As the 2018 season comes to a close for many of our favorite farmers markets, the work to ensure that Michigan provides a thriving marketplace for local food and farm products continues. Our farmers markets are at the forefront of the local food movement and are essential to ensuring that all of our friends, family, and neighbors have access to healthy, locally grown food.
But the honest truth is… it’s not easy to run a successful farmers market.
It takes tremendous resources in the form of volunteers, space, marketing, community support, and much more. Often communities struggle to find the leadership to manage their market professionally. With all of these challenges, how can we ensure that we have well-run markets that provide the shoppers, volunteers and space that farmers and vendors need?
Here’s where we come in. The Michigan Farmers Market Association provides the training, resources, technical assistance, and comradery needed to make sure our state has the farmers markets in place to serve not only our farmers but the consumers who are seeking healthy, local food options.
Every year we help certify dozens of professionally-trained market managers, execute numerous training programs, and provide hundreds of hours of technical assistance. We provide the technical “know how” to ensure that our farmers markets remain strong and viable to meet the needs of farmers, vendors, and the communities they serve. We also provide a voice in Lansing and Washington D.C. to advocate for farmers, farmers markets, and shoppers.
You can help, too! It’s a BIG job. We have a large state with a growing network of farmers markets; each of which has its distinct needs and challenges. Your support for our work ensures we have the resources in place to support farmers, local vendors, farmers markets, and communities across the state who are seeking to build a place where people can meet together and enjoy healthy, local food.
You can help ensure we have a thriving local food industry.
Please join us by making us part of your giving priorities this season. Your investment is a vote of confidence in our farmers and farmers market and helps to ensure your family and community has access to delicious, healthy, local food.
