Localism Index from The New Rules Project

This amazing list is from The New Rules Project which is:
A program of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, the New Rules Project started back in 1998 and continues to bring fresh new policy solutions to communities and states to ensure that they are “designing rules as if community matters”.

Localism Index

A version of this appeared in the April 25, 2011 issue of The Nation.

Number of new independent bookstores that have opened since 2005: 437

Increase since 2002 in the number of small specialty food stores: 1,414

Increase since 2002 in the number of small farms: 111,839

Number of farmers markets active in 2010: 6,132

Percentage of active farmers markets started since 2000: 53

Average percentage of shoppers at a large supermarket who have a conversation with another customer: 9

Average percentage of shoppers at a farmers market who have a conversation with another customer: 63

The complete Localism Index

There are some good numbers in there for our work, but I say we need more!
I can tell you the impact that the 3 Crescent City Farmers Markets (the markets that are run by my organization marketumbrella.org) has on our city of New Orleans and its region by using numbers from our 2010 SEED report. This was done with our web-based tool called SEED which stands for Sticky Economic Evaluation Device and uses the government’s Bureau of Economic Analysis multiplier for our region.
The multiplier is a term for tracking how money is spent and re-spent in a regional economy in any one sector. Obviously, when local businesses make money (like our market vendors), they re-spend that locally. How long it stays here before “leaking out” depends on what businesses they have available to them, whether its only Walmart (where the money is sent to their home base of Arkansas more quickly) or Joe’s Nursery, which spends that money locally again.

2010 SEED
Market impact: $6,717,630.32 Sales in the market, and the amount of money generated by those vendors spending it again. The BEA multiplier we used was for our region was 1.9% and was for the retail sector.

The impact the market has on its surrounding areas: $3,217,727.94 Again, this is shoppers telling us if they were going to spend money in the businesses around the market while there. That number multiplied by the regional BEA number.

Sales tax from sales at nearby businesses to the market: $151,620.69 Those who grow their own food and then sell it directly in Louisiana do not collect sales tax. However, the market does add sales tax to the city and state’s coffers because of the sales at nearby businesses that happen when our shoppers go there.

Overall economic impact $9,935,358

From three 4-hour markets each week.

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Shopping more often may increase longevity

This story could be useful to cite when writing grants to public health organizations for your market:

Shopping regularly can help people live longer.

That’s the suggestion from a study that found older people in Taiwan who shopped frequently tended to outlive those who went less often – even when other factors were taken into account.

Those who shopped every day were 27 per cent less likely to die within the 10-year study period compared with those who never shopped, or who went shopping less than once a week.

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Mass adds support for farmers markets

BOSTON – April 6, 2011 – With farmers’ markets preparing to open for the season, the Patrick-Murray Administration today announced that it will be providing $50,000 in grants for equipment and support to help farmers’ markets process Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits used by low-income residents.

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A perspective on food danger from radiation

The phrase that runs through my mind over and over is “too early to tell.”
(Don’t I know that living and eating from the Gulf of Mexico…)
In any case, here is a thoughtful piece on possible issues from Japan’s third tragedy in 2011:

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Jacksonville Farmers Market reaches out to low-income communities

News story with new Florida Ag Commissioner talking about markets, machines and incentives.

Posted: April 4, 2011 – 11:40pm


By David Bauerlein

On Monday, state Agriculture and Consumer Protection Services Commissioner Adam Putnam visited Glennette Produce and other vendors who have embraced the card-swipe machines. Putnam said the machines enable people in low-income neighborhoods, where grocery stores are scarce, to use the farmers market for the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables.

That in turn helps Florida farmers by giving them a bigger market for their products, he said.

Putnam didn’t make any announcements during his visit. He said he mainly wanted to learn more about how the Jacksonville Farmers Market operates.

“They’re really got a lot to teach us as we ramp this up on a statewide basis,” he said. “It’s part of a larger effort of nurturing our small farmers.”

He said the state helped a farmers market in Miami form a partnership with a private foundation that has a goal of improving the health of low-income people by giving them access to fresh produce. In that partnership, the private foundation will match on a dollar-for-dollar basis whatever a Florida resident spends at the farmer’s market using the state’s Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program.

For instance, a resident who spends $10 using a SNAP card would be able to purchase an additional $10 of fresh produce because of the private foundation’s support.

Putnam said he wants to help establish similar partnerships with other farmers markets in the state, including Jacksonville.
Entire story at:

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Open-air market dot org

I just posted some information on the street vendor project in New York, so thought I’d better also send this link for the Open Air Market Network. The site bills itself as “The World Wide Guide to Farmers’ Markets, Street Markets, Flea Markets, Street Vendors, and the Informal Sector.”
open air market network

It has not been updated in some time, but still has loads of pieces from all over the world and all type of markets to check out. Dr. Morales, who many markets know from conferences and listserves among other places, is one of the folks behind this site and a few others sites like Streetnet.org. His work is researching and writing about the informal networks of vending and is a must for any market organization to know as a reference. Just like our friends at Projects for Public Spaces, he links our markets to academics, city planners and social scientists. I know he is currently working on a book covering how markets take part in furthering community. I look forward to that coming out.

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Street Vendor Project in NYC

As many of our cities and towns expect that the the farmers market movement will be formalized more and more for government needs, it helps to find others who came before us to know how to handle these interactions. The Street Vendor Project in NYC is an excellent example of how good information and recommendations can be offered to both the vendors and the city while recording the important history of street vending. Amazing site.
Streetvendor.org

I particularly like the brochure designed in partnership for this project that actually hangs on my cubicle wall. This is a 2-sided brochure that explains a whole bunch of information with graphics. There are policy recommendations for the city, logistical details for the vendors and case studies for the researcher. Designer Candy Chang is one of my favorite graphic people and this piece has led me to many of her others.


Here is a link to get your own copy:

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Food policy conference offered by CFSC

The leading national voice for food security policy and related resources, Community Food Security Coalition, is doing a policy conference at their home base of Portland, Oregon.
With the 2012 Farm Bill looming, this is a great chance to make sure farmers market issues are on the table. So if you go to network or present, promise you’ll take good notes for the rest of us and then share.

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New Handbook Shows Farmers Market Operators How to Participate in SNAP

Last summer, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), in collaboration with the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), released the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) at Farmers Markets: A How-To-Handbook. The handbook assists farmers’ market operators and direct marketing farmers in determining the steps necessary to become authorized to participate in SNAP and, subsequently, the steps related to managing participation. It includes tips and guidelines on how to make the program work successfully for vendors and customers. The handbook also features a list of resources, a glossary of important terms, and several case studies from farmers markets that have successfully implemented EBT technology. AMS’s USDA Farmers’ Market Directory is available online to locate farmers’ markets that accept nutrition assistance program benefits.

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Study on health for community or allotment gardeners

From the Netherlands:

Background

The potential contribution of allotment gardens to a healthy and active life-style is increasingly recognized, especially for elderly populations. However, few studies have empirically examined beneficial effects of allotment gardening. In the present study the health, well-being and physical activity of older and younger allotment gardeners was compared to that of controls without an allotment.

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600,000 for incentives

BRIDGEPORT, Conn., March 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Wholesome Wave, a Connecticut-based, national nonprofit organization dedicated to nourishing neighborhoods across America by increasing access to and affordability of healthy, fresh locally grown food, announced today that it has received a $600,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente. The funding will be used primarily to support its Double Value Coupon Program (DVCP), which provides fresh food incentives to encourage low-income consumers to increase their purchase of nutritious produce through local farmers markets.

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Institutional Food with Taste — Mindful Living — Utne Reader

Story about the institutional world coming closer to our alternative one.

Institutional Food with Taste — Mindful Living — Utne Reader.

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NYC: grocers vs. green carts?

Important story on Green Cart expansion in NYC and how some storefronts are reacting:

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