Blog entries by Tom Roberts

About Tom Roberts

When I started attending the Brewer Farmers’ Market back in August of 1983, my sole concern was being able to sell the produce my farm was growing at a good price. After attending market for a year or two, I began to realize that how the market was organized had a great impact on my sales. And how the market was organized also influenced how it made decisions about dues, new members, what could be sold at market, and how it promoted itself—and this, too, had an impact on my sales. So I got involved in the market’s steering committee and began to understand how various market members thought the market should operate. Some wanted a market czar, some wanted everyone to be allowed to do their own thing. But everyone seemed to agree that if the market as a whole did well, then so did they.

End of market gleaning program

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To have surplus picked up at the end of market day at YOUR farmers’ market, why not start an  End-of-Market Gleaning Program? An easy-to-implement program that provides an alternative to feeding your perfectly edible surpluses to your animals or compost pile. Staff at your local County Extension Office working with their Maine Harvest for Hunger […]

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A farmers market in your town?

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Download this as a brochure. Should there be a farmers’ market in your town? Of what value is a farmers’ market in a town? What is a Farmers’ Market? A farmers’ market is not a random collection of tailgate vendors. It is a self-policing non-profit organization that consists of farmers, gardeners, bakers, specialty food producers and/or […]

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The Farmers’ Market WIC program

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The Maine Department of Human Services and the Maine Department of Agriculture cooperate to sponsor the Maine WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program. Using federal funding, these special WIC checks are given to folks who already qualify for the regular WIC checks, which are redeemable in stores for specified products. The Farmers’ Market WIC Checks are […]

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Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s Electronic Benefits Transfer (SNAP/EBT)

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MFFM EBT Services and Support describes how MFFM can help your market start and sustain an EBT program. Please contact [email protected] with any questions. Implementing WIC and SNAP at Maine Farmers’ Markets – a 2 page summary from the Maine Department of Agriculture. EBT Guidelines (.doc 571 Kb) from the ME Dept of Ag. The Downeast […]

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