The Sustainable CAPE Farmers’ Market Coalition
The destiny of nations depends on how they nourish themselves.
Jean anthelme Brillat Savarin
Since 2014, the Sustainable CAPE Farmers’ Market Coalition has assisted famers’ markets in offering food access programs that increase the affordability of local foods for SNAP card holders, those with WIC or Senior Discount Coupons, veterans, and local schoolchildren.
We help interested markets more easily implement, operate, and fund these programs, increasing healthful food access while building a stronger and more resilient local food system and economy. When we work together to offer local food access programs at farmers’ markets, food becomes more affordable, funds are driven to our local vendors, and we benefit our region’s longterm physical, economic, and environmental health.
How the Sustainable CAPE Farmers’ Market Coalition Works
The Coalition shares best practices and expertise, as well as offers technical assistance, tracking forms, manuals, and handouts to make operating food access programs easier for market managers, vendors, and customers alike. The Coalition jointly promotes markets offering these evidence-based food access programs and convenes regularly to grow a community of knowledgable practitioners.
Membership benefits of the Sustainable CAPE Farmers’ Market Coalition include:
- Technical assistance in implementing food access programs – increasing affordability for all
- Funding as available for our Bonus Match Program, Project Gratitude, and Fresh Kids’ Awards – decreasing barriers to entry
- Coordinated print marketing and promotion – increasing public awareness of participating markets’ food access programs
- Sharing printed materials – increasing comprehension of programs for vendors and clients
- Market education for the public via press, social media, etc. – driving business and expanding awareness
- A community of supportive market managers focused on food access best practices and regional collaboration – offering camaraderie, support, and collaboration
The coalition has no membership fee. If you are interested in joining the Coalition, please contact us.
Please Note: The most up-to-date poster and print materials have been designed for markets offering a SNAP, WIC & Senior Bonus Match that reached out to us prior to our annual late winter print deadline. We’d love to include more markets as we grow!
The Sustainable CAPE Farmers’ Market Coalition Participants
Cape Cod Farmers’ Markets with Bonus Match Programs & More
History
The Sustainable CAPE (SC) Farmers’ Market Coalition was born of the desire for the Truro Educational Farmers’ Market & Orleans Farmers’ Market (OFM) to work together to grow food access programs, making local food affordable for all. The sharing of knowledge and joint promotion makes each individual market more effective in reaching a broader socio-economic group of Cape Codders.
In 2014, SC wrote and won an MDAR grant to begin work with the OFM. In 2015, SC was awarded a USDA grant to expand the Farmers’ Market Coalition across the Cape to nurture and expand farmers’ market food justice programs.
In 2016, SC’s Director, Francie Randolph, served on the Massachusetts State Steering Committee to offer strategic assistance in implementing the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) across Massachusetts. In 2019, she was asked to join the Food is Medicine MA Policy Council at Harvard Law School, and was subsequently asked to Co-Chair the FIMMA CBO Steering Committee. In 2025, she served on Govenor Healy’s Anti-Hunger Task Force, focusing on a working group entitled, “Building Rural Resiliency and Sustaining Local Food Systems”.
Throughout this work, SC’s food access leadership remains focused on developing a systemic solution to decrease hunger, to drive private and government funs to local harvesters, and to benefit the physical, environmental, and economic health of this beautiful community – and world – we call home.
Enormous gratitude to our Coalition funders and partners, including:
