Article

People's Food Co-op's Farmers Market

People’s Food Co-op of Kalamazoo is a small food cooperative in southwest Michigan with an Ends statement that calls it to “create access to food that’s healthy for people, land, and the economy.” In recent years, People’s has worked to develop our capacity to understand and dismantle the barriers which keep some in our community from having access to healthy food.

When the opportunity to manage our city’s farmers market presented itself, we saw it as a powerful chance to expand food access. Our focus on bringing food assistance currencies into several Kalamazoo farmers markets is one way that People’s has been able to increase the amount of healthy food in the kitchens and bellies of everyone in Kalamazoo, not just those who can afford the often higher prices of healthier food options. The Kalamazoo Farmers Market made a list of the top 25 markets in the country in 2014.

This short illustrated article is part of an ongoing series published in People's Food Co-op's quarterly Coop Scoop newsletter. More at www.peoplesfoodco-op.org/newsletters.

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Republished with permission from People's Food Co-op (Kalamazoo).