about this report

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Stated purpose of project:
“To seek innovative ways to increase SNAP participants access to farmers markets (fms) and direct marketing farmers (dmf)”

Questions being asked in this project:
1. What are the characteristics of fms and dmfs and do they vary by SNAP authorization status?
2. What procedures are being used to add SNAP programs at fms and dmfs?
3. What is the nature of incentive programs?
4. What organizations serve fms and dmfs?

Three studies to be done in next few years:
FM Operations (was completed 2013)
FM Client Survey
Orgs administering SNAP at FMs Survey
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Details from FM Ops study:

2 phases of Operations study:
1. Nine markets were interviewed in depth, selected by FNS based on regions and demographic of poverty level in area.

2. 1682 farmers markets and 570 direct marketing farmers were surveyed between January and May 2012, Organized in 4 study strata:
Stratum 1: Snap authorized FMs and DMFs with redemptions from July 1, 2010- August 31, 2011
Stratum 2: SNAP authorized FMs and DMFs with no redemptions from July 1, 2010-August 31, 2011
Stratum 3: SNAP authorized FMs with redemptions from July 1, 2007- August 31, 2010 but none since in 2011. (FNS did not track DMFs separately before 2010.)
Stratum 4: Never SNAP authorized
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3.9 Farmers Markets Operating Budget

“In CY 2011, farmers markets relied on multiple funding sources for their operating budget. A vast majority of the markets depended on vendor fees: only 10 percent of the markets did not collect any vendor fees. Sponsorship from business organizations (28.7%), fundraising events (24.7%), and government organizations were also important sources of funding for the markets’ operating budgets. About 10 percent of the markets received funding from State government.

About 76 percent of the farmers markets charged the vendors a flat fee. Among the farmers markets that charged vendors a flat fee, almost one-half implemented a flat fee per season while about
 40 percent implemented a flat fee per market day. Fewer than 10 percent of the markets assessed vendor fees as a percentage of sales, and less than 2 percent charged vendors based on the size of their rental space.”

5.3.1 Type and Characteristics of Outlet Where Direct Marketing Farmers Reported the Most SNAP Sales
“In CY 2011, a majority of the direct marketing farmers selected farmers markets as the outlet where they had the most SNAP sales.
… data suggest that direct marketing farmers who had prior certification may discontinue SNAP participation because they sell at outlets where they can use the market’s authorization to redeem SNAP. A sizeable majority of the direct marketing farmers in all three strata used their own authorization to redeem SNAP benefits at the outlet (Table 5-12).
In all three strata, receiving retail value of products was cited by 54 percent of the respondents in strata 2 and 44 percent of respondents in Stratum 1 (as reason for using the direct marketing outlets). About one-third of the direct marketing farmers in Strata 1 and 2 indicated that convenience was the most important driver for selling products at the outlet. A few reasons included location of the market (proximity to the farm, busy area, etc.); high volume of customers, particularly SNAP, WICFMNP and SFMNP customers; role in starting or operating the market, and to serve the local community.”

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Details of benefit programs at market (fms) and with direct marketing farmers (dmfs):

In 2009, 18% of the markets had access to card processing; by 2011, it was 35% (Briggs et al)
In 2011, 71.8 billion was redeemed in SNAP benefits and 11.7 million at farmers markets which is .016%

Markets with no incentive program had an average of $867 per season in SNAP sales and those with incentives averaged $2587 per season (p38)

(Expect more to come on this blog from this report….)

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Public Farmers?

I often have discussions with people about the term public markets, I assume partly because it is on my business card! I wanted to share these two market definitions: the first done by Project for Public Spaces and the second, by the Farmers Market Coalition:

1. A public market is a public and recurring assembly of vendors marketing directly to consumers, engineered by a neutral regime.
• have public goals;
• are located in the community and/or create a public space in the community; and
• are locally owned, independent businesses.

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2. A farmers market operates multiple times per year and is organized for the purpose of facilitating personal connections that create mutual benefits for local farmers, shoppers and communities. To fulfill that objective farmers markets define the term local, regularly communicate that definition to the public, and implement rules/guidelines of operation that ensure that the farmers market consists principally of farms selling directly to the public products that the farms have produced.
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What is interesting to me about these two descriptions is that the public market definition may not encompass all farmers markets, since a “neutral regime” may not always be found, nor is the concept of public goals (transparency if you will) expressly outlined in the farmers market version.
Conversely, the farmers market definition explicitly defines the “principal” role of farmers selling products produced from their farms while the public market definition does not stress product origin.
Both assume that the market will define what local means, both mention direct sales and stress the concept of recurring.
What would you add or change? Does one seem more appropriate to you?
Is there a need for more markets definitions or for less? Do stakeholders within your region agree on the definition of a market?
Is this where typology could be most helpful, especially within a region with many markets?
I’d love to hear people’s opinions on these definitions and whether these seem accurate or relevant for their own regional definition.

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40 organizations

Food TankFood Tank, one of my favorite new think tanks, is highlighting organizations worldwide doing good work. It’s a good list, although a bit of a surprise what is here and what is not…

http://foodtank.org/news/2013/05/forty-organizations-that-are-shaking-up-the-food-system

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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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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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Vermont leads again

“Vermont is now officially, quantitatively the number one state in the union for local foods two years running, according to Strolling of the Heifers’ 2013 Locavore Index.”

Having spent some of the last 3 years working with Vermont food system organizers, I can tell you that this news was likely (again).
Sharing with your community – whether it is your talent or with your products – is embedded deep within the Vermont DNA and can account for part of their success in being #1 for local “eating”, but quite possibly a book that I am currently reading, “Fast Lane On A Dirt Road: Vermont Transformed 1945-1990,” may also shed light:

“The 24,000 farms of 1946 became 9,200 farms by 1964… and by 1990, 2400.”

superimposed over this info:

“The 1960 newcomers reversed the century-long exodus of the young and the restless and helped increase Vermont’s population from 390,000 to 445,000, the first jump of more than five percent in one decade since the 1830s.”

In other words, by the early 1960s the “halcyon” days of agriculture had given way to paved roads leading to ski lodges (in a state with over a thousand peaks over 2000 feet) and IBM jobs, yet had fewer people.
So, what may have saved the state from chasing the corporate buck and rich tourist to its economic death may have been those hippies who came a few years later looking for ways to live their values and start a new life.

And in a state now known for its progressive politics at the state and national level, it may surprise many to know that when the Republicans gave way to a Democratic governor in 1962, it ended the “longest run of one-party control in American history.” However, that change also meant more state programs and less local control which continues to affect the future of Vermont, especially in the role of agriculture and who will help decide what “local” will mean in the coming years.

What all this means to me is each state’s food organizers need to understand their demographic past and then adapt to current assets and trends just as I think Vermont has started to do quite well. In any case, congrats to the hardworking folks of the Green Mountain State.

http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/04/09/vermont-leads-nation-local-food

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Simple online customer survey

Recently did a quick survey for Long Beach Farmers Market in Mississippi as their organizer mulls a decision to move the market to a green space with more parking and some shade, but away from the coffee-house and asphalt.This sort of decision, as many organizers have discovered, sounds like an easy decision but never is!
Mississippi Gulf Coast markets continue to manage the after effects of Katrina (where the damage was most severe) with their cities often just now finishing rebuilding their downtowns and green spaces.
Those spaces often come last after city halls, schools and roads so the markets have been the hosts for the few vibrant public spaces along the Gulf over the last 7 years.
The amount of work that it has taken to bring back these small towns that are vital for the state and region’s economic feasibility is mostly undocumented and much of it has been driven by individuals and volunteers. Markets too can take a bow.

Here are the results of the survey:

Charted answers

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