MarketMaker Year in Review - 2020 - 8

campaign, the platform saw over 850 profile updates
and listings from March 1st through June 30th - a
732% increase from the previous year.
A DECADE OF
OUTSTANDING EFFORTS
WITH THE 1 0TH ANNUAL
INNOVATION AWARDS
Innovation Award Text
Awarded for the 10th consecutive year at the annual
meeting, the Innovation Award recognizes the
outstanding efforts by state and local MarketMaker
programs around the United States that contribute
to the development of local and regional food
systems, connecting to new market opportunities.
Farm Credit is the presenting sponsor of the cash
awards, which can be used by the winners to help
advance their MarketMaker-related programs.
Recipients
The recipient of the 2020 Farm Credit MarketMaker
Innovation award was " Engaging Partners to Expand
Impact and Grow Farms and Food Business in
Illinois " , a statewide joint effort of Illinois Farm Bureau,
Illinois Specialty Growers, and Illinois Farmers Market
Association that market, promote and sustain the
Illinois MarketMaker program. The program, started in
2018, has grown from three statewide partners to six
in 2020 (with eight county-level partners and seven
other smaller nonprofit partners).
In early 2020, Illinois became the first statelevel
program to pilot an e-commerce function
through the MarketMaker platform. With the onset
of COVID-19, the group began pushing a large
campaign, with dedicated social media and email
marketing initiatives focusing on registering and/
or updating local MarketMaker profiles. During this
Runners-Up
The first runner-up title was awarded to National
Buy Fresh Buy Local (BFBL), a network of local
chapters created to curate local fresh food guides,
host events and more. In the spring of 2020, BFBL
Illinois, National BFBL and MarketMaker collaborated
to better connect consumers with opportunities to
purchase locally-grown food through the creation of
a website plugin.
Working with MarketMaker, BFBL's website plugin
allowed any BFBL chapter website to quickly and
easily showcase a searchable map and interactive
directory of their members' MarketMaker profile data
- all in one streamlined interface targeted to directmarket
consumers.
Farm Credit & MarketMaker
Gary Matteson, senior vice president of Beginning
Farmer and Programs and Outreach with the
Farm Credit Council, was in virtual attendance to
announce and present the Innovation Awards to
recipients. " Today's MarketMaker meeting may be
virtual, but the work done by this year's winners was
real, helping farmers increase their online visibility
and sales, " Matteson said. " Farm Credit is proud to
have sponsored this award for ten years and pleased
at the innovative solutions it has encouraged. "
" MarketMaker has richly benefitted from the
collaborative spirit of partner organizations. This
year's award winners demonstrate what working
together toward a shared vision and thinking
creatively can achieve, " Darlene Knipe, MarketMaker
director and co-founder, said. " We want to thank
Farm Credit for recognizing their efforts and this
year's winners for outstanding accomplishments. "
Top left: Raghella Scavuzzo (Illinois Farm
Bureau), Janie Maxwell (Illinois Farmers Market
Association), Sharon Dodd (Illinois Farm Bureau),
Jennifer Cheek (National Buy Fresh Buy Local),
Gary Matteson (Farm Credit Council).
8 MARKETMAKER | 2020 IN REVIEW
MarketMaker Year in Review - 2020

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