Posts Tagged ‘Know Your Farmer Know Your Food’

• A New Business Model for Farmers’ Markets

  Date: 05.25.2010 | Category: News Feed | Response: 1

  Farmers’ markets might be the easiest way for a consumer to connect directly with the farmers that grow their food. Outdoor markets are a social scene in themselves–a weekend venue where community members can connect, socialize and buy fresh food that supports the local economy.

  Why then, aren’t more people shopping weekly at farmers’ markets? A new article by The American Prospect highlights the areas in which the farmers’ market business model could be improved to address problems facing low-income consumers: high prices, limited availability of food staples and awareness of farmers’ markets.

  Picking up a few items at a farmers’ market to make dinner can get pricey quickly, especially if you choose to eat organic. For some consumers, the price point of the farmers’ market just can’t compete with the low cost of canned items in a grocery store or a meal from the dollar menu at McDonald’s. Farmers’ markets in low-income neighborhoods struggle without the support of the majority of the community and are at risk of being put out of business by chain grocery stores that offer discounted prices.

  To make shopping at farmers’ markets financially possible for low-income families and profitable for farmers, government programs need to be extended to farmers’ markets. Though some farmers’ markets currently accept food stamps, vendors who do not accept debit card purchases often cannot process food stamp payments, since food stamps are currently issued on debit cards (EBT or Electronic Benefit Transfer) instead of on paper.

  Some farmers’ markets have developed creative strategies for working around these obstacles. In Washington, DC, FreshFarm Markets has implemented a food assistance program that doubles funds for low-income customers through a public-private partnership. The market allows EBT purchases and has put up tents where a food stamp recipient can easily swipe his or her EBT card in exchange for tokens that can be used at the farmstands.

  To make farmers’ markets more accessible to families in need, the USDA’s Women, Infants, and Children Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program received expanded funding in 2009. The program “provides supplemental foods, health care referrals and nutrition education at no cost to low-income pregnant, breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding post-partum women, and to infants and children up to 5 years of age who are found to be at nutritional risk.” The program issues “Get Fresh” checks to be used specifically at farmers’ markets.

  The American Prospect article cites the Ward 8 farmers’ market in Washington, DC, as an example of how changing the farmers’ market business model increased revenue for farmers while serving a low-income community. The market got directly involved with the community, working with customers to determine what products were most desirable so farmers could anticipate demand. Jody Tick, the director of the Capital Area Food Bank’s Harvest for Health initiative, started a youth gardening project to educate children in the area about eating healthfully. The conveniently located market started accepting EBT payments, and leftover produce from the farmers’ market was donated to convenience stores to extend the market’s reach through a partnership with the D.C. Healthy Corner Store Program.

  Focusing on the community, facilitating collaboration between consumers and producers and accepting payments from subsidized government programs are steps every farmers’ market can take to expand their reach and build a prosperous market where both the consumer and the producer are beneficiaries.

  More National News

  May 24:  The USDA announced the availability of the compliance guide for mobile slaughter units. USDA

  May 22:  The “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative has received criticism from senators claiming it favors small, organic farmers and slights “conventional farmers who produce the vast majority of our nation’s food supply.” Kansas City Star

  May 21:  Raw alfalfa sprouts have been linked to salmonella outbreaks in ten states, causing a nationwide recall of Caldwell Fresh Foods alfalfa sprouts. FDA

  Regional News

  May 23: Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy is asking Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to close the Canadian border crossing at Morses Line, rather than expand the facility, which would require land to be seized from a family farm. Associated Press

  May 22:  The Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife designated the animals  (including the now famous Pete the Moose) at the Big Rack Ridge Preserve a “special purpose herd,” which spares them from being killed as a measure to prevent the spread of disease. Associated Press

  May 21:  Green Mountain Power is moving forward with plans to build what will be Vermont’s largest wind farm.  The farm will be large enough to power 20,000 homes. WCAX

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• Winter at the White House Garden

  Date: 12.22.2009 | Category: News Feed | Response: 0

  Nineteen inches of snow and the White House Kitchen Garden is still growing. Fresh off the success of the fall harvest, Michelle Obama’s garden was prepped for the winter growing season with hoop houses just days before this weekend’s record snowfall.

  A hoop house is constructed using metal bars and then stretching fabric or plastic tightly around the outside of the structure, creating a temporary energy-efficient greenhouse. The sun warms the hoop house, and the structure protects and insulates crops from snow and frost. Hoop houses also improve soil and water quality.

  Volunteers and USDA staff planted spinach, lettuce, carrots, mustard greens, chard and cabbage, as well as a crop of rye, which is used by farmers to balance soil and prevent erosion of topsoil during the winter. Assistant Chef and Food Initiative Coordinator Sam Kass announced the White House Winter Garden on a video posted to the White House blog.

  On hand to help with the construction of hoop houses was USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan, who announced a new USDA program that will help farmers finance hoop house construction to extend their growing season. Merrigan notes the value of producing year-round, explaining it’s “important because that helps build local and regional food systems–something USDA wants to help you with.”

  Financial assistance will be provided to fund hoop house construction on farms of various sizes in 38 states. The three-year project is part of the USDA’s “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative.

  The timing for erecting the hoop houses at the White House Garden couldn’t have been better, considering the massive snowstorm that hit Washington last weekend. According to blogger Eddie Gehman Kohan, of the ObamaFoodOrama blog, the hoop houses were cleared of snow after the storm and the vegetables remain protected.

  Kass has already been showing off the benefits of growing through the winter. D.C. elementary students toured the White House Garden with Kass as part of the Operation Frontline program, which focuses on nutrition and healthy eating habits for children. Kass captivated the students with the garden’s cold weather spinach, which tastes sweet, and taught them about preparing healthy meals.

  More National News

  Dec. 18:  A new study shows local food businesses play a critical role in economic development. Business Week

  Dec. 20: In Wisconsin, a man argues for his right to sell raw milk.  Chicago Tribune

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• USDA Invests in Local Food System

  Date: 11.24.2009 | Category: News Feed | Response: 0

  The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced this week it would provide over $5 million for 16 organizations that work to make healthy, local food accessible for low-income Americans.

  The organizations receiving grants were chosen through the Community Food Projects Program, which is administered by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The funding is a part of the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative that launched in September 2009.

  “Building local sustainable food systems is a key step in fighting hunger and obesity, a priority for USDA and for the Obama Administration,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Vilsack stressed that by investing in a local food system, low-income individuals can eat healthier, nutritious foods while strengthening the economy at the local level.

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• Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food

  Date: 10.21.2009 | Category: News Feed | Response: 0

  The sustainable food movement is getting some much-needed federal help. On September 14th, the USDA launched the new program “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” in an effort to “create new economic opportunities by better connecting consumers with local producers.”

  U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack introduced the initiative via YouTube video. Vilsack explains that by doing business with local farmers, American families will be able to eat healthier foods and stimulate the economy at the local level.

  The USDA is expected to provide approximately $65 million in funding for the program.

  The “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” website provides information on federal loans, grants and support available for farmers. The website will allow individuals to share experiences and ideas and will also help facilitate discussion of the local food movement through social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter.

  To kick-off the new program, Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan held a live discussion of the sustainable food movement and the “Know Your Farmer Know Your Food” initiative on Facebook on October 1.

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