Farmers Market Program

A local farmers market is an exceptional example of a summer learning environment that facilitates many examples of functional and everyday literacy learning. It provides a rich and immersive context for children to learn and practice problem solving skills, social skills, and critical and computational thinking, all while encouraging intergenerational exchanges about the food we eat and the trades we need.

For two summers, families were immersed in the learning themes of everyday literacy every other week through a partnership between Iowa PBS and the Perry Public Library in Perry, Iowa. The program provided recipes, conversation games, puzzles and brainteasers, guessing games, vegetable samples, STEM activities and $10 for each participating child at the Perry Chamber of Commerce's weekly farmers market. 

Iowa PBS is proud to now offer this program to all other farmers markets. Resources include:

• Twelve weeks' worth of activities (available in English and Spanish) that will help make your local farmers market more educational and family-friendly.
• A detailed program guide explaining each activity and its desired learning impacts, facilitation suggestions, and adaptations is also provided.
• Recipe suggestions that may be copied and pasted into the provided recipe template.

If you use one or more of our activities, please take our survey. Your answers help us fund this project and keep it going for families and children.