Efforts to establish an association of Maine farmers' markets had been a project of the Maine Dept. of Ag for several years. It finally bore fruit when the Maine Federation of Farmers' Markets (MFFM) was organized in the spring of 1991 by farmers' market members to help meet the mutual needs of Maine's farmers' markets and market members and to promote the establishment and popular use of farmers' markets in Maine.

As an organization, the MFFM ceased to exist from 1997-2010, except for this website.

From 1992 to 1996, the Federation sponsored a booth and a presentation about farmers' markets at the Agricultural Trades Show in Augusta each January. Published from 1991 to 1998, our quarterly newsletter Selling Outdoors spotlighted various markets and issues and in general serves as a information sharing resource for Federation members. A compilation of the best articles was published in the Spring of 2000. To buy a copy of The Best of Selling Outdoors, contact Tom Roberts, 27 Organic Farm Rd., Pittsfield ME 04967, phone 487-5056, tom@snakeroot.net

Kate Slattery, Dick Keough and Tom Roberts at the 1993 Ag Trades Show (click to enlarge)

Other Federation projects included a co-operative hanging scales order, a cooperative canning jar order and a "Vendor Exchange Program" where small or new marketers worked as helpers at the stands of larger farmers as "apprentices" to learn the ropes. We also helped the ME Dept. of Ag to update several titles in their series of Vegetable Brochures.