What Happened?
The Denver City Council recently approved a law allowing residents to sell homegrown produce and other food items as part of the city’s farmers market. The urban farming law will allow the city to extend its farmers market significantly, making it one of the largest in the country.
The Goal
The new law calls for residents interesting in selling homegrown produce or food to purchase a permit prior. The products can be grown and created in people’s homes, in their gardens or in community gardens. Between 8 AM and dusk on farmers market days, residents with permits can sell items from inside or outside their homes for up to $5,000 in goods annually.
The new law builds off Denver’s strong push for more locally-sourced produce and food products made available to residents. In 2012 a convention center was converted into an urban farming site, and local restaurateurs pride themselves on serving dishes made with locally-sourced ingredients, Travel Mole reported.
To make the expanded farmers market a local attraction, the city is encouraging residents and visitors to participate in Denver’s bike sharing program to get to and from the market. Aside from a wide variety of food products being sold, the city has arranged for life music and trucks with prepared food to fill out the event.
Farmers Market Week
The trend of promoting locally-sourced food and products has swept the nation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is spreading the word for the 15th annual National Farmers Market Week from August 3rd to the 9th. The weeklong celebration is focused on raising awareness for farmers, urban farming and other agriculture-based businesses that cater to local communities via farmers markets.
Dating back to 2000, National Farmers Market Week was designed to promote not only farmers market in general, but the local government programs that collaborate with farmers to increase access to fresh food in the community.
USDA Agricultural Marketing Services Administrator Anne Alonzo and other agency officials are touring the nation’s farmers markets to speak with local officials designing policy to support local farming and the use of the products in businesses, school lunch programs and other similar efforts.
In Moab, Utah, for example, the city’s farmers market is now accepting SNAP food stamps (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program). One of 19 other farmers markets statewide to accept the payment system, the Moab farmers market hopes integrating the SNAP program will boost participation in the city’s Youth Garden Project and the state’s Utahans Against Hunger effort, The Moab Times reported.
According to the USDA, the acceptance of food stamps at farmers markets across the country has increased from $11.7 million in 2011 to more than $21 million in 2013. The department made such a jump possible providing nonprofits with grants to extend food stamp programs into local farmers markets.
The weeklong event draws focus to the department’s ongoing program Know Your Farmer which strives to connect farmers and community leaders through awareness, grants and other connectivity channels.
Modern Farming Tools
Gov1 has followed the latest trends in farmers market innovation, as well as the federal grants available to support local farming efforts.