Alternative Farm Stand Models: Centering Access
For the past four years, Tilth Alliance has run a full diet pay-what-you-can farm stand from our urban farm in South Seattle. Our mission is to source locally grown produce and added value products from micro/small, beginning, BIPOC, immigrant/refugee and female farmers while working to implement numerous ways to maximize access for all. We’ll share our experiences balancing costs with providing low barrier options to get food out into our community by accepting EBT, offering SNAP Market Match, Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program benefits, Seattle Fresh Bucks, and creating internal offerings like a sliding scale and produce discount.
Twin Sisters Market is a non-profit mobile farmers market operating in underserved areas of Whatcom County. Founded by farmers to create new market opportunities in our communities, TSM provides access to local produce, meats, bread and more in “food desert” and underserved areas where there is extremely limited access to high quality and affordable food. In 2023 we completed the build of a new custom mobile market truck, which has dramatically improved the logistics of the market and the customer experience. We’ll discuss the growth of our market and the current challenges we face. Mobile farmers markets are becoming a more common solution to providing a farmers market experience in communities that would otherwise not be able to support viable markets.
About the Speakers
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Kerri Cacciata
Tilth AllianceKerri joined Tilth Alliance in 2019 to grow our food access programming from Good Food Bags to include our pay-what-you-can Farm Stand and CSA, our online Marketplace and Community Kitchen Meals — all of which focus on thoughtful sourcing and community impact. She comes with 25 years of experience ranging from working in James Beard awarded kitchens, launching/managing a farmers market, running culinary education at The Ecology Center, living and cheffing on a 60 acre organic farm in Oregon, owning a boutique catering business, working in food rescue and generally just loving to eat! She has recently added supporting Tilth Alliance staff by focusing on organizational culture, wellness and HR responsibilities.
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Chris Henderson
Twin Sisters Market & Small Acres FarmChris Henderson is the president of the Twin Sisters Market, a non-profit mobile farmers market, and a co-owner and operator of Small Acres, an organic mixed vegetable farm in Everson, WA. Chris is one of the founding members of the Twin Sisters Market and has served on the board since 2015. He has owned and operated Small Acres since 2013. Chris holds a M.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Massachusetts and has worked as a wind energy engineer since 2004. He also organizes a weekly pick-up ultimate frisbee game at his farm and occasionally plays bass guitar with his fellow farmers.
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Lexa Dundore
Tilth AllianceLexa joined Tilth Alliance in 2020, working with Kerri Cacciata and other colleagues to launch our pay-what-you-can farm stand as well as the Community Supported Agriculture program at Rainier Beach Urban Farm & Wetlands. Lexa has since been promoted to Market Programs Manager, where she continues to oversee these programs as well as support other food access and marketplace programming at Tilth Alliance. Lexa holds an MS in Urban Planning with a concentration in food systems, and brings over a decade of community food systems experience working with farmers markets, community gardens, food access programs, small farms, local food policy, and professional kitchens. Lexa loves to grow flowers, forage for mushrooms, and spend time in nature.