USDA Dedicates $5 Million for Farmers Markets

by Katherine Gustafson · 2010-03-04 10:00:00 UTC
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Farmers markets are growing by leaps and bounds: A 13 percent increase between 2008 and 2009 shows that interest in fresh, local food is skyrocketing. The number of farmers markets in the U.S. has just about tripled in the last 15 years.

You'd think that the federal funding to help them thrive would be skyrocketing as well. And while you'd be right that the funding's increasing, the dollar figure the public assistance has jumped up to isn't exactly astronomical.

The USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service has announced a $5 million allotment for grants through the Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) for fiscal year 2010 (PDF).

As the Atlantic points out, $5 million is peanuts compared with the $35 billion in subsidies that goes to big industrial producers of corn, wheat and soy.

But when you realize that the USDA disbursed only $10 million in FMPP grants over the last four years combined (since the beginning of the program), it is clear that farmers markets are coming up in the world little by little. Not only that, but $10 million in grants will be available for each fiscal year of 2010 and 2011.

Another change this year is that the grants are targeted toward needy small farmers just starting their operations, an important demographic. We need as many successful new farmers as we can get.

So while even this year's higher numbers are chump change compared to the subsidies that go to Big Ag, at least there's some money out there for this worthy cause, and it's being directed to those who need it most.

Photo: Robert Couse-Baker on Flickr

Katherine Gustafson is a freelance writer and editor with a background in international nonprofit organizations.
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