Building on the release of PPS' "Diversifying Farmers Markets" RFP and successful 6th International Public Markets Conference in Washington, DC, as well as the USDA's own announcement of their new Farmers Market Promotion Program in the fall of 2005, USDA hosted a meeting of public agencies and private groups that fund farmers markets on the national level, including representatives from numerous USDA agencies, from HHS, and from the Ford Foundation and W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

It was clear to all involved that there is a real opportunity to open up lines of communications and to collaborate in identifying ways to collectively support farmers markets.

Thanks to the leadership of Ken Clayton, Associate Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service, and numerous other individuals, this initial meeting resulted in the establishment of the Farmers Market Consortium at USDA. This groundbreaking collaborative effort brings together all of the agencies within USDA that provide support for farmers markets, other federal agencies that provide support as well (currently the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services/Office of Refugee Resettlement), and PPS, along with its private funders - the Ford and W.K. Kellogg Foundations - to better target and implement policy aimed at farmers markets. The consortium is proving invaluable in improving the communication and coordination of public and private efforts: its first activity has been the release of a comprehensive Resource Guide to farmers markets funding on the national level.

The Consortium's beginnings were also very timely given the funding of the Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) by Congress for $1 million this year. This program provides new federal support for farmers markets to help expand opportunities for direct producer-to-consumer marketing. The program complements PPS' own grant initiative well, as eligible activities range from improving access to market information (i.e. which address changing ethnic demographics) to increasing use of Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) and nutrition education efforts. Similarly, FMPP seeks to foster innovation approaches to market management and operations that can help improve the long-term sustainability of farmers markets.

The consortium will continue to meet in 2006 and beyond to look at and act on new ways to collectively and efficiently support farmers markets across the country.