The Lessons We Can Learn from France’s Fertile Soil

“Understanding this process is awakening to the simple reality that nothing in this world is ever really new. Only recycled. Soil organisms are the engine of an endless reincarnation process through which land fertility is maintained.”

Wonderful piece on soil; please feel free to share widely with your communities. Again, I take this back to markets: if we as market organizers and producers can reawaken our regional bioregional and watershed communities to regrow our soil and clean our water, then I think we will have served our purpose for the Earth. How can we ensure that our work continues to transfer the knowledge needed? Good soil/bad soil comparison demos? More farm visits for our customers? Soil testing at markets?

The Lessons We Can Learn from France’s Fertile Soil – Environment – Utne Reader.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Smokers More Likely to Quit With Fruits & Vegetables

How about an incentive targeted to smokers using markets as part of their cessation program?

Smokers More Likely to Quit With Fruits & Vegetables | Care2 Healthy Living.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Overview of Paid Market Manager Positions

I am posting a link to analysis of market manager positions that I did for an organization in Maine.
It was meant to be a simple overview of the types of paid positions that exist in the market world and certainly could be and should be expanded in the future.

HPMG resource site

4 CommentsLeave a comment

Cash incentives in NYC and Memphis explained

Ah incentives. This is a great interview with NYC Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs about their cash incentive program. The Mexico model was the one that was explained to us in New Orleans back in 2006 (by the same public health researcher that is now working for NYC) and became the basis of the markets’ innovative work on the Gulf Coast which continues to this day. We understood (because of her training) that we were using cash as a short-term way to reduce significant barriers around open-air farmers markets, especially for low-income shoppers that face barriers such as lack of transportation, short market hours (that are often at odds with service workers schedules), the need to learn new shopping behavior, the perception of markets as elitist and so on.
To me, markets are in the business of incentivizing behavior change and we use many tools to that end: events, seating, music, children’s educational resources, support for farmers to grow their businesses and so on. Cash incentives are now well understood by public health activists and so were brought to our markets as an efficient way to do targeted outreach to at-risk communities. It’s not the answer to all of our market issues, but it has allowed us to regain our rightful place as the center of innovation in community food systems and to add some disciplined measurement strategies to our portfolio.

I really like how the NYC describes this in the interview; I like the analogy of the tax code as being a set of incentives as well.

The entire series Freakonomics is based on incentives as well. Check that out for a macro view of the subject.
Link to interview

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Hot topics in cold Vermont…

Living in New Orleans used to mean that I had a mild winter (if any) to deal with each year and January was about celebrating Carnival from Twelfth Night up until Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras). Now as a market consultant, I spend the winter traveling to conferences and meetings, oddly almost all held in the northern climes!
Even with my aversion to cold, I am excited to be returning to Vermont for my third visit with NOFA-VT, and the second time I will be attending their Direct Marketing Conference held in lovely South Royalton VT.

Beginning last fall, I started work with NOFA-VT and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture to study their card and token currency systems in the markets and comparing them to other states’ systems in view of the 2020 implementation of WIC to EBT cards – as well as the new technology that is swirling around like Square and the new upcoming Novo Dia Group smart phone app for cc/debit/food stamps. Also included in this research is the need to ascertain if these systems (which of course include incentives, FMNP coupons, WIC vouchers and in some states veggie prescriptions too) are working well at market level and how to measure them.

I have been calling on my colleagues across a dozen states and networks to hear their analysis which has been shared most generously. Now, I go to Vermont to gather some case studies from farmers and market managers to round out the raw data which then will need to be crammed into a manageable report for Vermont come early spring.

wish me luck.
And, email me or call me if you have data on a network or state level that you wish to share.

1 CommentLeave a comment

2 loops diagram

Absolutely one of my favorite presentations. I believe in a systems approach to my work so how I decide what I work on has a lot to do with how that project could be replicated or how organizing skills would be furthered with my input. This presentation-a version that I saw at Kellogg F&S meeting 5 years or so ago-was a real eye opener for me as a movement builder. I hope it is the same for you.

Two Loops: How Systems Change from The Berkana Institute on Vimeo.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Slow news today

SO glad that 2013 is finally bringing some good news to the national food movement.

VERY happy to see my New Orleans colleague (and old boss) Richard McCarthy hired as the new E.D. of Slow Food USA. His background is ideal for the job: born in Germany, raised in New Orleans, he spent his university time in the U.K. with his British grandparents. Since founding Crescent City Farmers Market in 1995, his extensive travel  (I wish I could find the picture of us at Terra Madre 2008 with our overall-wearing Mississippi farmer in tow) and his deep interest in world movements have continued to benefit the US farmers market movement. Honestly, there is no one that fits the SF job better in 2013; they now have a coalition builder, an outstanding visionary and a good guy.

Can’t wait to see what he can do up there.

Link to NYT story

RMC and New Orleans Slow Food Founder Poppy Tooker celebrating the combined Crescent City Farmers Market's 10th birthday (and iconic restaurant Commander's Palace's 105?)

RMC and New Orleans Slow Food Founder Poppy Tooker celebrating (well something else, not this news in this 2006 picture.)

 

The founder of SF USA, me and RMC at the Edible Schoolyard New Orleans first fundraiser.

The founder of SF USA, me and RMC at the Edible Schoolyard New Orleans’ first fundraiser.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Vendor in Braintree, MA Refuses To Sell Pies To People On Food Stamps

here are my  questions:

1. Did the market sit with their vendors and explain the plan to add benefit program shoppers and is there a rule in this market (as there is in some markets) that all vendors must take the tokens (that have products that are able to be purchased with food stamps by law)?

2. . What if a vegetable farmer refused to take SNAP simply because of their own beliefs? How would a market handle that?

 

I’d love to hear some thoughts from markets and market vendors.

Vendor in Braintree, MA Refuses To Sell Pies To People On Food Stamps.

5 CommentsLeave a comment

Lompoc growers sue farmers market

Wow, two stories posted today about vendors publicly disagreeing with markets. Not my favorite subject but certainly a necessary one to acknowledge.
I wonder if anything could have been done (in either case) to reduce the scope of these problems by assessing the problem ahead of time or maybe by asking for outside facilitation. I often hear stories from markets about disagreements they have with vendors. The best markets respond quickly and fairly to those issues and whenever possible, create more avenues of transparent governance to ensure that increasingly complex market projects do not leave loyal vendors behind.
So, as we expand the reach of markets, I think we need to make doubly sure that our main partners-the farmers-understand how decisions are made and are included when possible. Of course, it is possible that in both cases that there was nothing that could be done to avoid this conflict. In any case, let’s hope that the markets and the farmers rebound quickly from this.
Market suit story

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Welcome to the market

One of the 35 or so short films I did for MarketUmbrella a few years ago to show the resiliency and enterprise in our farmers, fishers and markets. This one was designed for new vendors to watch so that they could understand what “setting up” at the market meant.

All are available on YouTube.

 

0 CommentsLeave a comment

SNAP Redemptions at Farmers Markets Exceed $11 Million in 2011

Last year, I posted the original graph that FMC and CFSC created to show food stamp (SNAP) redemption at markets since the 1990s.
This is the most updated published graph:

Farmers Market Coalition» Blog Archive » SNAP Redemptions at Farmers Markets Exceed $11 Million in 2011.

By the way, 2012 redemption was over 16 million. FMC will have an updated story this week or next.
Great job folks.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

FMC Submits Recommendations to the USDA

Today, the Farmers Market Coalition (FMC) submitted recommendations to the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service regarding their collection of data about farmers markets. These recommendations were developed in response to a request for comments on proposed revisions to USDA’s National Farmers Market Manager Questionnaire. Changes proposed by USDA include the addition of on-farm markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operations to their annual information collection.

The USDA Farmers Market Directory offers the only comprehensive census of farmers markets currently available. In the letter, FMC supports efforts to maximize its accuracy, reduce market manager burden, and systematically improve the collective understanding of farmers market characteristics as well as those of on-farm markets and farm subscription programs like CSAs. We support elimination of the lengthy Farmers Market Manager Survey (currently conducted every four years, with a two+ year analysis/publication window) in favor of a more concise, timely, efficient annual data collection process.

We invite you to read FMC’s recommendations on our website, here where you’ll find a link to the letter submitted earlier today. As FMC President Bernie Prince points out in the letter, “market manager participation is crucial to ensure accuracy, and communication to the respondent population must be clear, consistent, and offer sufficient response windows.” We support annual data collection, coupled with the Farmers Market Directory update, that focuses only on a small set of questions clustered around an annual research theme. This theme should be identified in collaboration with other agencies and organizations (like FMC) each year and actively communicated to farmers markets well in advance. FMC pledges its continued efforts to help farmers markets engage in regular measurement and communication of their impacts.

As you prepare for a stellar 2013 season, what priorities do you think USDA should focus on in their national research efforts? We urge you to make your thoughts heard before the January 4th comment deadline. Please read FMC’s recommendations and consider endorsing them on behalf of your organization or yourself as an individual. Simply visit the regulations(dot)gov online form (here). In the Comment box, type “As a member of the Farmers Market Coalition (FMC), I endorse the recommendations submitted by FMC on January 2nd.” Of course, please add any additional suggestions you have for the agency as it relates to the collection of information about farmers markets, on-farm markets, and CSA operations. The deadline to submit comments is this Friday, January 4, 2013.

Happy New Year, and thanks for your ongoing support for stronger farmers markets!

Sincerely,

Your friends at FMC

1 CommentLeave a comment

Nine Meals Away from Anarchy

My brilliant colleague Wayne Roberts adds some thought-provoking ideas to the New Year. Now I understand how the four systems of food: production, logistics, nature and cities could be the cause (any or all of them) of a serious crisis and a real panic. So once again, how can markets and direct marketing farmers work to ensure a safe (uninterrupted) food supply?

Nine Meals Away from Anarchy – Environment – Utne Reader.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Cluster evaluation of incentives

The report from Fair Food Network, Market Umbrella, Roots of Change and Wholesome Wave offers some helpful data and analysis of the incentive programs used in farmers markets. All 4 of these organizations are involved with incentive campaigns at different levels and have begun to see the effects of the many campaigns that they have run. It is clear to me that cash incentives have been successful in reducing the early barriers for markets hoping to attract lower income shoppers. However,the ability of the market organizations to create and manage these campaigns remains a cause of concern in some networks and states.
I am curious as to how incentives could be used in more ways (two examples might be how to attract new vendors or thanking neighbors who live with the impact of the market ) and how other incentives besides a cash match could be developed.

See the report here. FYI- It is only opening on computers; it does not seem to open on tablets at this point.

healthyfoodincentives.org.

0 CommentsLeave a comment