Farmers markets are magnets for community activities – sharing information, having conversations with neighbors, providing outreach for non-profits, and so much more. There is tremendous value in working with your community partners to amplify each others’ messages and achieve intersecting goals. Take a look below for ideas!
Consider working with a local development organization.
- The Anchorage Community Land Trust hosts the Grow North Farm and Market,” Anchorage’s urban farm and a marketplace for emerging food businesses.”
- “Local, fresh food is grown on-site! 28,000 sq. ft. of urban farmland has taken root in the heart of one of Anchorage’s best neighborhoods, Mountain View. Farmers hone their agricultural and entrepreneurial skills in one place, by selling their produce directly where they grow. This creates a hyper-local product and a unique experience for customers, with produce as fresh as can be. Produce is made affordable with WIC and SNAP accepted on-site, and half-off produce for SNAP users!”
Food banks and food pantries are awesome partners for farmers markets. Many markets have set up donation drop off spaces for customers and farmers to donate products.
NOFA Vermont’s Community Support Manual – Northeast Organic Farming Association is a 501 non-profit organization in the United States that promotes healthy food, organic farming practices, and a clean environment. “The number and type of community partners that can contribute to supporting a farmers market is nearly limitless. Some of the major categories of potential community partners are:
- Businesses and merchants
- Government
- Schools and educational institutions
- Non-profit and faith-based organizations
- Health and social service organizations
- Customers
“Project for Public Spaces, with support from the Ford Foundation, researched the impacts public markets have on their communities. Six of the most prominent impacts are below. These findings helped frame a funded by Ford and the W.K. Kellogg Foundations, and in our ongoing work we continue to see that successful public markets are more than just business enterprises—they are public spaces that shape communities and economies for the better. Learn more about the benefits of public markets” :