The Farmers’ Market Hubs project will continue in 2022 through 2024 with a USDA Local Food Promotion Program grant!
Fortify & Multiply Farmers’ Market Hubs for Community Health and Farm Viability
https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/FY2021LFPPDescriptionofFundedProjects.pdf
Recipient: Renewing The Countryside II
Project Type: Implementation Award
Amount: $740,328.00 Match Amount: $186,504.00 Total Project Amount: $926,832.00 Project Title: Fortify and Multiply Farmers’ Markets Hubs to improve Community Health and Farm Viability
This project will create functional and efficient connections between small-scale local farmers, institutional and wholesale buyers, consumers, and those suffering from food insecurity. Aggregation programs create opportunities for farmers to access local buyers, increase profits, and grow sustainable businesses, while providing buyers with expanded local product choices. By developing and expanding ten Farmers’ Market Hubs in Minnesota, aggregation of product, online ordering, and utilization of farmers’ markets help overcome wholesale barriers, including buyers’ needs for product volume and consistency, online ordering capacity, regular delivery, compliance with food handling regulations, and reducing cost. Farmers gain efficiencies through group marketing, licensing, insurance, invoicing, and order management without added costs of a brick and mortar food hub. Renewing the Countryside, MN Farmers’ Market Assn, MN Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, MN Dept of Agriculture, MN Statewide Health Improvement Partnership Coordinators, local farmers’ markets, and others will build on five years of preliminary work to develop and expand our Farmers’ Market Hub model to five new Hubs and further develop five existing Hubs. We expect that 240 farmers will gain the potential to increase the amount of local food sold and consumed within 10 communities. 800 food insecure individuals, including those homebound, in treatment centers and seniors, will gain access to local food through subsidized Market Share boxes. Over 60 schools, hospitals, retail establishments, health and human services entities will participate in purchasing and serving local food.
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Current Funding Sources:
- USDA Local Food Promotion Program grant: “Fortify and Multiply Farmers’ Market Hubs for Community Health and Farm Viability”
- Emerging Farmer Technical Assistance, in partnership with Minnesota Department of Agriculture
Past Project Support:
- MDA Specialty Crop Block Grant 2017-2018
- MDA Specialty Crop Block Grant 2018-2019
- MDA Specialty Crop Block Grant 2019-2020
- USDA Farm-to-School Grant, 2018-2020
- Extension Risk Management Education Grant, 2019-2021