Interested in having locally grown produce for your plate, your family , and your community? Lincoln High School is set to host a farmers market starting Saturday, May 5. It will operate every subsequent Saturday from 10 am - 2 pm. Community members and the Shasta Hanchett Park Neighborhood Association have worked tirelessly to identify an experienced operator willing to run the farmers market and to ensure it makes sense for the school and our community.
Did you know that three out of four farmers who sell at farmers markets use practices that meet or exceed organic standards. That was the finding of a 2015 survey by the non-profit Farmers Market Coalition and American Farmland Trust. More details from the survey: Nearly half of farmers used integrated pest management, information on the life cycle of pests, and their interaction with the environment to manage and prevent crop damage. And the overwhelming majority (81 percent) incorporated cover crops, reduced tillage, on-site composting, and other soil health practices into their operations.
Additionally, participants in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) redeemed more than $20 million in benefits buying food from local farmers in FY 2016. That’s up a staggering 638 percent from 2008. The data from the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, which tracks purchases made with SNAP benefits (formerly known as food stamps), shows that nearly 7,000 farmers markets and individual farmers across the country are authorized to accept these benefits. And the USDA’s Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) grant program, established by Congress in the 2014 farm bill, is helping to increase purchases of fruits and vegetables among SNAP participants by subsidizing these purchases at farmers markets and other outlets.
The market will be Saturday’s from 10-2 and host a variety of vendors.
Lincoln High School (parking lot)