Alaska Farmers Markets Association

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Alaska Farmers Markets Association hosts annual meeting and summit online on March 24

The Alaska Farmers Markets Association will host its annual meeting and summit on Friday, March 24, online using Zoom. The meeting takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the theme is Growing Strong(er) Markets.

This year’s keynote speaker is Ziona Brownlow from the nonprofit Food For Thought Alaska. Guest speakers include Sara Dylan Jensen, who has been the manager of the Snohomish Farmers Market and also is a leader in social media; and Ben Feldman, the outgoing executive director of the national Farmers Market Coalition.

There also will be a guest panel about value-added products featuring representatives from Gustavus Grown/Stellar Botanicals, Tundra Tonics, and Wildland Chocolate.

Before the annual meeting and summit, there will be a pre-summit screening from 6-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 23, of Rhythms of the Land, an ode to Black farmers in the USA.

Registration for this event is free, but it is required to participate. To register, go to http://www.alaskafarmersmarkets.org/events.

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Alaska Farmers Markets Association to host free virtual summit on April 8

HOMER, Alaska (March 29, 2022) — The Alaska Farmers Markets Association will host its 2022 virtual summit from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, April 8. The theme is “Gather and Grow.” This event is free, but pre-registration is required.

“Whether you have run a market for 10 years or are just in the planning stages, the Alaska Farmers Markets Association is open to anyone interested in learning more about Alaska’s farmers markets, CSAs (community supported agriculture programs), farm stands, and food hubs,” said AFMA director Robbi Mixon, who recently was named to the board of directors for the national Farmers Market Coalition. “Grow your network and learn from market managers, farmers, government officials, and more.”

The keynote speakers this year are Mat-Su Health Foundation President/CEO Elizabeth A. Ripley and Dr. Gail Meyers, co-founder of Farms to Grow, Inc. Other presentations and discussion panels will be on how to keep farmers markets safe and the public healthy, why a census of agriculture matters for food security in Alaska, National Farmers Market Week (Aug. 7-13) events, a lunch-and-learn on ranked-choice voting, farmers market evaluation and data collection, food access programs, and more.

Conference sponsors include Cook Inletkeeper, the USDA Agriculture Marketing Service, and MarketLink (a program of the National Association of Farmers Market Nutrition). The Farmers Market Coalition will assist with some presentations and discussion panels. Funding for the summit was provided by a 2021-24 Farmers Market Promotion Program grant from the USDA.

To learn more about the conference and to register, go to https://www.alaskafarmersmarkets.org/2022-alaska-farmers-market-summit-april-8th/. For more information, contact Alaska Farmers Market Association Director Robbi Mixon at 907-235-4068, Ext. 23, or info@alaskafarmersamarkets.org.