Extension Team Awarded Grant to Strengthen Farm Markets

Penn State Extension's Food Systems and Local Foods team is the recipient of $254,000 through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farmers Market Promotion Program. The awarded three-year project, titled Building Dynamic Marketplaces & Stronger Networks for Pennsylvania's Direct to Consumer Outlets, addresses the shifting marketing landscape in Pennsylvania toward direct-to-consumer outlets like farmers markets and retail farm markets. The Penn State Extension team will provide educational programming, direct technical assistance, and peer-to-peer networking for farmers markets and retail farm market owners and staff through both new and signature programs including Under the Ground, Retail Farm Market School, and its annual Farmers Market Managers Conference. Through a variety of learning formats, this project will equip producers with tools and information to expand their customer bases; increase customer retention; increase sales of locally produced agricultural products; and respond quickly and efficiently to marketplace challenges and demands. "The COVID-19 pandemic and national food supply chain disruptions have changed the way people shop, with many people turning to local food businesses for the first time," said Brian Moyer, who runs Penn State Extension’s PA Farm Markets program. "Now we need to focus on keeping those customers happy and continuing to grow the resilience of local food businesses."

Retail farm market operators can now register for Under the Ground, a full-year program beginning spring 2022 that provides participants with a shopper survey customized for their business, in-store secret shopper evaluation and feedback, peer network connections, immersive learning experiences, and other useful tools for improving retail operations and the customer experience. Early registrants will receive a $200 scholarship (automatically applied at checkout), and two full scholarships are available for new markets, markets looking to renovate, or markets in regions with limited access to a variety of healthful foods. Additional programs for retail farm markets and farmers markets will launch in spring 2022. Business operators interested in program announcements should sign up for Penn State Extension business management and marketing emails.

The grant is part of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s $90.2 million investment in 203 projects to strengthen and explore new market opportunities for local and regional food businesses. The funding is made possible through grant programs administered by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) as part of the Local Agriculture Marketing Program (LAMP). "These grants will help maximize opportunities for economic growth and ingenuity in local and regional food systems to kickstart this transformation. The Local Agriculture Marketing Program grants have a history of generating new income sources for small, beginning, veteran and socially disadvantaged farmers and creating new market opportunities for value-added and niche products," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

LAMP was established in the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (Farm Bill) (Pub. L. No. 115—334) and received a supplemental appropriation through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (Pub. L. No. 116—260).

For more information, contact Brian Moyer at bfm3@psu.edu or 484-269-0229.