{"id":1987,"date":"2010-08-03T15:12:20","date_gmt":"2010-08-03T15:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/?p=1987"},"modified":"2012-10-10T15:16:01","modified_gmt":"2012-10-10T15:16:01","slug":"federal-state-officials-celebrate-national-farmers-market-week-at-baltimore-city-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2010\/08\/03\/federal-state-officials-celebrate-national-farmers-market-week-at-baltimore-city-market\/","title":{"rendered":"FEDERAL, STATE OFFICIALS CELEBRATE NATIONAL FARMERS’ MARKET WEEK AT BALTIMORE CITY MARKET"},"content":{"rendered":"

Raise Awareness of Farmers’ Markets as a Source of Nutrition for All Marylanders and Increased Access to WIC, Senior Farmers’ Market Program and SNAP<\/em> <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

BALTIMORE (August 4, 2010) \u2013 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Service\u2019s Under Secretary Kevin Concannon and Maryland Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Patrick McMillan today celebrated National Farmers\u2019 Market week with a visit to the Park Heights Farmers\u2019 Market, one of three markets in Baltimore City that are piloting the acceptance of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamps).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are pleased that USDA selected Maryland to announce National Farmers\u2019 Market Week.\u00a0 Buying locally, especially directly from farmers at farmers\u2019 markets, is good for the environment, good for our health and is a key to ensuring a smart, green and growing future for Maryland families,\u201d said Governor Martin O\u2019Malley. \u201cFarmers\u2019 markets are increasingly popular sources of farm-fresh, locally-grown, nutritious produce in communities across the state and the nation. Every dollar spent on local products supports and strengthens our family-owned farms and contributes to the economic health of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Concannon presented market organizers with the proclamation signed by USDA Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack declaring the week of August 1 -7, 2010, as National Farmers\u2019 Market Week.\u00a0 McMillan noted that Maryland Governor O\u2019Malley is supporting USDA with Farmers’ Market Week promotion in Maryland including a focus on the health, economic and environmental benefits of buying local.\u00a0 McMillan also emphasized the importance of access to fresh and local food for all Marylanders through such programs as the Farmers\u2019 Market Nutrition Program and SNAP.\u00a0 The Park Heights market is one of only nine markets to accept SNAP in Maryland.<\/p>\n

\u201cUSDA is committed to expanding the number of farmers markets that accept SNAP benefits and we are eager to work with states like Maryland to achieve that goal,\u201d said Under Secretary Concannon.\u00a0 \u201cFarmers markets help low-income individuals buy affordable, healthy food for themselves and their families, and, at the same time, directly benefit local food producers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nationwide, there are more than 5,200 farmers markets \u2013 a record number \u2013 compared with about 2,800 in the year 2000.\u00a0 According to the USDA, sales generated by farmers markets have been estimated to exceed $1 billion a year, with most of the money going directly to small family farmers.\u00a0 The 2010 Directory will be released during Farmers Market Week, and an updated National Survey of Farmers\u2019 Market Managers \u2013 the last was done in 2005 \u2013 is underway and scheduled to be released in 2011.<\/p>\n

The number of markets in Maryland has been on the rise over the past few years. About 38 new markets have opened in the past four years, with 10 opening this year in Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Howard, Montgomery, Washington, and Frederick counties.\u00a0 In total, there are 117 farmers\u2019 markets attended by more than 300 farmers operating throughout Maryland.<\/p>\n

The WIC & Seniors Farmers Market Nutrition Program make locally grown fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and honey available to low-income women, infants and children (WIC) as well as income-eligible seniors age 60 and older.\u00a0 Eligible participants receive checks for $18 (WIC) up to $30 (seniors) valid through October 31 to purchase certain products from authorized farmer vendors.\u00a0 Click here<\/a> for more information on the Farmers Market Nutrition Program.<\/p>\n

In Maryland in 2009, there were 134,493 WIC vouchers and 67,475 senior vouchers redeemed through the Farmers\u2019 Market Nutrition Program.\u00a0 There are currently more than 300 authorized farmer vendors in the state, who deposited approximately $600,000 in 2009 from the program.<\/p>\n

The three farmers at the Park Heights Farmers\u2019 Market are authorized farmer vendors in the Farmers Market Nutrition Programs and all are accepting the new Fruit and Vegetable Checks issued this year through the Office of the Maryland WIC Program in the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.\u00a0 The market has been a great source of fresh food in the Park Heights community, which is considered a \u201cfood desert\u201d by the Center for a Livable Future.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs one of Baltimore’s first mid-week farmers markets we have always tried to be an outlet for fresh, inexpensive alternatives to the limited food options in the neighborhood.\u00a0 We are excited that our market tradition seems to be a mission at all levels of government,” said Willie Flowers, executive director of the Park Heights Community Health Alliance \u2013 the organization that manages the market.<\/p>\n

The Park Heights market is open on Wednesdays from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

In related news, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently awarded $121,445 in grants to the Maryland Department of Agriculture and its partners for two projects. The first grant is for $20,825 to assess the economic impact of Maryland farmers\u2019 markets, identify ways to expand the customer base and increase sales at farmers\u2019 markets, and explore the feasibility of forming a statewide farmers\u2019 market association. The second grant is for $100,620 to encourage increased use of locally-produced sustainable protein foods such as beef, pork, poultry, dairy, eggs, and seafood, in Maryland health care facilities and institutions.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> for complete information on locations, days and hours of farmers\u2019 markets throughout Maryland. To find local products, visit www.MarylandsBest.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n

Follow MDA on Twitter @MdAgDept<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Raise Awareness of Farmers’ Markets as a Source of Nutrition for All Marylanders and Increased Access to WIC, Senior Farmers’ Market Program and SNAP BALTIMORE (August 4, 2010) \u2013 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Service\u2019s Under Secretary Kevin Concannon and Maryland Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Patrick McMillan today celebrated National  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1987"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1988,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1987\/revisions\/1988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}