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Tent Talk

Farmers Market Pros

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Tent Talk is a podcast for farmers' market managers, farmers, food makers, and anyone who counts on farmers’ markets as a source of income. Please join us as we interview farmers’ market experts, talk about ways to improve local food communities, and provide you with tips on building a successful farmers’ market business. Tent Talk is produced by Farmers Market Pros.
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Bookkeeping is yet another of the many hats that farmers market managers wear. There are so many formulas for setting space rent at markets and, especially post-Covid, a whole variety of ways to manage calculating and actually collecting those fees. Do you use a market management program with built in invoicing? Are you adding up percentages of sal…
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How do you learn and grow in your farmers market career? We met Jessica Mullen of South Carolina's Travelers Rest Farmers Market when she traveled to San Diego for InTents, the national Farmers Market conference. In this episode of Tent Talk, Jessica shares what she finds valuable about InTents and other conferences and networking with other market…
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What's new and exciting, and what's comforting and familiar about InTents, the multinational Farmers Market Conference? Join us for a quick look ahead to what's in store in March 2025. What's NEW: 2025 Theme: Speak Up for Farmers Markets! Brand new venue with rooms and meeting spaces under one roof Central location with shops and restaurants and th…
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While working for a cheese maker at New York City farmers markets, Peter Henry started thinking about ways producers could expand their reach and increase efficiencies. Now, Ten by Ten Logistics serves more than a dozen farmers at markets throughout New York. Peter continues to explore and refine systems of transporting goods to market, managing in…
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It's another Ask the Pros episode this week, with a mix of topics based on listener questions. We always find that discussing one person's question helps others that are pondering some variation of the same thing. If we don't necessarily have THE answer, we have ideas and experience and those might inspire your handy solution. There's nothing quite…
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The fourth quarter rolls around every year, but somehow we often forget what to do to prepare for it. Listen in as we chat about moving past the September slump. We're looking forward and making plans to make the upcoming season more productive and less stressful. How are you getting ahead of things? Reminding farmers and vendors that this cycle ha…
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Managing a farmers market is just like managing a craft fair or fall festival, right? Yes. And no. There are similarities and there are big differences between coordinating vendors on a weekly basis and once a year. When experienced annual event managers Patricia and Brett Keller took over a local farmers market after the sudden departure of its fo…
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This week we're sharing something a little bit different: a podcast episode where Catt Fields White is the featured guest. Enjoy this conversation from the Fresh Take podcast about the importance of supporting local farmers, small businesses and of course farmers' markets. If Catt doesn't convince you over the next 45 minutes that farmers markets w…
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Market participants are a generous bunch, so how do you make sure your farmers and vendors don't give away the farm, so to speak? Freebies and discounts that are shared with market managers, staff and fellow vendors are fun. Still, some guidelines are important. Gifts from the market to your community's worthy causes are the same. Keeping your hear…
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When The Food Corridor offered a Shared Kitchen-101 workshop at the 2023 InTents Conference, it was a sell out. It's no wonder. In a survey of food businesses operating out of shared kitchens, farmers markets were the most commonly used sales channels, with over 50% responding that they sell at one or more farmers markets. A shortage of kitchens ul…
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Selling farmers market gift certificates are a great way to help dedicated customers introduce friends, relatives and associates to the world of fresher food and local community. Now kick that idea up 350,000 notches. Maine Federation of Farmers Markets proactively sells employers on using market dollars as part of their workplace wellness programs…
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With election season upon us, managing free speech issues at farmers markets is top of mind. This week we're chatting with Wendy Chen, of the Center for Agricultural and Food Systems at Vermont Law School for a quick update on court decisions that might affect how you manage free speech at your market. And we're spotlighting an episode originally b…
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We know you're busy this week. Us too! Catt's on the road speaking at conferences and visiting Midwest markets. Brijet's rocking National Farmers Market Week in San Diego. You're doing the same, right? So take just a minute and tune in while we chat with Erica Meadows of the Mt Washington Farmers Market in Kentucky. They gained the most votes in Am…
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We have a mixed bag of topics in this month's Ask the Pros episode. With hot weather advisories, fires and floods becoming more common, we've been getting a lot of questions about when closing a market is justified. Weather or not, farmers need to move their produce so it's not a decision managers take lightly. We're chatting about that and a varie…
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Join us for a report from Catt's trip to the World Farmers Market Coalition's second General Assembly, in Rome, Italy this month. Delegates from some 70 countries and organizations gathered, representing hundreds of farmers markets and policy making bodies. They heard about the international coalition's current projects and contributed to its visio…
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We're about to share so much news about 2025's InTents: the National Farmers Market Conference. Today, we're starting with the announcement that the Request for Proposals opens in just a few days. We're adding a special farmer and vendor track in 2025, so possibilities abound. Are you ready to share your expertise about a topic with market managers…
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Volunteers are the lifeblood of many farmers markets and we know that even market managers are sometimes labeled as volunteers. That labor of love is admirable. Is it legal? That depends, and it's complicated. Wendy Chen joined us at InTents, the National Farmers Market Conference earlier this year. Her work at the Center for Agricultural and Food …
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It's hard to believe that we've produced 300 episodes of Tent Talk, the farmers market podcast, since we started almost five years ago. You'd think we might run out of things to talk about, but nope! There are so many ideas to explore, questions to ponder, and issues to delve into. We love creating opportunities for market businesses and operations…
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Call it internship, apprenticeship or learning by doing, it's all about training the next generation of farmers, foodmakers and market managers on the job. On this week's episode we talk about how interns can help your market and ways to make those programs beneficial for both sides. A true internship provides education and that takes effort. Deter…
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It's the 25th anniversary of National Farmers Market Week. Get ready to get ready with the Farmers Market Coalition Toolkit, it's available now. Get ahead of the game with early press releases and outreach to your local policy makers. Order your temporary I Love Farmers Market tattoos. Plan a celebration and don't forget to slip in a little educati…
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Juneteenth is coming up, are you ready? With the mid-week holiday coming up, we're seeing observances and events scheduled this coming weekend also the following Saturday and Sunday, June 22nd and 23rd, in addition to June 19th itself. Sagdrina Brown Jalal joined us last year to discuss how to honor that day at our markets. This year we'll be ampli…
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We love a good vendor story almost as much as we love Not Your Nonna's nut-free pesto, full of locally grown basil. Adrianna Zizzo operates her pasta sauce business in six farmers markets a week. Her fledgling business weathered pandemic protocols shortly after she launched. This summer her business is celebrating its five year anniversary. Devoted…
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It's a celebration, it's a contest, it's two exciting things at once and it kicks off this coming weekend. American Farmland Trust has operated America's Farmers Market Celebration for 16 years now. It offers a great chance to make your market more visible and engage your shoppers. The cash prizes are an added bonus. This year's contest is shorter …
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We’re baaaaack! Did you miss us? After our short recording hiatus, listen in to find out where we’ve been and where we’re growing next.🌱 It’s been a busy spring, and we’ve got a lot cookin’ over here. Follow along as we answer burning questions, including: How Catt and Brijet keep it real (hint: still schlepping barricades) The location for 2025's …
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The work you do farming, or bringing small farmers and shoppers together, is vitally important. Brent Preston spoke at InTents: The Farmers Market Conference 2019 about his time as an organic farmer, the effects of farming on the environment and how farmers and consumers can change those. His book The New Farm: Our Ten Years on the Front Lines of t…
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Would you get a chiropractic adjustment or purchase a time share at the grocery store? If you answered no, then why would you expect to find those services at the farmers market? This week on Tent Talk we discuss the pros and cons of hosting service providers and informational/promotional booths at your farmers market. Knife sharpeners, food prep s…
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Pirate vendors, aargh! No, we’re not talking about buccaneers that sail the seven seas, we’re talking about sellers and solicitors that set up in or around a farmers market as unofficial vendors. Though usually well-intentioned, hawkers, buskers, petitioners, and street vendors can confuse shoppers about where and when the actual farmers market beg…
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Opening a new farmers market or starting a new season at an existing one is exciting. A lot goes into getting ready to launch, and building up to a truly grand opening. Building awareness and anticipation for both the community and your family of farmers and vendors means a busy opening day. Planning for the natural cycles of a new market will keep…
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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…
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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…
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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 …
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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 seem…
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Our Live from the InTents Conference episode has become an annual tradition, and it's one of our favorites every year. Tent Talk producer Leandra Hays sat down with conference attendees and asked them to share the best part of their market day. They made us laugh, and cry and sometimes say, "What the heck?" Drop a note in the comments to share the …
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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 pu…
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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…
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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 …
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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:…
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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 y…
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We've known Maya Madsen since the beginning of her phenomenal Black woman-owned business' journey. You've heard from her before. We check in often enough to consider her an unofficial Tent Talk podcast co-host. From the start she told us she meant to create a vegan cookie empire and she's done what it takes to accomplish that. She not only makes de…
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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 …
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Enjoy this week's Vendor Story episode. Hot sauce is a fast growing category at our farmers markets nowadays, and Chef Saeed is on fire with his fermented sauces featuring unique flavor combinations. It's not just the taste that makes a food business successful though. In our Vendor-101 program we talk about the 4 Ps: Product, Packaging, People and…
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With lots of new farmers markets ramping up for their first or second season, let's take it back to the basics. Experienced manager? Stay with us, sometimes a little refresher can be a great thing. Farmer or vendor? Let's see if you think this is sound advice. There's a lot to know and a lot to do to launch a farmers market and get through those ea…
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It's a new year, a blank slate. January always feels like a good time to think about what's working, what's not, and create your list of things to change and things to do at your market, and personally. We're all about setting InTENTions (see what we did there?). Market managers and market vendors coast to coast, from Florida to British Columbia, j…
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Happy New Year! 2023 was a lot, full of changes, excitement, highs and lows. We're welcoming 2024 and looking forward to focused growth, outreach and some exciting collaborations. Unless the universe throws us onto a whole new roller coaster of course, and then we'll do what farmers market pros do: we'll make the very best of whatever we encounter.…
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Whether and however you're celebrating Christmas today, we hope you're getting a day off from at least most of your duties and chores. Farmers are still feeding animals and food makers may yet be delivering holiday orders. 2023 has been a lot: happy, sad, busy, full, and all of that has been better because we've done it together. Community is the g…
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How do you go from zero to 60, or maybe 90, in a bit less than three short years? For Christy Campli, some keys were starting with experience in local food systems, and building on an established brand. Now she manages multiple year-round weekly farmers markets, regularly scheduled artisan markets and several annual events with a small but mighty t…
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Farmers markets are always a good time! The question is when is the best time for your market? Setting market hours is a foundational decision. There are a lot of factors at play. Whether your market lasts for two hours or six can be influenced by everything from farmer commutes to parking disputes. Fortunately, the beauty of markets is that there …
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Tis the season for holiday gifting! Farmer, vendor or market manager, it's time to remember your employees, volunteers and maybe some of your great customers or loyal CSA members. If material gifts aren't in your plan this year, we’ve got tips for other ways to acknowledge people who have supported you this year. It really is the thought that count…
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Social media is a perfect example of a blessing and a curse. Engaging with your online community can strengthen existing connections, while inspiring and educating potential new shoppers. Navigating the comments? That requires a whole different skill set and sometimes a tough skin. There's nothing more fun than conversational volleys with your foll…
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Whether or not you have a robust social media presence, your website is your markets' home. Whether you're a market manager, a farmer, or a vendor, use your website to tell people the who, where, what and maybe why of your farmers market business. This is a great time of year to take a look at what's there, what should be, and what might be streaml…
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