Must have a desire to help farmers reach new markets and to help businesses bring healthier options to local communities. Experience & qualifications should include some knowledge of local and direct marketing methods. Must be willing to devote 50-60 hours during the month of July to help score project proposals. See below for more detail.
The Farmers Market Promotion Program is a competitive grant process designed to help expand opportunities for farmers and bring healthy foods into more communities. The grants are administered by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), and aim to help farmers throughout the country. About $10 million is available this year to support direct-marketing projects like farmers markets, community supported agriculture, roadside stands and agritourism.
As part of the grant review process, we are putting together a group of grant reviewers that not only have a general knowledge of how locally-based, direct farm-to-consumer marketing programs operate, but who can also bring a unique perspective to the review process.
We’re specifically seeking reviewers who are:
- Farmers with direct marketing experience
- Members of agricultural cooperatives, producer networks or associations
- Employees from non-profits, public benefit and economic development corporations
- Regional farmers market authorities or managers
- Federal, state, local or tribal government employees
- Individuals with experience in implementing electronic benefits transfer projects
If you are selected, you must be willing to commit 50-60 hours of their time during the month of July. During the month you’ll be asked to score about 25 grant proposals, participate in team discussions to reach a group consensus, and help determine final project scores and rankings. There is no travel required—you can participate from anywhere in the country!
Serving as a grant reviewer for the Farmers Market Promotion Program is an important way to support American farmers, agricultural organizations and businesses that provide nutritious and affordable foods to their local communities.
For additional information or to download an application, visit www.ams.usda.gov/FMPP. You can also e-mail Ricardo.Krajewski@ams.usda.gov or call (202) 720-0933.
