Be careful about offering relish, pickles, salsas, chow-chows, chutney, and other acidified foods - I recommend that you do not until you find out the rules and plan to follow them. The FDA has very strict laws about them being produced in a home kitchen (as well as commercially - the same rules apply) and they have to be made under the supervision of one who has taken the FDA course for acid and acidified food manufacturing, has each product listed with them (usually after having a Food Safety Lab testing done), along with their "food manufacturing facility" being registered with them, and that has a written plan for national recall in the event of contamination or botulism in their acidified product. I know a lot of little old ladies sell their brined pickles at farm stands and Markets but they are usually totally illegal. On the other hand, fermented pickles are not regulated and can be sold without any FDA involvement. Go figure. Also, nothing canned using a home pressure canner is allowed to be sold in the US. Most jams and jellies are fine as there is no risk of botulism because of the sugar content and naturally occurring acid in fruits (low pH). I've been selling at Market for 5 years now. I expanded my 65 varieties of jam offerings with old fashioned baked goods and then added gluten free baked goods. If you go GF you must be so very careful about cross contamination with wheat flour (which can hang microscopically in the air for days and can stay in the "pores" of metal baking pans even after washing). I am the only "retail bakery" in NC to have approval by the NC Dept of Ag to offer both wheat based and gluten free products from the same "facility". Think of gluten as being a deadly virus and that is how you must treat baking gluten free, it is not just substituting wheat flour for another non-gluten flour. For both baked goods offerings the things that sell best are cookies to walk around with to eat, but not by the dozen, and breads/rolls of any kind to take home, and scones. Cupcakes and pies never sell no matter how pretty, slices of cake don't either unless they are pound cake or angel food. Even candy sits there though people comment, "Oh, look there's fudge", they don't buy it. Don't bother with fancy packaging but do be mindful of labeling, display of prices, and you must have a list of ingredients either on each product or on a paper they can take with them. Another guarantee is that diabetics will always come to your sweets table. Since I do not use chemicals in my products, I do not have anything they can eat. If you want to appease them you'll have to do a whole lot of research for cals and carbs. Nancy

Congratulations on your first week! Add me to the list of people who marveled at the setting. Ours is under an overpass right off the interstate- they kick the bums out for the morning, and it smells like pee :-D. The offerings sound delicious. There are always people at a farmer's market who don't bother to check whether the food is local, but stands like yours usually develop a following- people who will buy whatever you have that week because they trust the quality. I look forward to hearing about how the next one goes!

We have the world's stupidest excuse for a farmers' market I have ever seen.... It's held on Tuesday from 4 PM to 6 PM....in a baked or wind swept parking lot next to a couple plot of land where a building was torn down.....and they charge the participants a yearly fee for participating. 4 or 5 years ago it was held around the square and it was so easy to just walk around and pick up stuff while you were going to the bank or drug store or whatever. And there was a n unofficial Saturday morning market in the parking lot of a car dealership....under some big trees planted at the edge....no fees paid to the city.....somehow that was shut down. I envy you all your lovely farmers' markets....you might think that in the middle of the "bread basket" there would be a decent farmers market....I know several "farmers" who take their produce to other towns for their markets.

OK, I'll keep the reports coming on the weeks that I am at the market. We are getting into the time of year that the weather will be changing. Even if I do get the canopy fixed, I have to be careful as I now know it won't take much wind. Karen, dried and silk? From 1988 to 1992 I owned a company that did dried and silk wreaths and arrangements. We sold all over the country and even had products in a couple of mail order catalogs. We were wholesale only and did the gift shows in Chicago. Then the look died and I gave it up when I moved here. Under Michigan's Cottage food law you are limited on the canning to jams, preserves and jelly. No salsa's, relishes, tomatoes or pickled items or low acid vegetables in general. But you can take your chances since you are doing a one shot festival. We had the USDA guy come through last week and I know several were told they couldn't do some things, those people were MIA this week. Labeling also needs to follow the rules. You should read the law, they are pretty specific. Baked goods in general are OK as long as they do not contain too much dairy. Cream pies are a no but fruit pies are fine. Some items I would think about for a Harvest Festival.... Cinnamon rolls if you have morning hours, they won't do as well later in the day. Pumpkin donuts, pumpkin bread, apple breads, cider donuts, apple bars, apple pies, caramel anything....AnnT's recipe for the Caramel Rice Krispie Treats went over big time this week and I'll continue doing those through fall. Caramel corn in bags is another idea. People like to buy goodies they can eat as they walk around and items to take home. Some things can be made two days ahead, other things you have to do the day and night before. I do the pretzel rolls last, as the salt draws out the moisture and dissolves. That is one thing I wouldn't do for a one shot show. Don't forget to cut up some things for samples. I keep plastic containers tucked away and offer as needed. If you put them out people will grab them that have no intention of buying. Hope this helps, you can email me if you have other questions.. Nancy