Quickfacts:
- The project created a model market that streamlined Alamance County’s food system by providing a single portal for farms, restaurants, and consumers, increasing access to local food. It successfully established three new farmers’ markets, with two serving low-income neighborhoods, and saw increased metrics in consumer engagement, farm participation, and knowledge gained on local food production and preservation during the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
- Over six years, market attendance grew from 100 visitors at North Park Market to over 8,000 visitors across three Alamance County markets. Healthy Alamance is working towards a food box initiative or free/reduced market model to further improve accessibility for both vendors and customers.
- During this project a global pandemic hit, causing N. Park Market to eventually close. The plans had to shift to a drive-thru model during the heat of the pandemic.
2018-2024
The North Park Farmers’ Market was created as a public health initiative to increase access to fresh food in Alamance County’s largest food desert, with operational support from Healthy Alamance, a nonprofit. To expand the market’s capacity, PCC partnered with Healthy Alamance to hire a full-time Market Coordinator who managed the North Park and Elon Community Farmers’ Markets and helped the City of Mebane establish a new market. Before 2018, all markets in Alamance County were volunteer-run. The project aimed to create a network of farmers’ markets across the county, unified under a single coordinator, to build a resilient regional market system, branded as the Authentically Alamance Farmers Market Network (AAFMN) during the USDA grant period.
Location:
Alamance County: City of Burlington, City of Mebane & Town of Elon
Partners:
- Healthy Alamance
- City of Burlington
- City of Mebane
- Town of Elon
Funding: $250,000
- Funded through USDA Farmers’ Market Promotion Program
Piedmont Conservation Council 