Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food: USDA and Farmers Markets
Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food, a USDA initiative launched in August 2009, was designed to help people understand where their food comes from and encourage and create new economic opportunities. The USDA and the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food have held training meetings and webinars, providing valuable information pertinent to small farm economics.
At the time the venture was announced, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack commented,
An American people that is more engaged with their food supply will create new income opportunities for American agriculture. Reconnecting consumers and institutions with local producers will stimulate economies in rural communities, improve access to healthy, nutritious food for our families, and decrease the amount of resources to transport our food."
The USDA is working to encourage growth of small and mid-sized farms and ranches through a guaranteed loan and grant program. They also provide access for agricultural training and legal, financial and marketing educational resources. Some of these resources are available on their website, as is a list of locations of farmers markets across the United States.
The USDA recently released a video to further promote local and regional food sources. According to USDA statistics, the number of farmers markets tripled between 1994 and 2010, from 1,755 to 6,132. Tom Vilsack was encouraged with this growth and said,
"Seeing such continued strong growth in the number of U.S. farmers markets indicates that regional food systems can provide great economic, social and health benefits to communities across the country. Farmers markets provide fresh, local products to communities across the country while offering economic opportunities for many producers of all sizes."
Remember that just because food is grown locally and sold at farmers markets, does not mean it is safe to eat. You still need to be vigilant and follow good food safety practices in preparing, serving and storing food. Check out the free farmers markets food safety pdf.
PritzkerOlsen, P.A. is a leading law firm practicing nationally in foodborne illness litigation. We have collected millions for our clients. Our firm is actively involved in efforts to reduce and eliminate human pathogens from our food supply.
