Since 2014 community farm alliance (CFA) has strengthened kentucky's farmers markets through implementation of CFA's farmers market support program

The Community Farm Alliance (CFA) received a $720,115.90 three-year Project Grant award from the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service under the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program (FMLFPP) to implement the Farmers Market Resiliency Project in Kentucky.

The Project will provide three key services to strengthen and stabilize participating farmers markets in Kentucky. It will offer a streamlined training program with modules tailored for market managers, vendors and board members. The Project will also deliver responsive technical assistance for new and struggling markets. Additionally, it will establish a peer-to-peer learning network for markets. The overarching goal is to increase vendor sales and on-farm revenue through more dependable and established farmers market outlets that bolster Kentucky's local and regional food system infrastructure. Services will benefit 20 markets directly and provide education or assistance impacting an additional 100 markets by September 2024.

Through this work, CFA has gained a deeper understanding of the wide range of challenges facing kentucky's farmers markets, learning that challenges are deeply rooted in and unique to individual markets and the communities they serve. As a result, many markets DON't respond effectively to streamlined solutions in marketing, vendor retention, and organizational structures. CFA learned that market stability is directly impacted by community- based issues surrounding vendor recruitment and retention, market governance, maintaining a paid market manager, and successfully engaging the community the farmers market resiliency project responds directly to community-based challenges, by working alongside project partners to build a comprehensive support system for kentucky's farmers markets. Specifically, the farmers market resiliency project will provide markets with three types of support 1) a streamlined and adaptive farmers market training program that provides comprehensive support to the entire market, by including modules and technical assistance specific to not only the market manager, but to vendors, and board members; 2) tailored and responsive technical assistance for new and struggling markets; and 3) a peer-to-peer learning network. The overarching project objective is to strengthen and stabilize participating markets and create marketing spaces that lead to increased vendor sales and on-farm revenue, culminating in dependable farmers market outlets that strengthen kentucky's local and regional food system infrastructure. This project will provide 20 markets with intensive training and strengthen 100 markets through technical assistance and education.