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Toolkits have gone out to the markets that signed up, and the big week is August 6-12. Snapshot Week is concurrent with National Farmers' Market Week (although USDA Sect. Perdue hasn't officially proclaimed it yet). We welcome markets that didn't sign up for toolkits to still celebrate Snapshot Week! Download some coloring pages, perhaps pick up some shopper prizes and surveys at our office, and share the social media graphics (examples below). Find details and links on our website!
 

 

 

Each summer, WIC agencies distribute Farmers' Market Nutrition Program checks to women participating in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. The FMNP checks are for $5 each, and can only be redeemed by farmers (unlike the green fruit/vegetable vouchers WIC recipients receive, which can be redeemed with farmers or at grocery stores). To learn more about why some families use their FMNP checks and others don't, we've compiled a brief survey. Please share the link on your market's social media:  

We're hoping to collect enough surveys to get some good data to share with the Maine Centers for Disease Control, which administers WIC in the state. WIC is one of the programs that was targeted for elimination early by the Trump administration, but it seems likely to be continued in the next budget. (Read more about efforts to keep the WIC program funded here.)

 

 

The 10th annual Maine Farmers Market Convention will be on January 11th, 2018 at the Augusta Civic Center, concurrent with the 3rd day of the Maine Agricultural Trades Show. The convention will occupy the second floor of the convention center, with concurrent breakout sessions throughout the day, and a keynote address, legislative update, lunch, and exhibits midday. Learn more online.

 

In June, the Legislature passed LD725, An Act to Recognize Local Control Regarding Food Systems, and it was signed into law by Gov. LePage. The new law will take effect in October. In the meantime, we've been fielding regular questions from market manager, vendors, and consumers, and have assembled information about the law and its relation to farmers' markets on this webpage. 

It's important to note that, after years spent educating consumers that food sold at farmers' markets is safe and produced under the same regulations as food sold elsewhere, the messaging about the new law has confused and concerned many consumers. If you are a vendor and your food products are produced in compliance with state certification requirements, you may want to consider posting signage to that effect. Likewise, markets that require licensing of their vendors may want to consider including that information in their messaging whenever possible.
 

 

Jimmy DeBiasi, MFFM's SNAP Program Coordinator, has put together some suggestions for markets that use EBT devices. Recently a couple of markets with Dharma devices have found their machines won't work. Dharma equipment uses T-Mobile for cellular service, and it turns out T-Mobile has suddenly started shutting off 3G service in rural areas. What makes this particularly challenging is that apparently other cellular providers are planning to start eliminating their 3G service in the near future as well, and there aren't many choices for 4G EBT devices. We're still investigating options, which will likely vary widely on a case-by-case basis until the marchant service provider industry catches up with the cell phone industry.

 

The MFFM Board, staff, colleagues, and friends have all made suggestions for some great summer reads, everything from classics we've long loved to new releases on coffee table awaiting an upcoming rainy evening. Most are directly or somewhat indirectly related to farmers' markets, with everything from how-tos to essays to murder mysteries to childrens' books. Looking for a new book to read or listen to on audio book? Find our list of suggestions here. 

 

WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program checks are typically distributed from June through August, and must be redeemed by the end of October. Although farmers can accept the green WIC produce vouchers year round, the window for accepting the purple farmers' market checks is brief. We've created a few social media graphics to help markets and farmers remind shoppers to use those purple checks, and we'll be adding more graphics in the coming weeks. Feel free to share them from our Facebook page, or download them from our website. 

 

The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association is one of MFFM's frequent project partners. You may have noticed that MOFGA publishes the full list of Maine farmers markets in their directory each spring, and our organizations work together in the Maine Local Foods Access Network on the Maine Harvest Bucks project. (MOFGA administers the MHB program for CSA farms in particular.)

This year MOFGA is again sponsoring Maine Farmers' Market Snapshot Week by contributing a pair of Common Ground Country Fair tickets for each participating market! Last year, most markets held a drawing for their tickets, which was very popular with shoppers. They could also be given as a prize for the best #lovemainemarkets photo during Snapshot Week, for the winner of a recipe contest, etc...

Plan ahead about how to use these tickets! Snapshot Week is August 6-12, but your market's drawing could stretch over multiple weeks.