It's that time of year again... coupons are here!

July 15, 2021 Britni Gallo

It's that time of year again. Markets are brimming with fresh, seasonal produce and customers are anxious to bring home the best food produced by our farmers.

It also means that coupon programs are well underway and farmers will be sending them off to the Federation for reimbursement. Here are some thoughts on how you can make the redemption process go quickly and shorten the time it takes for farmers to receive their payments.

Make sure all coupons are facing the same direction. If we have to organize the coupons for processing, it slows the work down. It may also mean that the coupons will be set aside until all others are done.
Band coupons together. Putting organized coupons loose in a large envelope or box will not keep them organized! They are bounced around the mail trucks, thrown across the mail sorting process and the coupons become a jumbled mess. Again, if we need to organize the coupons for processing, the coupons will be set aside until we have the time to deal with them.
Segregate different coupons from one another. Each coupon type is processed on its own.
Be sure all coupons are stamped (signed if you have no stamp). BUT be sure the stamp is in the proper location and NOT on the bar codes. That means the bar codes cannot be read and slows the process down when the coupons need to be hand entered.
Let the ink dry before they are packed tightly into a box. Wet ink causes the coupons to stick together and can cause miscounts.
Remove all staples. While we ask that staples not be used when distributing coupons, they are often used. But staples damage the processing machinery, so we have to remove all staples to prevent damage. This slows processing down and may cause the coupons to be set aside and dealt with once others are done.
Be sure to include all information necessary to allow for a check to be cut. Include the redemption form and completely fill it out. Checks will be cut to the name indicated on the redemption form. Be sure the correct address is on the form for mailing your check. If nothing is included or the form is not complete, we cannot make payment. You can find the form here.
The more frequent you send coupons for redemption, the faster you get money. We always encourage frequent mailings. Waiting until the end of the season means a pile up of coupons and takes us longer to get through everyone’s coupons.
Be sure you use a secure envelope or packaging. We sometimes get envelopes that have been ripped open by postal sorting machinery. Coupons fall out and are lost.
We do our best to accurately process everyone’s coupons in a timely manner and get checks out. We appreciate your patience and your willingness to accept coupons as payment for your farm products! Have a great market season!

Farmers Market Federation of NY — 2021 Webinar Schedule: SNAP for Farmers and Farmers Markets

March 12, 2021 Britni Gallo

There are a lot of advantages to joining the SNAP program. As a farm, you are able to add new customers for your products, increasing sales and profits. Farmers markets will be able to make their markets more accessible to a wider segment of their community, as well as bringing more sales opportunities to your participating farmers and vendors. Joining SNAP is not hard to do, and New York State makes it easy and affordable for you! Learn how to join by participating in these free workshops offered by the Farmers Market Federation of NY via zoom.

Each topic will be repeated twice to allow you to participate in the date most convenient to you. These will also be recorded and posted on the Farmers Market Federation of NY’s website for future reference and referrals.

There will also be ample opportunity in each session for you to ask questions to help you make the decision to join the SNAP program and earn more customers and sales!

Enrolling in SNAP: Is It the Right Move for You?

The SNAP program (formerly known as the Food Stamp Program) holds the potential for farmers to increase their customer base and their farm revenues. This workshop will focus on enrolling SNAP for farmers markets; why you should participate and how you can apply to be a farmer SNAP retailer.

View the Webinar

Operating SNAP at a NY Farmers Market

Farmers Markets all across NYS have stepped up to operate a SNAP program in the markets, bringing new customers to the market and adding revenue to their farmers. This system operates on a central terminal system with one terminal in the market and tokens used as SNAP currency. This workshop will provide key information on operating the central terminal system and tokens in the marketplace. Learn what your rights and responsibilities are, what NYS can provide to help you with your program, and some basic promotions for your SNAP program.

Tuesday, May 4: Noon — 1:30pm

Attend the Webinar

We Are HERE for YOU: Market Managers Virtual Conference, March 1-4, 2021

February 17, 2021 Britni Gallo

WE ARE HERE FOR YOU

Bottom line, that is what the Farmers Market Federation is all about, and why we do what we do: provide resources to advance the professionalism among farmers market management, help to build experiences around local food, work to make markets accessible to everyone in their community, and support creating markets that can become a vital piece of their community fabric.

The year 2020 was incredibly challenging. You showed us how resilient Farmers Markets could be: restructuring, redesigning, and renovating in order to safely provide delivery of locally grown food for our customers and community. In addition, you made room for “Giving Back” to help families in need and meeting people where they are with projects such as Barryville’s “Victory Garden” and Aurora Farmers Market’s “Sharing the Bounty.”

We applaud you! It was no easy feat. But we know you, and you will not spend any time relishing your accomplishments, for a Farmers Market Manager’s work is never done. Here we are in February once again. It’s time to sow the seeds for a new market season, requiring tireless planning, sweat, and tears. Plus, with the pandemic still to consider, everyone’s resilience, patience, and energy are wearing thin. Challenges remain, but much progress is being made, and we can see light at the end of the tunnel.

We want Conference 2021 to help you reboot, recharge, refocus and realize how valuable what you do is for all of us.

So please join the many in the Market community who have already registered and click here to Sign up for Conference today! Take advantage of this unique opportunity to attend a Conference from the comfort of your own home or office space, without hotel beds, travel hassle, or dress code, and with 11 educational topic sessions, built-in fatigue breaks, networking opportunities, a virtual farm tour and Happy Hour! All for the reasonable price of $50.

Added Conference Bonus: If you aren’t able to attend one, some, or even any of the live sessions, by registering you will have access to all of what our Conference offers: presentation power points, session recordings, resource materials, and a list of other attendees to build your contacts. All these will be the ‘gifts that keep on giving’ for your Market as you plan for a new season.

Remember, The Farmers Market Federation of NY is here for you, and providing all that our Market Managers Conference ‘21 offers is what we do.

We thank you for being there for us and for all our Market communities around NY State.

Cheers!

An Investment in Your Market's Success that Makes Good Sense

February 5, 2021 Britni Gallo

What’s the best $50 investment you can make for your Market’s success in 2021?

It just might be participating in the 2021 Virtual Farmers Market Managers Conference March 1-4. A little goes a long way when receiving a variety of diverse, stimulating, and timely topics for sessions led by experienced Market leaders in the field– (Check out the Conference Agenda here)

However, equally, if not more important than experiencing the sessions, attending conference provides golden opportunities for networking and “roundtable” discussions with your market peers. While attendees of our conferences have told us that they appreciate the educational sessions, they have found the networking opportunities to be an important draw of the event. This past year of quarantine and isolation has shown us the value of connections with one another, even more so because of the barriers to do so. Examples of this were the Open Forums with market operators hosted by the Federation over the Spring and Summer. Managers and staff from all over the state came together to share ideas for redesigning marketplaces ensuring safety mitigation measures could be followed. An enormous learning from each other took place by being able to discuss and share new and effective planning strategies. Many of you let us know that contacts made then, continue today.

The Federation feels fortunate to be a part of facilitating that coming together, and we look forward to a meeting of hearts and minds again at our 2021 conference. Being a Market Manager is a unique job, whether paid or volunteer. The ability to participate, network and learn with managers from all around the state, and sometimes beyond our borders, gives you the opportunity to directly discuss issues with others who share your concerns, hear about successes in other markets that you can put to use, and add friends and colleagues to your contact list that you can call on outside of the conference when the need arises.

Don’t miss out on this great educational and connection opportunity for farmers market managers that not only makes good Sense, but could very well be worth its weight in Market gold. Register here today!

CSA Innovation Network — Farmer to Farmer Exchange: Ecommerce Platforms

December 15, 2020 Britni Gallo

In early 2020 as COVID-19 hit the United States, consumers quickly moved to purchasing food directly from farmers. Farmers responded by moving quickly to online sales, contactless payments, and contactless deliveries. In order to assist farmers with choosing a software platform for their direct sales, the National Young Farmers Coalition produced a Farmer Guide to Direct Sales Software Platforms. That guide focuses exclusively on farm-specific sales platforms and includes details on pricing, features, and links to additional information on 19 different platforms.

This report details farmer ratings for the five most popular of those farm-specific sales platforms plus four additional platforms that are not farm-specific and are used by many farmers. This report is designed as a companion piece to the Farmer Guide to Direct Sales Software Platforms and will not repeat information contained in that Guide. Instead, it will augment the Guide with farmer-to-farmer ratings and details about farmer experiences using the platforms.

The information in this report was compiled through a national survey of farmers conducted by the CSA Innovation Network from 29 May to 30 June 2020. There were a total of 170 anonymous responses, with 143 farmers contributing data on the 23 platforms included in the survey, and 59 of those farmers contributing data on multiple platforms. This report highlights the 9 platforms that received ratings from at least 10 farmers. For information on additional platforms that did not make it into our top 9, see the National Young Farmers Coalition Farmer Guide to Direct Sales Software Platforms the Lake Pepin Local Online Platform Comparison Chart for Aggregated Sales and the Resources at the end of this report.

View the PDF Here

"Reimagining Markets for a Brand New World" Farmers Market Managers Virtual Conference 2021

December 14, 2020 Britni Gallo

Farmers Market Managers Virtual Conference 2021 to highlight adapting Markets in our newly changed environment.

2020 showed us the dynamic resilience of Farmers Markets and their operators to restructure, redesign, and renovate for safely providing delivery of locally grown nutritious food for their customers. The 2021 NYS Farmers Market Managers Conference will highlight lessons learned through the 2020 season by looking at best practices and expand upon how markets can be reimagined as agents of change for future challenges while continuing to create successful marketplaces.

Three featured conference sessions to look forward to are the following:

ADA Requirements and Farmers Markets

We welcome guest speaker Stephanie Woodward, an attorney and disability rights advocate. Stephanie will help markets better understand the needs of the disabled community, ADA legal requirements, and how to improve market access and the market experience. She will talk about service animals, what is allowed, what is required, and how we navigate through the process. She will also highlight the issue of mask-wearing mandates – what are everyone’s rights and how to best protect everyone.

De-escalating Contentious Situations at Markets - Skills for resolving conflicts

Will Nassau is a de-escalation negotiator with Nassau Facilitation Services. Will’s presentation will help us to better resolve issues that have the potential to blow up on us – customers who refuse to follow rules, vendors that feel entitled. By using real-life examples, Will uses an interactive technique with the audience to learn to understand the behavior and diffuse the conflict before it gets out of hand.

Undoing Racism at Our Farmers Markets

Taisy Conk, Program Director of Community Food Action, and Iyeshima Harris, Project Director of East New York Farms will lead this session which focuses on how markets can develop strategies to reflect ethnic and diverse communities. This interactive workshop will provide a space to discuss how race and racism affect farmers markets’ staff, customers, and vendors. The facilitators and participants will share challenges, practices, and successes in building more just and equitable markets.

The conference will also feature interactive networking opportunities to allow managers to share experiences, ideas, and challenges; a virtual tour of the Kriemhild Dairy farm, built-in fatigue breaks, and a virtual Happy Hour hosted by Jim Farr of the Rochester Public Market and featuring John Urlaub, owner of the Rohrbach Brewing Company in Rochester, NY. Together they will lead us to celebrate farmers markets and a successful conference.

You can view the full agenda here

The conference registration fee of $50 per person will cover the full conference, including access to presentation documents and recordings. Register now for the 2021 Farmers Market Managers Conference: “Reimagining Markets for a Brand New World”. All registrations and payments will be done online through Eventbrite. Once registered, you will receive an email with your unique links to all conference sessions.

Register for Conference 2021

For more information, contact the Farmers Market Federation of NY at deggert@nyfarmersmarket.com or call 315-400-1447.

A State-Wide Food Drive in Celebration of Community Support for Local Farmers Markets

July 9, 2020 Britni Gallo

The Farmers Market Federation of NY has not promoted a statewide event in the past for National Farmers Market Week, but this exceptional year we feel it is important to do so. Give Back NY is a show of appreciation for our local communities for the tremendous support of farmers markets and local food since the COVID Pandemic began. We are inviting farmers markets to connect with the local emergency food programs/food pantries serving their region and assist with a food drive to take place at the market during Farmers Market Week, August 2-8.

WHAT: A week-long celebration of farmers markets that will emphasize food donations to local food pantries as a means of sharing the bounty! We hope to encourage consumers and farmers to offer donations to their neighborhood food program that serves the community on their visit to the farmers market during that week.
HOW: The Federation has put together a toolkit to help both food pantries and farmers markets prepare for and implement Give Back NY, including guidelines for communications, strategies for working cooperatively to benefit local food pantries, as well as communications and posts for building consumer awareness for the week-long celebration. To assist Farmers Market Managers with preparing for the event, the toolkit contains lists of emergency food programs in their area that Managers can contact for participating in the food drive and having a presence at the market that week. For food pantries, the toolkit contains details on participating in a farmers market and suggestions for communicating with the market, as well as their clientele. The toolkit will also contain signage and social media template material for both the farmers market and food pantry to use for promoting the weeklong Give Back NY celebration.
GOALS: to help alleviate hunger in our communities, inspire awareness in each community of local pantries and the work they do, and help develop a lasting partnership between markets, farmers and food programs that serve local families. Ultimately, we hope that Give Back NY will help launch a “give back” that keeps on giving.

Please join us in celebrating farmers markets, local food and farmers during the National Farmers Market Week, August 2 – 8, by participating in Give Back NY. View the toolkit for all the information, contacts and guidance you will need to partner with a local food pantry, promote the event and build a success food donation program to honor our communities.

Federation Membership is now FREE!

June 16, 2020 Britni Gallo

The Farmers Market Federation of NY is here for you! We are devoted to supporting farmers markets with resources, professional development opportunities, program administration and networking opportunities and a mutual vision for sustainable farmers markets. A visit to the Federation website, www.nyfarmersmarket.com will show the breadth or resources, opportunities and programs offered through the Federation.

New this year, membership in the Federation is absolutely free! The board of directors have agreed to eliminate membership fees to allow every market to participate in the Federation, its programs and services. To register your Federation membership we ask that you complete a form providing updated information on your farmers market. This information will be used to populate the database of farmers markets on the Federation website, www.nyfarmersmarket.com, populate an upcoming market locator app being developed by NOFA-NY, and update the SNAP market listing on www.snaptomarket.com.

Join the Farmers Market Federation of NY by registering your market here.

The Federation is also open to farmers and other food producers who participate in farmers markets. Farmer/Vendor Membership is also free of charge. Rather than a monetary membership, we ask that you provide basic information about your farm and marketing venues. This information will be used to create a local food map on the Federation website, www.nyfarmersmarket.com, to help guide consumers to your marketing venues.

Join the Farmers Market Federation of NY by registering your farm or business here.

Together we can build a system of markets that will provide exciting retail opportunities for consumers and vital outlets for farmers and producers to reach consumers and build farm profits.