MISSION:
To help Litchfield Hills/Northwest Connecticut communities help themselves in building sustainable and equitable food systems, as catalysts for k-12 and adult education programs that integrate health goals with sustainable agriculture goals. Our aim is to help collaborative teaching and learning communities work together as advocates for change.
Our focus is at the intersection of the goals for reducing obesity and increasing wellness and the goals for increased sourcing of local, sustainable foods, while supporting economic development, community building and sustainable agriculture initiatives.
Guiding Principles
LHF-FM will rely on the following market-guiding principles*
to help ensure that the market fulfills this mission:
1) Connecticut Grown:
Products sold at the market should be traceable to a Connecticut source, i.e., grown,
harvested, raised or made in Connecticut.
2) Participation/Eligibility - Producers Only:
- Sell What You Grow, Harvest, Raise or Make
- LHF-FM is a "Producer Only" market at which farmers sell what they grow, harvest and raise, and vendors of processed products sell what they themselves have produced primarily from CT-grown products.
3) Market Operation:
- Vendors should be willing to engage and educate customers about their local farm product.
- Vendors should have knowledge of and comply with federal, state and local regulations.
4) Liability Insurance:
The CT Dept of Agriculture requires all vendors at a certified market to carry a minimum of $300,000 of liability insurance, with the specific farmers' market identified on the certificate of insurance.
5) Non-discrimination:
LHF-FM does not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, gender, race or religion.
6) Women Infant and Children (WIC)/Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) Certification:
Certification is required for those who are eligible. A Connecticut Department of Agriculture representative will assist vendors with the WIC and FMNP certification process.
7) Use of CT-grown logo:
To help market and create demand for Connecticut agricultural products, vendors should display the CT-Grown logo.
8) Crop Plans:
Crop plans must be filed with the LHF-FM Market Master and the CT Department of Agriculture.
9) Integrity of Market:
It is recognized that although members sell as individuals, the market is a cohesive unit and its success depends on the cooperation and joint effort of all the vendors as a whole.
Product quality and customer service are “performance standards”
to provide a positive experience for all participants.
*If you feel you have a unique situation that falls outside the above principles, please contact us.
QUALITY AND VALUE - Guiding Principles of Change:
- Study the local market to gauge the rate, type and extent of change possible
- Strive for gradual change that incorporates new elements and assesses the impact of these elements in order to make appropriate corrections
- Assume that making corrections is an inevitable part of the change process
- Establish an ongoing tracking and monitoring process
- Use the monitoring process to establish accountability for results
- Be transparent and consistent in approach
- Be innovative and creative
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