The Power of Produce (POP) Club is up and running at the Tuesday evening Norman Farm Market at The Well, 210 S. James Garner Ave. The Tuesday market is open weekly from 4-7 p.m.
This free, national program, available through the Farmers Market Coalition, teaches children aged 5-12 about healthy eating using hands-on activities.
“When children attend POP club, they receive $5 in farmers market money that they can use to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, bread, jam, honey, food bearing plants and seeds and meat at the Norman Farm Market,” Market Manager Tara McClain said. “This empowers them to make their own choices while shopping.”
POP started in 2011 in Oregon City, Oregon at a local farmers market, according to the Farmers Market Coalition. Created by market manager, Jackie Hammond-Williams, the program was designed to improve community health using Clackamas County grant money to pay for materials and incentives.
“The program’s mission was three-fold: (1) Empower children to make healthy food choices (2) Strengthen and sustain healthy communities through supporting farmers and cultivating future farmers market supporters (3) Expand farmers markets from a retail location into a place where children can try new foods and learn about healthy eating,” reports farmersmarketcoalition.org.
The program worked.
The children learned about healthy food choices and also talked with farmers then spent market money supporting the local food supply chain.
“Through surveys and interviews, evaluations of Oregon City’s program found that 72% of POP participants had tried a new fruit or vegetable through the POP program,” says farmersmarketcoalition.org. “Of participant parents, 70% reported that their child requests produce that he or she tried through the POP Club, confirming the influence of children on their parents’ purchasing choices.”
The program has continued to grow and branch out across the nation.
“POP Club is a program we’ve been wanting to bring to the farmers market for a long time,” said Kate Cooper, Director of Community Engagement at The Well. “We are so excited this is happening. This is a great educational program that teaches children about the food supply chain.”
In some cases, that hands-on education will support what parents have been trying to teach children at home.
In other cases, children become the teachers who bring better health choices to the family.
“In addition to improving community health, programs like POP help support our local farmers and strengthen our regional food supply chain,” McClain said. “Farming is challenging, but programs like this supply awards beyond monetary gain. Interacting with kids and seeing them get excited about spending market money is a reward all its own. Our farmers are very family oriented, so this is going to really hit them at a deep level.”
Elle Shroyer, who runs the children’s market, will be running this program, also.
Increased sales, increased health and a deeper connection to the food supply are among the benefits for participating families.
Increased sales and the satisfaction of helping the community build happier healthier lives are benefits to the farmers.
What’s not to love?
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