April 2013
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Overview
The Farmers' Markets layer is derived from the Farmers’ Markets database maintained by the Mass. Department of Agricultural Resources. The Department provides technical assistance to individuals and groups trying to start a farmers' market, helps farmers find appropriate farmers' markets to participate in, and encourages consumers to patronize farmers' markets through various publications, etc., including the MassGrown Map, which also pulls data from the Farmers’ Markets database.
As well as basic information about the markets, this data layer includes information about participation in the food assistance programs Women, Infants and Children Cash Value Vouchers (WIC-CVV), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) (see Attributes below).
This data layer is named FARMERSMARKETS_PT.
Data Quality, Updates
The vast majority of farmers’ markets accept some combination of EBT-SNAP, WIC-CVV, or Farmers Market Coupon Program coupons, and are thus included in the Department’s database. The Department also sends out an annual survey to all known market managers.
The database is updated continually, particularly in the spring, and the MassGIS layer is updated monthly March through August as needed, and once in December. At the time of each release, there are still likely to be some markets that are created without DAR's knowledge. Additionally, markets may discontinue, and attribute values will change. It may take some time for DAR to hear about these changes. Occasionally a market’s location is unknown and cannot be included. The market will usually be included in the next update.
Mobile Markets
There are three mobile farmers markets, based in Somerville, Springfield, and Worcester. Only one location is included for each of these three markets. For more information about their other locations, contact David Webber (see bottom of page).
Attributes
The point layer's attribute table contains the following information:
Field Description MARKET_ID A unique identifier. NAME The market’s name. TYPE A value of “Farmers Markets” in this field indicates the market is open during the growing season (aka “seasonal market”), while “Winter Markets” indicates the market is open during the winter. Although a seasonal market and a winter market may be in the same basic location, they are treated as separate features. ADDR_1 and ADDR_2 The first of these fields gives the street address or intersection, while the second gives additional descriptive information that may aid in locating the market precisely. TOWN The city/town where the market is located. This field contains some village names as well as official Town names. ZIP_CODE The ZIP Code. DAY_TIME Days and hours of operation. DATES The date range(s) within which the market expects to be open. UPDATE_DAT The most recent year in which data was received from the market’s manager. YEAR_START The first year of the market’s operation. WEBSITE The market’s website. EBT Indicates whether some vendors accept EBT-SNAP (Electronic Benefit Transfer for SNAP) payments. For more information go to http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/ebt/ and http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/ebt/fm.htm. WIC_CVV Indicates whether some vendors accept WIC-CVV checks. For more information, please go to http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/consumer/basic-needs/food/wic/. COUPONS Contains an ID for markets where some vendors accept Senior FMNP and WIC FMNP coupons. Senior FMNP and WIC FMNP are separate programs, but participating farmers are certified for both under one umbrella certification. A null value indicates that coupons are not currently accepted, but may be in the near future. For more information, go to http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/fmnp/fmnpfaqs.htm.
Maintenance
As indicated above, DAR will provide updates to MassGIS at regular intervals each year.
General farmers’ market information can be found at http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/agr/markets/farmers-markets/. For more information about dates, times, locations of the farmers’ markets contact David Webber, at 617-626-1754 or by email at David.Webber@state.ma.us. For questions or more information about WIC and Senior FMNP, SNAP, or WIC CVV, contact Lisa Damon at 617-626-1731 or Lisa.Damon@state.ma.us.
Last Updated 4/10/2013
