In 2018, Petaluma Bounty and partners received USDA’s Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) grant for $495,186 to conduct community-based research, develop targeted solutions based on data, and measure the impact of these solutions on farmers market customer participation and sales.
By evaluating barriers and testing promising practices, Petaluma Bounty’s Farmers Market L.I.F.E. consortium aimed to connect low-income community members to local food, with positive impacts on both consumers and farmers. The project ran for four years, overlapping with the unexpected Covid-19 public health emergency, which required us to make some adjustments.
Petaluma Bounty and partners carried on the work in a second FMPP project, from 2021 to 2025.
Recently, USDA highlighted the project with a story on its website. The story beautifully condenses the project’s efforts, impacts, and lessons learned.
Click here to read it and see some beautiful accompanying photos.
Project partners were:
- UC Agriculture & Natural Resources (UC Cooperative Extension & UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program) – Project lead
- Agricultural Community Events Farmers Markets (Farmers Market L.I.F.E. member organization)
- Center for Well-Being
Collaborators were:
- Other Farmers Market L.I.F.E. member organizations
- Go Local Sonoma County
- KRCB Public Media
- UC Davis Center for Regional Change
- UC ANR News and Outreach in Spanish
- Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative
- Market Match, Ecology Center
- County of Sonoma & County of Marin
More background about the project can be viewed here.