Target: Hunger farmers' markets (Springfield and North Berkshire)

Target: Hunger farmers' markets (Springfield and North Berkshire)

Summary

Funding from Northeast SARE was used to support two farmers’ markets initiatives as part of The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts’ Target:Hunger program. Target:Hunger is a community organizing project that uses an asset-based approach to building long-term food security for low-income communities. Currently focused on one urban (Mason Square, Springfield) and one rural (northern Berkshire County) community, Target:Hunger strategies include not only farmers’ markets but also Food Stamp outreach, increasing access to food assistance resources, capacity building, and infrastructure to support food security. The Mason Square Farmers’ Market and North Adams Farmers’ Market have become vibrant community gathering centers that support local farmers – including some new farmers that are working exclusively with Target:Hunger – in addition to helping low-income households eat healthfully and affordably. We have found that low-income communities not only need farmers’ markets as a critical source of affordable fresh produce, but also are a highly viable and untapped market for local farm products.

Northeast SARE grant funding has been used to focus on three areas of activity for the farmers’ markets: creating and implementing marketing and outreach plans; increasing access and affordability for low-income households; and incorporating nutrition education into the markets.

Objectives/Performance Targets

1) Marketing and Outreach Plans

Target:Hunger Springfield:
• In conjunction with students and faculty at Smith College, Target:Hunger Springfield conducted a marketing analysis for the Mason Square market. As a result, a plan for the 2008 season was presented, which included recommendations for partnerships with other community organizations, branding and communications materials for the market, media outreach, and recruitment/management of vendors.
• The market hired a market manager for the 2008 season, who was responsible for coordinating with farmers and overseeing logistics.
• Two representatives from the market, including the Target:Hunger coordinator and a farmer, attended a conference hosted by the Project for Public Spaces which focused on best practices for market management and structure.
• Youth from the community went door-to-door during a community-wide outreach day to distribute flyers about the market and generate energy and excitement prior to opening day.
• We secured media coverage of the market’s opening and closing days, as well as a mid-season event with nutrition and cooking demonstrations.

Target:Hunger North Berkshire:
• Target:Hunger and partners distributed 1,000 flyers throughout the community to announce the opening day of the market.
• Several radio PSAs and newspaper ads about the market throughout the season helped raise awareness and attendance. In addition, a special cable access television program was filmed and aired about the farmers’ market.
• Since the farmers’ market was in existence prior to Target:Hunger, our outreach focused on new elements of the market – specifically, the acceptance of Food Stamps, availability of discount coupons for low-income households, a new free ride service to the market, and the addition of nutrition and cooking demonstrations.

2) Increasing Access

Target:Hunger Springfield
• With the addition of an EBT machine at the Mason Square Farmers’ Market, farmers were able to accept Food Stamps, as well as WIC Coupons and Senior Farmers’ Market Coupons.
• In a survey conducted with farmers at the end of the season, we determined that an average of about 5% of all farmers’ profits came from EBT tokens (Food Stamps), while about 30% of their profits came from WIC coupons.
• We distributed discount coupons through flyers and newspaper ads as an incentive to bring community members to the market. The coupons were used mostly during the second half of the season as word about them spread in the community. (Farmers were reimbursed by the market for the $2 and $5 coupons they received from customers.)
• The market vendors in 2008 included one bread vendor (Family Kitchen, a small café based in Mason Square).

Target:Hunger North Berkshire
• Despite some difficulties in setting up the technology for the EBT machine with the city of North Adams (which oversees the market), we secured an EBT machine to process Food Stamps during the 2008 season. We increased the number of farmers accepting Food Stamps from zero in 2007 to six this year (out of eight total).
• By the end of the season, about $150 worth of EBT transactions were completed (with an 82% redemption rate of EBT tokens).
• We distributed discount coupons through flyers and newspaper ads as an incentive to bring community members to the market. $1,400 worth of $2 and $5 coupons were distributed with about $775 redeemed throughout the season. (Farmers were reimbursed for the coupons they received from customers.)
• We have established a highly successful free van loop to bring residents from low-income neighborhoods and rural areas to North Adams, increasing attendance and access for people who otherwise would not have used the market. The van loop, operated in conjunction with Berkshire Rides, served about 50 households over the course of the season.

3) Nutrition Education

Target:Hunger Springfield
• Aramark Food Service and UMass Extension provided four food/cooking demonstrations at the market in 2008. A nutritionist from Square One Early Childhood Center also did one demonstration. All demonstrations used produce that was currently available from market vendors.
• Nutrition education materials and WIC information materials were available at the market.
• “Grab & Go” nutrition tip sheets were available at the market.

Target:Hunger North Berkshire
• A successful public event held at the market during the 2008 season included presentations and information materials from food security and nutrition/health organizations.
• Nutrition education materials and WIC information materials were available at the market.
• “Grab & Go” nutrition tip sheets were available at the market.

Accomplishments/Milestones

The biggest goal and accomplishment for the 2008 farmers’ market season was to establish EBT technology at both the Mason Square and North Adams markets to enable vendors to accept Food Stamps. We were successful in securing a machine for each market, setting up the technology to use the machine at the market, and training a market volunteer how to use the machine. (One machine processed all transactions for the market; customers “cashed in” their Food Stamps at one machine then used tokens at specific vendors.) Based on the farmer and customer surveys we conducted at the end of the season, EBT transactions accounted for about 5% of farmer profits. We anticipate that this amount will grow next year as community awareness spreads about use of Food Stamps at the market. Through parallel strategies, Target:Hunger is working to increase Food Stamp enrollment throughout the two target communities; more people using Food Stamps in general will likely result in a corollary increase in redemption of them at the farmers’ markets.

We are also extremely pleased with the overall community engagement and attendance at both farmers’ markets. Word is spreading quickly about how the markets are not only a place to find affordable, fresh, local produce, but also a vibrant community gathering center. We increased the number of farmers at the new Mason Square market from four in 2007 to eight in 2008, and through aggressive communications, outreach and transportation assistance, helped transform the North Adams market to serve a whole new set of customers and communities. Both markets have proven that making farmers’ markets appealing and accessible to low-income neighborhoods and households is a successful strategy for the community and the farmers.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

As discussed throughout this report, Target:Hunger’s work has resulted in benefits not only for the communities but also for the farmers. Farmers are reaching more customers for their product, and through incentive coupons, EBT, WIC, and Senior Farmers Market Coupons, have increased their profits from the market as compared to last year. The presence of the markets and their accessibility for low-income households is helping increase awareness and appreciation of locally-grown produce and has created a strong community following for the market that will continue into the next growing season. At the same time, low-income residents are eating more healthfully and learning new ways to use fresh produce that they previously did not have access to – either because no farmers’ market existed (as in Mason Square), or because they could not get to the market nor afford to shop there (as in northern Berkshire County).

Collaborators: