By Becky Clawson and Jay Eury
Farmers Markets create tremendous value in communities. They provide access to fresh, healthy foods; economic opportunity for local businesses; social spaces for residents; education and entertainment for families; and much more. Even so, many markets operate on shoestring budgets (or none at all), with few or no paid staff, relying on the talents and labor of volunteers to keep their operation running from week to week. Given this limitation, progress on long-term goals and strategic growth can feel impossible. Staff and volunteer burnout can be a significant challenge as well.
Within this context, it is very natural to get bogged down in a sense of scarcity, to focus on needs or deficiencies. While warranted in many cases – there is a general lack of resources for farmers market operation – this scarcity or deficiency-based approach makes a challenging situation even harder. A negative focus on needs leads to narrowed thinking about solutions. Asset mapping is an alternative approach to get out of this scarcity mindset.
What is asset mapping?
Asset mapping is an exercise that involves brainstorming and documenting the many gifts, resources, and opportunities (assets) that already exist in a community and then identifying which of those assets might be useful in addressing a known issue. “Assets" can include individual community members, businesses, formal and informal organizations, government programs and offices, institutions, spaces and natural resources, stories, infrastructure, and more. Identifying community assets before attempting to solve a problem encourages planners to think big, outside the confines of previous efforts, personal bias, or known barriers. Mapping a community in this way asks the question, "What are all the resources we have to work with, together?” This approach lends itself to creative solutions and partnerships that previously might not have been apparent. These partnership opportunities have the most significant, sustainable impact when participants benefit equitably.
How can asset mapping benefit a farmer’s market?
Farmers market organizations can use this approach. Asset mapping can generate ideas and connections to address structural issues including a lack of capacity of the market organization. Asset mapping can be used to find potential board members, future staff, and volunteers. It can result in new vendors for a market, better strategies for customer outreach, co-marketing opportunities with other local businesses, or institutional support from local healthcare systems or universities. Asset mapping can be used to build stronger markets that reflect the needs and assets, as well as desires and identity, of an entire community.
How to lead an asset mapping session for a farmers market
The people
Asset mapping activity leaders begin by gathering participants. These will likely include the market or organization’s key decision makers. Other participants to invite include community stakeholders like municipal leaders and well-connected and engaged citizens. A diverse group of participants will generate an abundance of fresh ideas and a wide range of connections.
The materials
This activity may be conducted in-person, if participants feel comfortable doing so (and in accordance with current health and safety guidelines). For a tactile experience, participants can write on sticky notes and rearrange them on walls or posters, as necessary. A large whiteboard can also be used, with photos taken for later reference. Or it can be performed digitally. Virtual whiteboard tools like Mural, Miro, or Jamboard make online collaboration fun and visually appealing. Or the group can keep it simple, with a designated notetaker entering the group’s feedback into a shared document or spreadsheet.
The process
Participants will first brainstorm all the assets within or connected to their community (i.e. the township, county, or region). There are no wrong answers here. Any active community asset should go on the list, regardless of whether a known partnership or opportunity exists. This part of the exercise is intended to grow a large pool of potential partners and resources for ongoing needs and projects within the market or the community at large. Public resources like Chamber of Commerce lists, tourism guides, community bulletin boards, and phone book yellow pages can be helpful for identifying assets. Again, the more diverse and well connected the asset mapping participants are, the more good ideas the group will be able to generate.
In the example image below, some potential asset categories like “individual" or “organizational" assets are listed. Some specific examples within those asset categories are also displayed. These can be altered to be more or less specific, as it makes sense to the planning group. The assets identified within each of the columns should be specific to the community.
(source: Bonner Curriculum)
The next step in the activity is to select a need, problem, or opportunity that the market wants to address; then refer back to the list of community assets just brainstormed and identify those assets that may serve as beneficial (ideally mutually beneficial) partners or resources to help address the need. Some conversation prompts for identifying needs include:
- How can we grow our market?
- What needs do we have that we have not found the capacity to address yet?
- What are our top priorities over the next couple years?
- How can we increase vendor profitability by increasing foot traffic, sales, or public awareness?
- Who do we want our market to better serve?
The example image below demonstrates one visual layout for this step of the activity. The cloud in the middle of the image illustrates the identified need, and the surrounding boxes are filled in with specific community assets with the potential to address the need. The group may choose to identify one asset from each category or many.
The group could take this example one step further. Draw an arrow from each of the assets to the need and, next to that arrow, specify how the asset will facilitate the solution of the need. Then draw a return arrow from the need back to the asset and note specific ideas about how the asset (partner) will benefit from the partnership in return.
To illustrate this using the example image above, with “Market accessibility and awareness for low-income residents” in the cloud in the middle… An asset listed in the institutional box is “senior centers”. The planning group speculated that senior centers might find a nearby farmers market to be an ideal space for activity programming, which would boost their residents’ health and wellbeing. The senior centers could encourage their residents to enjoy the market and perhaps provide transportation if needed. The market would improve access and awareness for low-income residents, and the senior center would have a new site and partner for programming.
Source : psu.edu