Thank you to the 50+ markets that participated in our first Maine Farmers' Market Snapshot Week!
Please remember to send in your surveys:
MFFM
113 North Lancey St.
Pittsfield, ME 04967
- If you weren't able to collect enough surveys, it is fine to keep using them. Please just be sure to return any completed surveys to MFFM by Sept 15th.
- If your market wants to collect more data, we can provide a unique URL to the online version of the survey (meaning we can share results with specific markets, and also add the data into the aggregate pool for the state).
- Shoppers and market members posted fantastic pictures on social media! We've shared a few of those online.
- The data collected and a selection of photos (from the many we received with signed photo releases) will be part of the Maine Farmers' Market Annual Report to be released late this fall.
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Save the Date:
Maine Farmers' Market Convention
January 29, 2017
The 8th Annual Maine Farmers' Market Convention will be Sunday, January 29th (location to be announced soon). The convention will feature panels, workshops, and presentations for market members and market managers of varying experience levels. If there is a particular topic you would like to learn more about at the convention, or if you would like to join the convention planning committee, please email director@mffm.org.
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Washington County Farmers' Market Trail
We're excited to have 5000 copies of the new Washington County Farmers' Market Trail brochure in print and nearly all distributed. The brochures came off the presses August 5th, so it was important to distribute them as efficiently as possible while the market season was still underway. Not only do all 6 markets on the trail have copies for distribution, but area businesses (such as hotels), public libraries, town offices, chambers of commerce, and other organizations are distributing the maps, as well as the Maine Visitor Centers in Kittery, Yarmouth, Hampden, and Calais. The Natural Resources Council of Maine will be distributing copies to their members, and the Bicycle Coalition of Maine will be giving a copy of the map to all 450 riders in this year's Bold Coast Bike Maine event. Partners like these are key to effectively distributing this new resource!
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Compelling SNAP Data
Over the past year, researchers from around the country have released the results of multiple studies analyzing the long-term effects of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Formerly known as Food Stamps, this federally-funded program rolled out across the country in the 1960s and ‘70s and has since positively affected the lives of millions of Americans. The results of these studies send a clear and powerful message: the SNAP program works. Read more here about just how well it works, including updates about the Maine Harvest Bucks nutrition incentive program now operating at 34 farmers’ markets throughout the state.
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MFFM's Rural Business Development Project
Thanks to a newly-announced USDA Rural Business Development Grant, we'll be doing some intensive work this summer and fall in 5 communities: Norway, Bucksport, Belfast, Calais, and Presque Isle.
The project got underway in early August with the arrival of the project consultant, Vance Corum. Over the course of 3 weeks, Vance spent several days in each community, conducting shopper surveys, vendor surveys, interviews with market members, and interviews with business and community leaders. This fall he will finish his interviews and data collection, pulling together his research into a detailed report for each participating market. In each report he will not only analyze the local data collected, but will provide an assessment of the impact of the market in the community, its potential for growth, and recommendations for market sustainability. The 25-30 page reports should be useful tools for each market in assessing growth prospects, planning marketing strategies, and general advocacy.
Vance is based in Washington state, and travels all over the country working with farmers’ markets to assess their local situation and strategize for the future. (He will also be returning to participate in MFFM's annual convention in January!) We will also be working with Prof. Alfonso Morales, Prof. of Urban and Regional Planning, at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Prof. Morales has worked extensively with farmers’ markets, and will advise on the design of the survey tools, data management, and the creation of graphic reports for each market.
Below is a picture of Vance with the sporty and fuel-efficient Toyota he used to tool around the far corners of Maine during most of August. The use of the car was donated by Lee Auto Malls, a contribution that made this project more feasible and successful. Please join us in thanking Adam Lee for investing in this project to strengthen Maine's rural farm businesses!
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Youth "Passport" Program
The Brewer, Ohio Street, and Gardiner Farmers’ Markets have recently launched a new kids’ passport activity as part of MFFM's new Farmers’ Market Youth Passport Program. Many markets around the state operate kids’ clubs with the generous support of the Cooperative Extension or SNAP-Ed. Some of these programs involve a passport - much like the one we have created - that kids use to accomplish certain goals, such as sampling a new food or asking a farmer a question. In return they may receive a stamp or sticker in their passport, and for their efforts each day, kids sometimes receive a small prize, such as a few dollars to do their own shopping at the market. Our aim with this small pilot is to create a passport model that can work with limited added volunteer support and to craft a template that can be downloaded for use by markets throughout the state. Passport programs can be a fun way to introduce youth to shopping at the farmers’ market, interacting with vendors, and trying new local foods.
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MFFM Staffer Profiled in the PPH
Emilie Knight has been part of the MFFM team since December, 2015. Recently she was profiled in the Portland Press Herald. The article is not only a terrific introduction to the person spearheading SNAP at markets across Maine, but also provided excellent promotion for the Maine Harvest Bucks program! Find the article here.
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Thinking about selling prepared foods?
We've been hearing from more people interested in selling prepared foods at markets. The University of Maine Cooperative Extension has a helpful bulletin, Recipe to Market: How to Start a Specialty Food Business in Maine, with details about what is required for various types of foods, and links to excellent resources (including commercial kitchens that can be rented for production). See our website for a brief overview of the process.
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Reduced-Cost SNAP/EBT Equipment
Still Available
If your farm or farmers' market is looking for an affordable credit/debit/EBT device, we are accepting a final round of applications for our reduced-cost equipment program through Dharma Merchant Services (a mission-driven company offering reduced rates to MFFM affiliates). Contact Emilie Knight (snap@MFFM.org) to apply.
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Women, Infants & Children (WIC) Site Visits
If you would like to see a WIC representative at your market, contact your local WIC office. Contact information can be found on this site. Many WIC recipients are also SNAP recipients who could benefit from a market’s Maine Harvest Bucks program.
Among other local offices, the Bangor WIC office has been setting up booths at various markets in the Penobscot and Piscataquis counties this summer. They send a text out to eligible participants a day or two in advance, encouraging recipients to “Meet WIC at the Market”. At the market, participants are greeted by a WIC representative and are issued their farmers’ market checks and/or are given free books and reusable market bags.
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New Gleaning Initiative in the Augusta Area
Healthy Communities of the Capital Area is working to reduce wasted food and increase access to fresh, local foods for those in need through gleaning and distribution of food that would otherwise be wasted. HCCA is seeking gleaning opportunities at Kennebec County area farms. Please contact Renee Page at rpage@mcd.org or 207.588.5020 for more information or to arrange a time for gleaners to harvest. This project is in collaboration with the Kennebec County Sheriff's Office and supported by the Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare Foundation.
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Important MOFGA Deadlines in September:
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Free Program for Pesticide Disposal
This October, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s (DACF) Board of Pesticides Control (BPC) and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will help Mainers dispose of banned or unusable pesticides. The Maine Obsolete Pesticides Collection Program is a free annual program for homeowners, family-owned farms and greenhouses. The program has collected almost 100 tons of pesticides since its inception. Collections will occur at sites in Presque Isle, Bangor, Augusta and Portland. Participants must register by September 23, 2016. More information is available online.
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Rural Living Day in Aroostook County
The Southern Aroostook Soil & Water Conservation District and University of Maine Cooperative Extension will celebrate rural living in Aroostook County as they host the second annual Northern Maine Rural Living Day on Saturday, September 10th at the Agricultural Museum in Littleton. See this page for more information.
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New MHB Facebook graphics are now available on our MHB resource page!
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