AMS

One afternoon in the fall of 2003, 36 consumers and several volunteers gathered in the basement of an Oklahoma City church to sort and purchase products from twenty local producers. They generated $3,500 in sales, and the opening day of the Oklahoma Food Coop (OFC) was determined to have been a...

Here at USDA we are looking for ways that we can help build and strengthen regional and local food systems. As we talk to farmers, producers, consumers, processors, retailers, buyers and everyone else involved in regional food system development, we hear more and more about small and mid-sized...

USDA Farmers Market Directory Counts Nearly 900 Winter Farmers Markets. The tents are up. The vendors are ready, with proud displays of local produce, meats, baked goods, and other delights. Customers are out – shopping, visiting, and mingling. It’s a typical farmers market scene, robust with fresh...

In 2010, the USDA National Farmers Market Directory counted over 6,200 operational farmers markets in the country. That’s more than a 16 percent growth in farmers markets from 2009. In every state and season, shoppers flock to nearby farmers markets in search of healthy, fresh foods. Farmers markets...

This September we announced the 2010 awards for our Specialty Crop Block Grants (SCBG), a program geared toward increasing access to fresh fruits and vegetables by offering grants to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), which administers the...

Yesterday marked the official launch of the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) at USDA for the Washington, D.C. metro area. This year, USDA has set a goal of raising just under $2 million from our employees in the national capital area. We have chosen the theme Give: Every Day, Every Way, as it...

“It is our belief that by supporting our local farmers today, we can ensure that there will be farms in our community tomorrow.” - Kent Myers, former City of Hot Springs Manager Recently Hot Springs, Arkansas dedicated its new Farmers Market Pavilion at the Historic Downtown Farmers Market in Hot...

As part of CNN’s week-long series “Eatrocracy: Mind, Body and Wallet,” the USDA’s National Farmers Market Directory is featured in a unique way to encourage consumers to use farmers markets as a source of fresh, local and healthy food. The series showcases our database of more than 6,200 farmers...

As a service to farmers, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) recently presented an interactive webinar entitled “How to Sell Fruits and Vegetables to the USDA”. The webinar was hosted by Red Book Credit Services as part of its free Red Book University educational offering. Delivered by Ron...

Cross-Posted from the Let's Move! Blog Have you ever wanted fresh, local produce but didn’t know how to find the nearest farmers market? The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) makes it easy with the National Farmers Market search engine, which lists more than 6,100 markets across the nation...