Market Basket

Market Basket

Summary

The Neighborhood Market has been successful as an innovative way to connect local farms with low-income consumers. In the 2011 season 78 participants and 6 farms participated in two Neighborhood Market sites in Brattleboro, VT. $12,523.96 was generated for farmers, a 60% increase in revenue from 2010. Income from EBT (food stamps) doubled from 2010, with EBT dollars bringing in $2,243, or 18% of total 2011 income.

Participants learned about local farms and foods through weekly newsletters, weekly taste tests, on site cooking classes, and farm visits. Six area organizations partnered with the market to provide outreach and volunteer support: VT Department of Health, Brattleboro Food Co-op, AIDS Project of Southern VT, Windham Child Care Association, VT Partnership for Fairness and Diversity, and Early Education Services. The methods and results of the Market are being compiled into a guide and will be shared widely. We are developing potential new markets for the 2012 season.

Objectives/Performance Targets

Leading up to the opening of the market we met with over 20 organizations, schools and community groups and disseminated more than 1000 flyers, advertised on radio, and attended community events to let people know about the Neighborhood Market.

At the beginning, middle and end of the project we planned to administer surveys to assess the knowledge, attitudes and skills of the participants. We decided to administer a survey only at the end of the market for various reasons, including staffing limitations and a sense that there was too much going on with cooking classes and farm visit recruitment. We were also getting feedback informally through interactions at the market. In September we received surveys from 50% of participants. Over 60% of those responding reported an increase in knowledge, skills, and attitudes about local food and farming. At the end of the market we planned to conduct two participant focus groups with five people in each group. We ended up having one focus group with four participants. We also conducted a survey of 30 people in the neighborhood where the market is located who did not participate in the market.

Our goal for the season was to provide a successful new market for up to 5 new farmers; this goal was accomplished. Our goal was that by the end of the season there would be at least 65 full market baskets involved for total revenue of $19,700. While we had 78 total participants there were only 38 full baskets for total revenue of $12,523.96. We fell short of our goal, but we feel more prepared to plan accurately for next year. One of the reasons for not meeting our goal is that since so many participants in 2010 indicated they would be returning in 2011 we thought we would be starting with more participants. As it turned out only 15 returned from 2010. So we had a lot more recruiting to do than we thought.

At the end of the project we conducted a focus group with 7 farmers representing 4 farms to evaluate the project from their perspective. Many ideas, concerns, and issues were raised, and we are working with the farmers this winter to come up with solutions. One example is finding new ways of connecting participants with farms by having photos of farmers with their farm signs up at market every week. Another example is finding ways of improving communication between the Market Manager and farmers about what produce will be offered at market every week. We met our goal for 5 farmers to continue to sell produce in the Neighborhood Market project. One farm of the 6 involved this year will not continue because the time of the market doesn’t work for them.

We are now surveying other local farmers with the intention of sharing information about the project and determining if other farmers would like to get involved. In addition, we are doing outreach to existing CSA/ Farm Stands throughout the county to see how they can adapt this model. We will provide advice as to how to apply for an EBT machine, as well as other logistics to add this component to their CSA. Our goal is that 3 new farmers will participate in Neighborhood Market in 2012. This work is ongoing and will be highlighted in the final report.

We are using the information generated in the surveys and focus groups to learn how to improve and expand the market.

We continue networking to find a partner who will continue organizing the project in following years. This work is ongoing and will be highlighted in the final report.

• Neighborhood Market flyer
• Fundraising & Outreach talking points flyer with 2011 market photos
• Neighborhood Market Participant Survey Sept 2011

Accomplishments/Milestones

The project was run through Post Oil Solutions (POS). Angela Berkfield, a POS organizer was the Project Leader. Together with Brattleboro Farm to School Coordinator, Katherine Gillespie, with 6 partner organizations, and a steering committee of 18 people, Angela worked to recruit participants. Six farmers and 78 people (not including family members – we estimate total # impacted at around 156) participated in a 15-week season. Participants, who self-identified as qualifying for food stamps, received a wholesale price, roughly 25% less than their retail price, for their vegetables. Farmers brought veggies to the market site every Tuesday afternoon, where participants chose their vegetables.

While we were planning for 50 full baskets for low-income participants, 15 full baskets for people paying full price, and a farmers market option for those who weren’t signed up to participate every week, the 2011 season turned out slightly different. The farmers did not have enough produce for the farmers’ market table because of weather related issues in production, so we did not have this option. Also, we had many people wanting to pay full price and far less than we had planned for the low-income option. It turned out that we had 38 low-income participants, 24 full-price participants, and 6 organizational participants. Many of last years’ low-income participants did not sign up again because they moved away, grew a garden, joined a CSA, or were traveling this summer.

The result of how the market turned out is that participants, farmers and organizers all agree the market is an opportunity to reduce stigmas and bring people together from all incomes, as well as increase the money going to farmers. The steering committee decided that next year the market will be open for 50% low-income and 50% full-price, while the marketing will still be primarily focused on getting low-income participants involved.

Participants had the option of using cash, checks, debit, and EBT cards to purchase their vegetables and this year we also added Farm to Family coupons. While there were not any coupons redeemed this season it provides an opportunity for outreach in 2012.

During the 2010 season the pick-up location was the parking lot of Elliot Street Café. This year we moved across the street to a Brattleboro Housing Authority (BHA) apartment site. It was a great site for the market, a good collaboration with the BHA, and also increased the involvement of apartment residents in the market. We plan to use the site again next year.

The market is very much about education and building community, especially between consumers and farmers. Each week there was a newsletter giving information about the market and highlighting a vegetable, including recipes for how to cook and preserve that vegetable. There were weekly taste tests organized by the Brattleboro Food Co-op and the Boys and Girls Club. There were farm visits to each farm. And there were free cooking classes offered. These educational offerings added so much to the market that there is increased energy to offer them again next year. Although the attendance for the cooking classes and farm visits was not what we had hoped, the people who did attend had an overwhelmingly positive experience that contributed to their increased knowledge, attitude and skills. Some ideas for increasing involvement in these two offerings include alternating outside cooking demonstrations with classes in an adjoining kitchen, and starting farm visit sign ups far in advance and combining visits with special activities on the farm.

Our goal is for this market model to be replicated by non-profits and other groups in both rural and urban areas. We are writing a guide that can be used by groups in other areas who have similar goals. And in the upcoming months the model will be shared at local and regional conferences and meetings and also on national forums.

For the project to be successful it is important to have funding for competent staff that are coordinating and ensuring project sustainability. The market model does not provide for a coordinator salary and the SARE funding allowed the market to become stronger through another season. Now we are looking for a sustainable funding source for 2012 and beyond to cover the minimal costs of the market.

Evaluating the project is an important part of making it work. We conducted a written survey of market participants at the end of the market. We conducted a survey of 30 people who live in the neighborhood who were not a part of the market. We had small group discussions with organizers, farmers, and participants. All of this feedback is helping us to better understand how to make the market work for people, for farmers, and for the community.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Our primary targets for this market model are new farmers and low-income consumers. We hope to provide increased market opportunities for farmers who are getting started and at the same time increase the affordability and accessibility of local produce for low-income consumers. Since the farmers want to continue being a part of the market in the 2012 season and we were able to increase the revenue that they brought in during 2011, we can assume that the market is a beneficial arrangement for them. And since we increased the numbers of participants in the market from the 2010 season, and also the number of EBT dollars used at the market, we can also assume that the market is a good model for low-income consumers. There were many people who participated in 2010 who did not participate again in 2011 because they had started their own garden, or were joining a full season CSA, which is also a sign of the effectiveness of getting more low-income consumers knowledgeable about healthy eating and involved in the local food economy.

The market model resonates with many people, even if they are not actively participating. Just sharing the idea of the market widely at network and regional meetings gets a conversation started about access and affordability of local food and helps to increase the awareness of how our local food system is not meeting the needs of everyone. So hopefully this idea will also generate other innovative projects and keep the conversation going about how local food needs to be for everybody if it is going to work.

One outcome of the project is the potential of using the Windham Farm and Food Network (WFFN) to create new Neighborhood Markets and to supplement existing Neighborhood Markets with wholesale produce. The Windham Farm and Food Network (WFFN) is a not-for-profit delivery service for wholesale food producers and buyers in the Windham County Region. The WFFN will become a partnership between POS and UVM Extension beginning in 2012. One of the main goals of the partnership is to expand Neighborhood Markets. UVM Extension is developing the WFFN as a model for regional use, and therefore any Neighborhood Market development will be shared as a component of the model.

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