Exciting news!  MCFMA has received a FDA Farmers’ Market Promotional Grant for the 2008 season to the tune of $35,617.

The grant is covering a wide scope of activities with the goals of increasing sales and reaching out to a more diverse population of shoppers, improving all of our markets within the county and supporting our local vendors through consumer education and community outreach.
 This grant will enable us to establish Community Supported Agriculture Programs (CSA) at 5 of our markets while continuing to support the already existing programs at Boonville and Laytonville.  We will establish a “Friends of the Market” table at each market to manage the CSA, distribute information, sell promotional items and interface with the public. Articles will be written promoting the Farmers’ Markets and published in local newspapers throughout the county and displayed on MCFMA’s website. (We are looking for people interested in writing these articles.) 
            Each market will have two chef demonstrations per season highlighting local foods.  We will encourage the recycling of shopping bags with signs throughout the markets and will offer cloth tote bags at an inexpensive price.  Ukiah Saturday, Willits, Fort Bragg and Boonville markets will have a Spanish speaker for two hours each market to encourage participation of the Latino population.

            Also, each market will be able to purchase new signs or banners.  We will be conducting surveys at the markets on consumer and vendor opinions, and will be sharing this information with management and producers.