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In 2015, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) partnered with the University of Wisconsin–Madison to engage Wisconsin Main Street organizations and farmers markets in the Metrics and Indicators for Impact – Farmers Markets (MIFI-FM) toolkit. Formulating performance measures and subsequently, collecting and interpreting data is commonplace in business and government, but it can pose challenges for farmers market managers. Managers know that the activities are important but they lack the resources and training to integrate them into their routine practices. In business and government, reliable performance data drives creative initiatives and decisions, and research indicates that market managers share this need for information.
MIFI-FM provides farmers markets with the means to develop customized knowledge that enhances their internal decision-making and external communication activities. Markets select metrics that will help them understand and evaluate their performance within the context of their goals, their community, and in this case, the Main Street initiatives. For example, they are collecting data on visitor attendance and vendor sales, which provides important insight the economic contributions of markets, and they are collecting data on visitor spending at the market and neighboring businesses and visitor transportation to the market, which supports the program’s mission of revitalizing downtowns around the State of Wisconsin.
Five Wisconsin Main Street communities initially joined MIFI-FM and within a year, we expanded to 12: Beloit, De Pere, Fond du Lac, Green Bay, Kenosha, La Crosse, Lake Mills, Monroe, Port Washington, Watertown, Whitewater, and Viroqua. Errin Welty, the Downtown Development Account Manager for WEDC, and Professor Alfonso Morales, Director of the Kaufman Lab for Food Systems and Marketplaces in the Urban and Regional Planning Department at the University, are leading the partnership.
MIFI-FM Program
MIFI-FM works to empower farmers markets through proven data collection strategies, actionable interpretation information, and customizable summary reports. The toolkit is simple to execute, scientifically reliable, and sensitive to market context so participants can integrate the resources into their daily operations. More specifically, it has two components:
1) Data Collection Package – The online portal guides managers through processes of selecting metrics, learning data collection practices, and uploading data. Markets can select the metrics that are most important for them. The suite of metrics is consistent with USDA reporting requirements and compatible with specific, market-oriented goals. The portal automatically generates a set of concise instructions that explain how the daily, monthly, and annual data collection activities coincide with their regular operations.
2) Data Analysis and Summary Report Prototype - The portal automates data analysis and includes an interactive interpretation and reporting feature. Here, markets apply the results of their data collection efforts. The interpretation component teaches them how the data can increase their understanding of the market itself and its role within the community. While, the reporting feature enables them to produce multiple infographic reports so they can customize their communications for different purposes and audiences, such as marketing or social media campaigns, organization or stakeholder reports, and funding applications.
Farmers markets can have a multitude of impacts on their community and the toolkit recognizes that managers will differ in what they want to learn about their market’s impacts. With the MIFI-FM toolkit, managers have 25+ metrics that they can choose from to understand their social, economic, and ecological impacts. The process of reviewing and selecting metrics can provoke local managers and state organizations to think about their potential impacts. This information is important to markets because it enhances their ability to provide credible and detailed facts about their activities and rich descriptions about their role within their community over time. WEDC and Main Street communities can use the results to enhance the connection between program initiatives and market activities.
Professor Morales developed the MIFI-FM toolkit through an award from the USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative and with assistance from the Farmers Market Coalition. It represents years of knowledge that the research team gleaned from their professional experiences, existing studies on farmers markets and most importantly, conversations with market managers.
Benefits of Farmers Markets
Farmers markets activate places and foster unique interactions. Oftentimes, they locate in underutilized spaces and they generate a dynamic flow of people into the area and within the place. Residents and tourists are attracted to markets for the ability to source food and goods from local farmers and businesses, but they also fulfill important noneconomic purposes. They are an engaging social setting where people meet over common interests and self-expressions.
Furthermore, the produce-centric environment integrates various food system activities. They connect producers and consumers through direct-sales and they provide opportunities to learn about healthy eating and lifestyles. The growing number of farmers markets reflects an increasing interest in local food systems and their ability to stimulate place-making, social interaction, and community development.
Main Street markets support revitalization initiatives because they attract residents and businesses to the historic downtown. Farmers markets, though short and weekly, generate a remarkable influx of fresh energy that is difficult to replicate so they are a wonderful component of the Main Street program.
Lauren Suerth is a Ph.D. candidate in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Suerth is the lead research assistant for Metrics and Indicators for Impact so she provides extensive support on developing the toolkit and training market managers for data collection.
The author acknowledges Johanna Doren, Dantrell Cotton, Carley Herron, and Alfonso Morales.
In this video, learn more about the Williams’ family story, how the business is helping to revive downtown Helena, and the impact they’re having on a national level.
In honor of National Disaster Preparedness Month, we are providing some practical steps that Main Streets can take to prepare for the next, inevitable disaster.
Main Street America is leading a coalition urging that the EPA make available the GGRF funds for adaptive reuse and location-efficient projects because of the substantial greenhouse gas emissions reduction offered by such developments.
On May 9, the National Trust for Historic Preservation released its list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2023 which included a cultural district located within a designated Main Street America community.
From 19th-century mill girls to Maine's mill redevelopments and the regional manufacturers of tomorrow, learn about the amazing history and promise of the New England mill.
This article was published on January 10, 2023, by Next City, a nonprofit news organization focused on socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable urban practices.
Learn how Rethos, the Coordinating partner for Minnesota Main Streets, has partnered with Reuse Minnesota and the Minnesota GreenCorps Program to encourage community-led preservation.
Main Street organizations and other public-private partnerships can provide the focal point needed to fulfill the large number of roles required to reuse or redevelop a house of worship in a way that benefits the community.
How do those amazing Main Street rehabilitation projects happen? And what policies and public support make them happen? In the Behind the Ribbon Cutting series, we look at a project or businesses from concept to opening day to break down the partnerships and funding brought to bear and recognize how we can advocate for policies and resources for revitalization across the country.
Main Street America welcomed the National Association For Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB) to our Twitter channel to share stories of resiliency in Latino communities.
We sat down with Lindsey Wallace, Director of Strategic Projects and Design Services and manager of the the National Park Service Main Street Community Disaster Preparedness and Resilience Program, to learn more about her perspective on disaster preparedness on Main Street.
To support Georgia Main Streets throughout the recovery process and position them for long-term sustainability, Main Street America launched the Georgia Main Street Innovation Grant Program, made possible through generous support from The Williams Family Foundation of Georgia.
The Association for Preservation Technology International (APT) Main Street Task Force is working to increase education, compile examples and data, and provide recommended changes at the national level where necessary.
In 2016, the North Carolina Main Street & Rural Planning Center partnered with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s Department of Interior Architecture (UNCG) to provide design assistance to Main Street communities.
With 413 National Park areas¹ and over 1,000 Main Street America programs, it’s no surprise that many of the communities following the Four Point Approach serve as gateways to our national parks.
We measure the effectiveness of our last marketing campaign, weigh whether the investment in new street lights outweigh the political capital spent, and debate if the thousands of volunteer hours are worth the impacts created by a one-day event.
Main Street Iowa, a program of the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s Iowa Downtown Resource Center, created a one-of-a-kind three-year program to provide help for performance venues located in Main Street districts.