Communicating with your farmers market community can take a lot of forms nowadays. Do you send emailed vendor advisories? Use a private Facebook or Instagram group? Smoke signals or carrier pigeons, maybe? One way or another it's important for farmers, vendors and managers that everyone stays in the loop. In this episode Catt and Brijet and Justine are joined by market directors Gina Johnson from Madison, Illinois, and Rebecah Boynton from Nashville, Tennessee.    This episode of Tent Talk was originally recorded and broadcast in July, 2022. We thought it was worth an encor ..read more

What do farmers market people bring home from vacation? Our first stop is always is the local market, and farmers market merch is our favorite souvenir. Selling shopping bags, t-shirts, water bottles and magnets can add to your income stream and also provide a valuable marketing tool. Depending on local regulations, farmers and vendors can also use swag to remind people of where they found that amazing tomato or bread.   Join us as Catt and Brijet discuss all the tips for how to produce and sell your memorable market merchandise (say that 5 times fast), including:   • It all sta ..read more

Your Info or Welcome Booth is your market home away from home. It's often the place that shoppers and farmers and vendors find your team, where you sell fun merchandise, and where you process SNAP EBT transactions. All the things that apply to making farmers' and vendors' booths effective apply here too.    Listen in as Catt and Brijet discuss how to make your Welcome booth, well, welcoming! Discover tips on:   • Making your Info booth visible and attractive • Keeping your booth staffed or letting folks know when you'll return • Making sure your team provides a we ..read more

What project could you complete if you had funding? The deadline for submitting Farmers Market Promotion Program grants is just 51 days away. This week, we chat with Melissa Siwiec, executive director of Pennsylvania's historic Lancaster Central Market, about the process of applying for and then implementing an FMPP funded project. The process seems intimidating, and the rules and guidelines are rigorous. USDA is very clear about what's required, so priority number one is following instructions. Melissa's pro tips include:   • Deadlines and required formatting are clea ..read more

Moving a market is not as simple as scooting a tent or two down the street (not that scooting any tents is without drama.) Sometimes you lose part of your site to a construction project, sometimes a conflicting annual event happens and you have to move the entire market for a day. Finding a new site that can accommodate an established event is a puzzle. You know where the driveways and trees and giant dumpsters are at your current location. What surprises will your replacement venue hold? And how will your shoppers and vendors know where to go?    Listen in as Catt and Brij ..read more

Are you a farmer or small food business trying to navigate finding spaces to sell at farmers markets? Are you a farmers market manager buried in application emails and trying to find the perfect needles in that haystack? In this episode we're chatting about how we process applications for our markets and approaches used by some of our fellow market managers. Yes, you can have an amazing product and still not be a perfect fit for a specific market. Learn how to narrow down your targets if you're a producer. Listen in to find ways to help a diamond in the rough shine if you're a market manager ..read more

Plenty of us have a love-hate relationship with social media.There's nothing like it right now for keeping shoppers up to date on market offerings days and times, and helping your farm or bakery stand out at a busy market. It's free, sort of. It takes so much time. It's so effective, until they change the rules. It's a trick to find the sweet spot between sharing honest views of your business and your life and maintaining boundaries.  Listen in as Catt and Brijet discuss the best ways for market managers and vendors to work together to increase sales, including:   • Specifi ..read more

Farmers Julie of Stoner Family Farms has diversified her products to achieve better sales at her farmers markets. Her farm is a family operation, and the market business is her baby. Bringing her daughters into the tent helps lighten the load, and teaches them all the things that small business owners learn along the way. Listen in as Julie shares:   • How she decides which markets work best for her • Where farmers markets land on the list of top income streams • Why she decided to diversify her product lines • Ways she's helping new market farmers improve their business   Find ..read more

The 8th annual InTents Farmers Market Conference is just around the corner, starting 3 weeks from today. Listen in to hear more about this year's schedule and what's coming up here in San Diego and live online. There's still time to register, just use the link in our bio or on the home page at farmersmarketpros.com Learn all this and more in this year's sessions:   • Join hive mind roundtables to discuss how we define "farmers market"    • Determine staff members' roles and avoid labor law issues • Map your market to minimize drama, tempt consumers and maximize sales  • Cre ..read more

How can talented food makers learn to be successful farmers market vendors? In this week's episode of Tent Talk we're chatting about vendor education. Being passionate about your product is important; being fully prepared will increase sales and reduce stress. That makes small businesses enduring. Whether you're starting a new business or you're a market manager thinking about providing support to new and existing vendors, listen in to hear about all this and more.   • What do prospective vendors need to know? • Finding local resources to help new a ..read more