City Green, Inc. Awarded $493,998 USDA Farmers Market Promotion Program Grant to Improve Marketing for NJ Farms and Markets and Develop Garden State Farm Market Agritourism Trail

CLIFTON, NJ — City Green, Inc.

City Green, Inc. has been awarded a Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). This 3-year project will strengthen New Jersey (NJ)’s regional food economy by improving the marketing tools and skills of NJ farmers and by building a statewide agritourism promotional platform that connects farms, local food retailers, consumers, and agritourists.

City Green will expand mid-tier value chains by training farmers in innovative mobile marketing techniques and by adopting and adapting the Virginia Farmers Market Association’s Farmers Market University platform to meet the needs of New Jersey farmers market managers and producers. The project will also develop, launch, and promote a Garden State Farm Market Agritourism Trail website and app to boost agritourism and reinforce New Jersey’s local food culture. Together, these efforts will enhance farmers’ visibility, strengthen local markets, and support the growth of New Jersey’s agritourism sector.

“City Green’s is grateful to the USDA for selecting this project for the Farmers Market Promotion Program grant,” says Jennifer Papa, City Green’s Founder and Executive Director. “Our vision is to strengthen a local food culture in New Jersey that places farmers markets as core cultural assets in the Garden State. Through this award, we plan to develop new and innovative marketing techniques for farmers markets, provide much-needed technical assistance to market operators, increase the customer base for markets and farmers by amplifying agritourism statewide. City Green is excited to launch this initiative  in support of a resilient local food system in New Jersey with strong direct-to-consumer markets and deeply invested consumers.”

Since 2004, City Green has been enhancing NJ’s local food system by connecting farms and markets statewide with nutrition assistance programs like SNAP, WIC, FMNP alongside administering its statewide Good Food Bucks (GFB) SNAP Nutrition Incentive Program, which has been in operation since 2011.  City Green’s Good Food Bucks program relies on a network of 115 farm-direct locations across nearly every New Jersey county to advance the mission of supporting New Jersey’s farmers’ markets and local food retailers in increasing food access and fresh food affordability of Jersey-fresh produce for low-income families, while creating increased revenue and greater economic opportunities for farmers. City Green’s FMPP project will build on this existing network of engaged farms and markets to enhance the capacity, visibility, and operations of NJ farm-to-consumer retail. A centralized training resource and promotional agritourism tool can help to build the resiliency of New Jersey’s local food system. This collaborative effort will strengthen direct-to-consumer markets and help increase usage of farmers’ markets as food access points, thereby enhancing a culture of local food in the Garden State.

About USDA AMS FMPP

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) awarded over $32.2 million to 99 grant projects that strengthen market opportunities for local and regional food businesses while expanding consumer access to healthy, locally grown food. The funding is distributed through the Local Agriculture Market Program’s (LAMP)  Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP), Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP), and Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP) grant programs. LAMP and its accompanying grant programs are funded through the 2018 Farm Bill. More information is available on the AMS LAMP webpage. AMS supports U.S. food and agricultural product market opportunities, while increasing consumer access to fresh, healthy foods through applied research, technical services, and congressionally funded grants. These projects will support the development, coordination and expansion of direct producer-to-consumer marketing, local and regional food markets and enterprises and value-added agricultural products.

About City Green

City Green is a 501(c)3 nonprofit farming and gardening organization, based in Clifton, New Jersey. Our programs offer practical, technical and financial resources to foster equitable access to local food and green spaces, in support of sustainable, healthy communities.

City Green envisions livable, green urban communities that are socially, economically and environmentally rejuvenated.  Because of the community garden and greening projects carried out by the community with the help of City Green, residents have access to bountiful fresh produce; youth have volunteer, work and leadership opportunities in the community; and neighborhoods have welcoming, safe, natural respites that are a focal point for sociability, community involvement, cultural expression and individual empowerment.