National Farmers Market Week (NFMW) is approaching! The 24th annual celebration takes place August 6 to 12, 2023, and highlights the vital role farmers markets play in the nation’s food system.
Across the country, NRPA supports park and recreation agencies as hosts and partners of community markets. From offering parklands as spaces to host a market, to fully managing farmers markets, park and recreation professionals strengthen community health and local food systems in a variety of ways. Check out this blog post with examples from agencies across the country that are working with local agriculture to increase nutrition security in their communities.
If your agency supports a farmers market in parks and recreation, you can use Farmers Market Coalition’s National Farmers Market Week Toolkit for resources, tools and templates to promote your farmers market.
If your agency does not have a farmers market, NFMW is the perfect time to connect with your local farmers market and foster a fruitful partnership for cross-promotion. Check out last year’s blog post for 6 ways you can get involved with your local farmers market during National Farmers Market Week. This blog post provides ideas abound, from providing materials or activities to promote park and recreation programs at the farmers market to advertising NFWM activities through your agency’s channels.
If your market accepts nutrition benefits like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Women, Infants and Children (WIC), senior food vouchers, produce prescriptions or market matching dollars, you can inform community members about these market programs to help increase nutrition security in your community. Most importantly, reach out to your local farmers market to learn the best way to collaborate on this and future events!
Whether your agency hosts a farmers market or not, everyone can promote National Farmers Market Week and celebrate the critical value and nutritious food farmers markets bring to their communities.
Liliana Ruiz Fischer (she/her) is a program manager at NRPA.
