Direct to consumer (DTC) sales have been on the decline prior to covid in our geographical region, at the same time DTC has pivoted to meet consumers in a new, unexpected modality, which expanded to…

The Petaluma People Services Center will receive $1,009,380.97 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service under the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program to increase direct-to-consumer sales opportunities for local producers in Northern California. The project aims to reduce barriers to farmers market participation for underrepresented demographic groups and increase both the number of transactions and total sales for vendors. Specific activities include expanding online sales channels while maintaining community connections; promoting bulk orders and institutional purchases; and creating delivery hubs to bring farmers markets into communities. The three-year project aligns with the goals of the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program to develop and strengthen local food systems through competitive grants.

Direct to consumer (DTC) sales have been on the decline prior to covid in our geographical region, at the same time DTC has pivoted to meet consumers in a new, unexpected modality, which expanded to engage consumers who may not have had access to these sales opportunities before. Many local producers have been impacted by a series of disasters in northern california and rising operations costs. Farmers' market life seeks to leverage the consumer momentum toward online sales through innovative methods while maintaining the values, relationships, and community connections. This proposed project will bring the community to the farmers markets and bring the farmers markets to the community by increasing the number of in-person customers, expanding online sales, and creating delivery hubs. The project outcomes: (1) reduce producer-to-consumer barriers to farmers market participation for specific demographic groups, including the elderly, young families, urban and rural communities, low income/low access community members, and other people traditionally underrepresented at farmers' markets ; (2) increase producer-to-consumer sales for farmers markets vendors from the above demographics and beyond through targeted marketing and outreach innovations( (3) TAP into the momentum of e-commerce to promote farmers markets as a viable option for consumers with technologically savvy and the means to pay full price while offsetting costs for FM ambassadors and low-income delivery hubs; (4) reduce on- farm waste and capture supplemental revenue streams by promoting bulk orders and institutional purchases for farm seconds and during peak season; (5) increase the total number of transactions from farmers' market customers; and (6) increase the total amount of sales from farmers' market vendors.