Online game aims to help farmers market vendors learn food safety
Feb. 26, 2026
By Mary Hightower
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Fast Facts
- No app required to play “Market, Set, Go”
- Play the game online
- Game funded by a $550K NIFA grant
(777 words)
Download game-related images, file photo of Gibson
(Editor's note: This version has been updated to add an exclamation mark in the game's name in grafs 2 and 3 and the cutline.)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. and LAS CRUCES, N.M. — A new online game allows players to build a farmers market empire as they learn real-world food safety topics.
The game, “Market, Set, Go!,” was released Feb. 4, just in time for the opening of seasonal farmers markets.
Inspired by the highly successful "SimCity" games that debuted in 1989, "Market, Set, Go!" players become farmers market vendors and can build 10 stands with a variety of products and activities, including leafy greens, dog biscuits or face painting. To grow, vendors must solve food safety challenges. Success provides vendors more resources to expand their stand.
The game is one result of a $550,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Kristen Gibson, professor, Donald “Buddy” Wray Endowed Chair in Food Safety, and director of the Center for Food Safety for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, was the lead investigator on the multi-university project.
The USDA-NIFA-funded project was intended to provide food safety training for small and medium-sized farmers market vendors. Researchers started by collecting data from a sample of local food producers to identify training gaps before designing the game, which was launched by New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension Service.
The programming and graphics were created by NMSU’s Innovation Media Research and Extension and Learning Games Lab in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, with food safety content from partners on the grant, including the Division of Agriculture and the University of Houston.
Research indicates that games are an effective way to deliver information, Gibson said. The path toward a game began as the team “specified key concepts that we thought we needed to focus on and make those concepts stick a little better through the game-playing experience,” she said.
Once the content was established, Gibson said they handed that to the Learning Games Lab “and then they could create it to be super fun.”
The collaborative process in the lab is research‑based and always relies on the guidance of content experts, with checkpoints built in throughout development to ensure content accuracy.
One of the important aspects of the game is that it doesn’t just use a single approach to teach concepts such as cross-contamination and safe temperatures for food.
“We do it multiple different ways,” she said. “Players aren’t just seeing it, hearing it or applying it in just one way.”
No download required
The game was created as a mobile responsive website so no app download is required to play it anywhere internet is available.
“You know, there’s always an opportunity to play,” Gibson said.
Matheus Cezarotto, Learning Games Lab coordinator and assistant professor and extension educational technology specialist, said the learning extends beyond the game.
In addition to the game’s food safety core concepts, “the website also has a list of curated resources that we organize that can help vendors — for example — put together a handwashing station and learn how they can build that.”
While hand-washing stations and powered, refrigerated coolers instead of ice chests are desirable, “we know that not all farmers markets have that accessible for vendors,” he said. “So, we put together some extra resources that can help people go to the next level.”
Small bites
Cezarotto said that there’s a need for training on food safety, not only for those producing food, but also consumers.
“As an instructional designer and extension specialist over the past four years, I have collaborated with many food safety researchers to address food‑safety‑related training needs,” he said.
The research Gibson brought to the group included findings that among farmers market vendors, there are some misunderstandings about food safety practices.
“Another thing that we discussed and helped us to shape the game was that vendors really value the consumer experience to their products,” Cezarotto said.
“We could really play with that,” he said.
“The game is very casual, so there's no specific levels, or need to play a specific amount to learn the content,” Cezarotto said. “It’s very casual. You can open your phone, and if you’re in your stall selling some products, you can play the game.
“The content is in small bites,” he said.
Cezarotto said the game gives players a chance to see and understand the consequences of poor food handling practices in safety.
“Nobody’s going to get sick in real life, so they can really practice some things, and that’s very powerful in games,” he said.
The next steps will be to gauge who’s playing and what they’ve learned, Cezarotto said.
“It was a very fun project. I hope people have a chance to play the game and share,” he said.
To find the game, visit MarketSetGoGame.org.
This work is supported by the Collaborative Education and Training Project award no. 2022-70020-37593, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
To learn more about ag and food research in Arkansas, visit aaes.uada.edu. Follow the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station on LinkedIn and sign up for our monthly newsletter, the Arkansas Agricultural Research Report. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land-grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.
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Media contact:
Nick Kordsmeier
nkordsme@uada.edu