November 14, 2024

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Simply The Best Food

Emma Anderson: COVID-19 confirmed us the value of nearby meals and local community | Spectrum

2020 was unprecedented. The pandemic showed us how essential our neighborhood foods programs are.



Emma Anderson.jpg

Emma Anderson (Picture submitted)


Not only did we have revenue raises at the Franklin County Farmers Market place, we also observed an outpouring of guidance for our area food items access programming. We wanted to share some of our conclusion of the yr figures with the group, so that you can be as fired up as we are.

With significantly gratitude to the farmers and producers, community leaders, neighborhood partners, sponsors, volunteers, market place employees, clients and group customers who made it all attainable, below are some highlights of what we achieved with each other. Thank you!

Sector gross sales enhance 34% regardless of pandemic

Sales at the Franklin County Farmers Market (not which includes Farm to Frankfort and the South Frankfort Foodstuff Share) increased from $323,743 for the 2019 current market time to $434,782 for the 2020 time. This represents an maximize of $111,039 or 34% in standard market gross sales.

All this income goes into the pockets of nearby farmers, being in the Franklin County region to be expended all over again.

A large piece of the gross sales increase was on the net ordering. Thanks to the enthusiastic response to the on-line buying alternative, the FCFM will be continuing an on-line purchasing procedure in 2021, such as the reduced make contact with Thursday decide on-up model starting off in April.

Farm to Frankfort place of work shipping and delivery

The Farm to Frankfort place of work shipping program crammed 1,117 orders for seven place of work hubs around town during the 2020 season. This on the net farmers sector lets workforce at chosen workplaces in Frankfort to spot orders and acquire weekly deliveries. The method introduced much more than $32,820 into the local food economy.  

Thank you, Thursday volunteers

Thursday volunteers have been completely crucial to the market’s prosperous COVID adaptation. We had a core of over 20 people who contributed 500+ volunteer hours to the farmers industry and the South Frankfort Food items Share in 2020. With out these excellent folks we would not have been able to maintain up with the additional labor intensive Thursday choose-ups and extra associated Saturday established-ups. Thank you!

Folks with minimal cash flow accessed hundreds of dollars of more meals 

As foodstuff insecurity concerns increase throughout the country, foods obtain application figures at the market have been a tiny bright place.  

South Frankfort Meals Share

Even with some COVID connected issues, we have been capable to have two choose-ups for the Food items Share during the 2020 drop season. A whole of 102 shares (61% recognized as confined cash flow) were bought. Eight market distributors provided $2,134 of clean, regionally grown deliver through this software. 

We had been in a position to accommodate various of our considerably less mobile neighborhood customers by offering shares suitable to their door. Continue to keep your eyes open for the 2021 Food Share starting in April and let us know if you would like to volunteer.  [email protected].

SNAP up 218% Double Pounds up 72%

The Double Bucks method doubles the price of purchases made by customers buying with SNAP, WIC and/ or Senior FMNP. It is produced probable by Community Farm Alliance, the Close friends of the Franklin County Farmers Sector and community supporters. 

So numerous people today stepped up and grew to become customers or gave to our New, Nearby Foods for All fund. Eighty individuals to be actual! In all, your giving lifted $3,590 that went right to Double Pounds, making it possible for folks to purchase two times the clean food they typically would. Full incentive redemption (all double dollars programs) was up 72%.

From $24,917 in 2019 to $42,915 in 2020. SNAP Double Bucks exclusively was up 219%. Permit that sink in — $9,030 in 2019 to $28,833 in 2020. That’s how important these courses are in the course of the pandemic. 

This is the most significant yr that we have ever experienced for the double pounds system. If you know any person who utilizes a SNAP card, WIC or Senior Vouchers, tell them to make contact with us.

The Clean Food stuff Voucher partnership with the Crisis Food stuff pantry typically provides customers of the pantry with vouchers to obtain refreshing fruits and greens in person at the current market.  

Nonetheless, mainly because of the pandemic, the food items pantry most popular to provide bags of refreshing vegetables from the sector fairly than question shoppers to occur in-person. Each individual week, June via November, sector workers and volunteers packed up 15-25 luggage of fresh new develop (procured from current market suppliers at 75% of the retail selling price) and extra printed recipes and food items planning suggestions.

A meals pantry volunteer picked them up at the industry on Saturday afternoons and the food stuff pantry distributed the baggage the next 7 days. Market place vendors offered a total of $4,702 really worth of create as a result of this partnership.

While we have been only capable to have two in-person youngsters times this year, we experimented with to compensate by distributing Young ones Kits and cooking films every single thirty day period. The kits incorporated a recipe and ingredients, activity booklets, some cooking machines and would generally be paired with an educational movie. 

The Paul Sawyier General public Library worked with us to distribute the programming, as well as developing some neighborhood relationship videos with us. Our kits involved: fresh new salsa, pickled vegetables, roasted root veggies, vegetable kabobs and baked butternut squash. 

We also gave out getaway goody luggage for our Holiday break Industry. Much more than 1,200 cooking kits had been distributed. In all there have been 26 Little ones Working day associated applications together with the children day decide on ups, six kit distributions at The King’s Heart, two courses with the library, a few cooking films and just one butternut squash pick up at Frankfort Impartial preschools.

Emma Anderson is an AmeriCorps VISTA member for the Mates of the Franklin County Farmers Market place by means of the Homes For All AmeriCorps method. She can be arrived at at [email protected].