Category: 2020

Economic Impact

These resources related to ECONOMIC IMPACT have been provided in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic from university and other sources.

Aquaculture

Farms & Agribusinesses

Global economy

Health

US Economy

Management

These resources relate to the Management of Farmers Market once they’ve been established. 

Market Manager FAQs

    • The Farmers Market Coalition has compiled a list of FAQs for managing a farmer’s market. This resource addresses concerns ranging from insurance to staffing to outreach. 

Standards Handbook and Guide

    • A key strategy in maintaining standards and quality within a market is creating a handbook with regulations and policies for vendors. Tennessee’s Department of Agriculture has created a set of standards for farmers markets in their state that ensure a level of quality is always maintained—regardless of where in the state the market is found. 

Direct Marketing Guide

    •  An important component of maintaining a farmers market is continuing to grow your vendor list and consumer base. In the link below, Florida Extension provides a collection of articles on how to approach marketing for your farmers market.

Market Growth, Outreach, and Evaluation for Markets 

    • The Farmers Market Coalition continued this FAQ series to address growth and outreach concerns for farmers markets.

Managing Farmers Markets Webinar

    • Iowa State Extension recorded and published a webinar they conducted that focused on resources available for market managers.

Management Skills Series 

    • The UC Small Farm Center created a workbook to follow to develop general management skills and then how to apply newfound skills to a farmers market. This is volume 2 of their farmers market management series. 

Mitigating COVID-19 Risks in Farmers Markets

    • Due to COVID-19, markets cannot carry on “business as usual”. Mississippi State has created a succinct article that addresses a few simple ways to maintain safety and keep markets open. 

Video Series on COVID Safety in Farmers  Markets

    • Alabama A & M and Auburn University Extension has produced a mini-series of videos that tackle some of the possible solutions to COVID concerns in a market environment.

Workers’ Compensation

For more information on the impact of COVID-19 on farmers markets, please look under the COVID-19 Farmers Market tab in the menu above.

Farmers Markets

Farmers Markets provide communities with direct access to fresh, nutritious foods. They give growers a market to sell their wares and give consumers a direct line to their food production. The resources listed below are designed to help in the establishment, accessibility, and management of a local farmers market.

Resources for the establishment of farmers markets

Resources for increasing accessibility in farmers markets

Resources for management of farmers markets

For information on the impact of COVID-19 on farmers markets, please look under the COVID-19 Farmers Market tab in the menu above.

Virginia Cooperative Extension is offering a virtual course called, “Enhancing the Safety of Locally Grown Produce – Produce Growers/Farmers Market Produce Vendors.”

For more information go to http://tiny url.com/VCEFarmersMarket1, or

Contact Lester Schonberger at hlschon@vt.edu or Renee Boyer at rraiden@vt.edu.

 

Food Access

Consumer choices about food spending and diet are likely to be influenced by the accessibility and affordability of food retailers—travel time to shopping, availability of healthy foods, and food prices.  Some people and places, especially those with low income, may face greater barriers in accessing healthy and affordable food retailers, which may negatively affect diet and food security.

ERS is a national leader in measuring the people and places facing barriers to accessing healthy and affordable food and conducts research examining the consequences of food access limitations on food spending, diet, and health. See:

ERS conducts economic analyses of:

  • the extent and characteristics of people and places that lack access to healthy and affordable foods, and
  • the relationships between food access and food shopping and spending patterns, diet, and health.

ERS also provides publicly available mapping tools for indicators of the food environment that allow users to create maps and download data—the Food Environment Atlas and the Food Access Research Atlas.

https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-choices-health/food-access/

Last updated: Tuesday, August 20, 2019

For more information, contact: Alana Rhone and Michele Ver Ploeg

Other Local and Regional Foods Resources

2021 Eastern Virginia Virtual Annual Crops Conference Channel on YouTube Virginia Cooperative Extension

2021 Pest Management Guides

Plate it Up Recipes by Season website Kentucky Extension

Putting Local on the Menu: Tools and Strategies for Increasing the Utilization  of Locally Raised Food in Restaurants and Food Service PDF (SCALE) Sequestering Carbon, Accelerating Local Economies

Soil, Conservation, and Place YouTube Channel Virginia Cooperative Extension

Virginia Whole Farm Planning for Beginners website  Virginia Cooperative Extension

Youth, Community, and Therapeutic Gardening website North Carolina State Extension

Home Food Preservation

Webinars and Training (Time Sensitive)

Home Food Preservation Virtual Program

Virginia Cooperative Extension FST-HFT-01 – Home Food Preservation (Virtual Program). This short self-paced course will provide participants with the basic knowledge of safe home food preservation methods. Registration deadline is November 1, 2022.

More info and register: http://tinyurl.com/VCE-HomeFoodPreservation

For questions, please contact Dr. Renee Boyer

Online Training

These basic videos are provided by University of Minnesota Extension and cover all the basics.  https://extension.umn.edu/preserving-and-preparing/food-preservation-videos 

Preserve@Home is a six-week online class from University of Idaho Extension for individuals who want to can and preserve foods for their families

Curricula

Preserve It & Serve It: A Children’s Guide to Canning, Freezing, Drying, Pickling and Preparing Snacks With Preserved Foods is a 47-page book that teaches the basics of preserving with boiling water canning, freezing, refrigerating, quick pickling and drying. Step-by-step methods are illustrated and several child-friendly recipes are provided for using each of the preserved foods. Available from University of Georgia Extension.

Publications

USDA Department of Agriculture, Complete Guide to Home Canning, 2015 revision

University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, So Easy to Preserve, Sixth Edition

Judging Home Preserved Foods from the National Center for Home Food Preservation, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service

Publications from the National Center for Home Food Preservation

Publications from universities

Other Resources

Canning Timer & Checklist App from Oregon Extension Service

Webinars from Penn State University on freezing, drying and canning

Need to check consumers’ dial gauge canners for accuracy? Information on ordering the Presto Test Unit #81288 here

 

COVID 19: Local Producers & Direct Marketers

These resources related to LOCAL PRODUCERS & DIRECT MARKETERS have been provided by institutions of higher education in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic:

Food Safety Protocols for Produce

Cleaning & Sanitation

Connecting Producers, Markets, and Food Lovers

Harvesting 

Marketing

Other Relevant Resources

COVID 19: Grocery Shopping/Stocking the Pantry

These resources related to GROCERY SHOPPING/STOCKING THE PANTRY have been provided by institutions of higher education in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic:

Cooking/Food Preparation

  • Food Preservation Basics Videos (Website) University of Minnesota Extension*
  • Common Ingredient Substitutions ( Blog) Alabama Extension
  • Washing Produce (PNG) NC State Extension

Food Selection

  • Healthy Shelf-Stable Foods (Blog) Alabama Extension

Grocery Shopping

  • Alternate Ways to Get Food (Blog) Alabama Extension
  • Food Budget Buying for Two Weeks (Blog) Alabama Extension
  • Grocery Pickup and Delivery (PNG) NC State Extension
  • Handling Groceries (PNG) NC State Extension
  • Helpful Food and Shopping Tips (Blog) Alabama Extension
  • Is Coronavirus a Concern at Grocery Stores? (Co-branded)
    • NC State Extension (PDF)
    • Virginia Cooperative Extension (PDF)
  • Minimizing Risk (PNG) NC State Extension
  • Tips for Shopping and Eating at Home (Website) Alabama Extension
  • Top Tips for Grocery Shopping (PNG) NC State Extension

Reusable Bags & Containers

Water

  • Ensuring an Adequate Water Supply (Blog) Alabama Extension

*Thank you to our friends in the North Central Extension region.

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