|
USDA is seeking feedback through public comments and listening sessions regarding potential new grants.
The COVID-19 Stimulus Package, part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, authorized no less than $1.5B in grants and loans to small or midsized food processors or distributors, seafood processing facilities and processing vessels, farmers markets, producers, or other organizations to respond to coronavirus, including for measures to protect workers against COVID–19.
Estimating Farmers Market Visitors by Counting Mobile Phone Pings
In the past, farmers market operators have only been able to track visitors with a labor-intensive and often inaccurate manual headcount.
In 2020, D.C. area farmers market operator FRESHFARM, piloted a relatively low-cost device that counts the number of pings from mobile phones as they connect with a Wi-Fi network without revealing the phone owner’s identifying information or collecting data from phones. These counts provide a way for farmers market managers to estimate the number of visitors and their length of stay at the market.
Based on this success, the Farmers Market Coalition plans on working with partners to pilot these devices in 2021 at farmers markets in Michigan and Mississippi as a promising way to support to farmers market operators, especially sites with complex layouts or higher attendances.
 Online Platforms: Pivots and Planning for the Future
As a result of changing consumer behavior during COVID-19, there has been huge growth in online sales. While there have been successes, uneven access to essential resources to support an online pivot – including technical, financial, and educational – may further exacerbate issues of equity and access for both entrepreneurs and customers. This webinar will discuss the challenges and opportunities of switching to a virtual marketplace, create-your-own solutions, and avenues to develop shared infrastructure to address equity and access to these vital platforms.
April 19, 2021: Integrating National Consumer Survey Results into Future Planning
The Local Food System Response to COVID-19 research team members from Colorado State University developed a consumer survey to understand changes in consumer behavior because of COVID-19. This webinar will provide an overview of the survey; short and mid-term buying practices of U.S. consumers relative to local food; and examples of how results can be used by local and regional food system stakeholders to support effective planning.
 Social distancing mandates and the subsequent economic disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic all caused unprecedented changes in where, how, and what food U.S. consumers purchased and acquired. The Local Food System Response to COVID-19 research team members from Colorado State University conducted a national survey of over 5,000 households in the fall of 2020.
This Consumer Food Insights series provides insights into these changes and what that may mean for local and regional supply chains going forward.
Each month we are highlighting the work of Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion grant recipients.
 With a 2016 Local Food Promotion Program grant, University of Wisconsin’s Food Finance Institute (FFI) Institute for Business and Entrepreneurship launched a digital resource hub – Edible Alpha – to provide food hub managers and technical assistance with financial management training, online training on creating a profitable business model, and other resources like podcasts and an Insights Newsletter.
So far, FFI has trained 132 consultants and 108 Food Hub Managers.
With a 2014 Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP), Community Farm Alliance expanded its pilot farmers market program from 6 to 15 markets with a regional focus on rural eastern Kentucky. Through this project, CFA learned:
- Participant trust, quality data, and reliable metrics are inextricably linked;
- Quickly digestible information is better for communicating with participants; and,
- Self-care is key for long-term success.
|
|
