Starting Country Market, Any Ideas?

19 years ago

I attend weekly a market in the city which is about 45 mins away but I am tinkering with the idea of reviving a market that is 15 minuts in the opposite direction although it is in a rural area. Located in a community of 16 people it would cater to the surrounding area, a few thousand people max. Instead if keeping it just a farmers market I'd like to open it up to more vendors as there is such a limited number of farmers in the area. Any ideas?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

huisjen
19 years ago
Our Farmer's Market (Blue Hill, ME) serves a peninsula with a population of about 5,000, plus summer visitors. We have about 6 farmers and a mix of about a dozen bakers and craftspeople.

Are you thinking of a weekly market (what we do) or a seasonally-full-time co-operatively run farm stand (we had one, but it folded due to personality issues)?

Starting a new venture, I think it is best to focus on offering things people want _that they can't get anywhere else_. Maybe no store within 50 miles will buy/sell arugula, but if there are 10 people in town who will buy a bunch a week, then that is 20 bucks a week for somebody's market stand. Another ten ideas like that and it looks worth doing.

Katey
breezynosacek
19 years ago
I'm working on getting one started in our county.

The Mayor said he will get the grant money and the building for us and we are responsible for making a go of it.

I am at the petition stage right now. The city council said 'No' because there are two produce stands locally.

Well, I got them to sign the petition as vendors too!

So, as it is we are getting quite a few people interested in it.

The deadline for the grants is in Oct. So it will be about 2006 before we begin to see anything out of it.

Steph
Related Discussions
How do you get a Market started?
Q
Comments (9)
Brian, often churches have strong senses of social and community responsibility. Not only might you be able to negotiate the free use of parking lot but the church may help with the certification for the WIC and Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Programs. In fact, I can guarantee that if you get a good handle on how those 2 programs work and show up with a little presentation for the church board - they will listen to you. These are win-win-win programs for farmers, markets, and the beneficiaries. The link to the Florida State extension's advice on farmers' markets that Hengal gave you looks like a good one. You can also find USDA information here. To find a state organization for your part of the world go here. Just search for your state and you'll get a list of markets but more important for your purposes, the contact info for your state association. These folks should have an info packet and cheap membership/insurance for a newly formed market. When I was involved in market formation, the group of interested vendors simply agreed on daily vendor fees and then paid for half the season. That money covered the cost of state membership and insurance. After a successful start, we anted up the remaining vendor fees and paid for some advertising. As Hengal suggests, a good place to start is with your local newspaper and that contact may get you some initial publicity. Another group which is charged with assisting growers in marketing is Cooperative Extension. You may have a marketing specialist for small farms nearby. A conversation with that person could yield a wealth of contacts. The office may even be willing to help you with mailing out an invitation and arranging a meeting of growers at their offices. The entire process of starting a market can be a lot of fun! Remember that the farmers are your most important resources. They can be a cranky lot (that's why most of 'em aren't allowed to live in town. ;o) But, with a small committed group - you've got a farmers' market! Steve
...See More
trying to start a market
Q
Comments (5)
What are the state rules that are discouraging them? No markets on Sunday? The small Sunday market closest to me (I've been trying to get a spot for years) does very well. I guess you have to judge by what other markets are within a decent driving distance for a Sat market, people will go out to a "destination" market that has a lot of vendors rather than a small start-up since they have the time that day. What other markets are on weekday evenings, and are they on the way home from work, convenient parking, right on the main route? Those will get the commuter traffic stopping by for fresh corn, etc. for dinner that night. I think it really depends on where the market will be held, how many vendors are there, if there is entertainment, etc. to decide whether it will do well as a weekend market or a quick weekday alternative to the grocery store. Sometimes it can be much quicker to stop at a market (definitely quicker to stop at a farm stand on the commute route) than at a store. That can work to your advantage for a weekday night. One thing I've noticed in 3 years (my vast experience!) of doing markets is that the Friday one seemed to be busier than the Wed night one (though not approaching the Sunday AM one, all 3 were in different locations so not a controlled experiment). And while Friday would start picking up a little earlier than Wed (say 4pm instead of 5) neither was busy as early as the committee had set opening for - very disappointing to get there at 1:30 (rules) to set up for 3pm (!) and have no customers until 4, pick up around 5, and then pack up for 6pm just as it was getting really busy, people trying to buy things off the truck as you're packing up. And after you say, oh, yes, I have X (whatever they've asked for) and dig it out, they want a discount b/c it's the end of the day and it's just going in the compost, right?
...See More
Researching starting a Farmers Market
Q
Comments (4)
I would get a steering committe together to work on site, rules,fees, events, health rules, dealing with the city/county etc. Than set up a board out of the steering commttee to oversee the running of the market. Get a copy of "The New Farmer's Market by Corwin, Gibson and Rosenweig. You are getting into a project thast is huge for one person to attempt and big for 15 people to deal with. I hellped set up a farmers' markeyt in Ohio 2 years ago and it took hundreds of hours but the market is doing well in its' second year.
...See More
Starting to work on market quilts
Q
Comments (14)
Hi Julie, There are many ways now to do applique. I'm still working on learning to do it by hand with a needle, turning the edges under as I sew pieces onto fabric. In this case I decided to do it this way. Yes, the front side of the fabric faces inwards. For the wasted fabric you could save money by using old sheets or use a matching fabric colour on the back. Once I sew the two front facing prints together I pull them apart and carefully cut a slit in the back/plain fabric and pull the shape through and iron carefully. I iron a bit, use a long pin with the iron put aside and gently pull out the shape some more with my pin to the seam and iron that part and continue until I'm happy with it all and press the whole shape. Then I carefully cut out the excess fabric on the back, leaving about a 1/4" seam allowance. I hope that makes sense. Thanks everyone for your positive comments. There is a bit of a surprise coming in it. Stay tuned! Cheers, Peggy
...See More
Dibbit
19 years ago
I would have doubts about the viability, unless you have a lot of summer people; that's an awfully small population to support it - rather along the lines of the community that survived by taking in each-others' laundry, it has to stop somewhere! But, if you have enough diversity, and quality, with people commited to it, so they keep coming week-by-week, both as vendors and as buyers, then you should do well. Just try to limit the number of people (and things) if anyone should want to bring things they have bought, and not things they have made, to sell; maybe put it in the by-laws or agreement that they sign to join?
breezynosacek
19 years ago
There is a great book for ideas. "The New Farmer's Market". A good farmers market isn't just produce. It is flowers, herbs, added value products, cottage industry crafts, fresh eats, entertainment, festival days, educating the public, ect.

Go for it! If you have the gumption and the committment and can get people excited about it don't let anybody stop you.

With the right mix, you can get a great market going.

Starting Country Market, Any Ideas?

Comments (4)

huisjen

breezynosacek

Related Discussions

Dibbit

breezynosacek

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US