Tent Talk

Bad days happen - even at the farmers market. Sometimes market managers and staff have to face disgruntled shoppers and tense situations. After almost a year of stay at home orders and COVID-19 restrictions, it seems like everyone's feeling a little on edge. On this week's episode of Tent Talk, we share some helpful tips and resources on how to de-escalate conflict at the farmers market. We also d...

This week we're joined by members of the Chicago Farmers Market Collective: Sheree Moratto of the Glenwood Sunday Market and Stephanie Jokich of the South Loop Farmers Market. Their organization brings more than 20 unrelated Chicago area markets together to share best practices and address challenges. In our interview, Sheree and Stephanie tell us how their collective was formed and the magic that...

For this week's episode of Tent Talk we bring you another presentation recored live at InTents: The Farmers Market Conference 2019. In this talk Brent Preston, organic farmer and author of The New Farm: Our Ten Years on the Front Lines of the Good Food Revolution, shines light on the complexity of our food system. Though he doesn't claim to have a quick-fix solution to these large issues, Brent of...

2021 is almost here! It's still unclear how this year will pan out, but we're cautiously optimistic. This week on Tent Talk, we reflect on the past year and share our personal and farmers market resolutions for 2021. We also have a big update about the fifth annual InTents: The Farmers Market Conference. Tune in for our final episode of 2020!

This week on Tent Talk, our guest is Alison Einerson, executive director of Urban Food Connections, who oversees the Downtown Salt Lake City farmers markets. In addition to the trials and tribulations that all of us have faced in 2020, Alison and her organization have survived 2 natural disasters and had to relocate their indoor winter market just a few weeks before opening day! In our conversatio...

With the end-of-year holidays underway, market managers must decide how to adjust market schedules to accommodate their vendors and shoppers. Do you close your market if it lands on a major holiday? Or do you shift the hours or size of the market footprint? Or do you operate business as usual? It all depends on your vendors and shoppers! Today on Tent Talk we discuss what goes into making the call...

It's rare for us to focus an episode of Tent Talk on anything other than farms or food, but 'tis the season to be crafty! This week we chat about the benefits of bringing non-food artisans into your farmers market mix, especially during the holiday season. Listen along for tips on how to curate your crafters, adjust market booth fees for non-food vendors, and how to integrate them into your farmer...

Now that it feels like midnight when it's actually only 4:30 pm, outdoor farmers markets have to adjust to the cold and dark that winter brings. This week on Tent Talk, co-hosts Catt, Brijet and Justine share some tips on how to keep your winter outdoor market bright and cozy for shoppers and vendors. We also discuss shifting holiday marketing strategies due to COVID and how to get shoppers out to...

This week on Tent Talk we're sharing a presentation by Sarah Marshall of Marshall's Haute Sauce, recorded live at InTents, the Farmers Market Conference in 2019. Sarah shares helpful techniques to care for yourself, your team and fellow market participants while you nurture your business. In this unusual holiday season in an unusually stressful year, these thoughts are more important than ever. Re...

We love when our friend Maya Madsen, Vendor-101 grad and founder of Maya's Cookies, drops in to talk with us! Earlier this year, Maya had to pivot (like the rest of us) to stay afloat when COVID put a damper on farmers market operations. Then, in early June after her online store was included in a viral post highlighting Black-owned businesses, she had to hustle to fill thousands of unexpected ord...

Our guest this week is Cara Mae Wooledge of the Napa Farmers Market. Before taking on her current role as farmers market manager, Cara Mae had a career in public health with a specialty in infections disease, so the events of this year have given her the opportunity to apply many of her skill sets! In this episode we talk about how her market has adjusted to COVID-19 and what farmers market manage...

This week on Tent Talk, we talk a little about where farmers markets are now, and what's next. We don't dare make any predictions about what 2021 may bring, but we can make tentative plans and prepare for the best and worst. We also share some exciting news about our annual event. Registration for InTents: The Farmers Market Conference 2021 is live! Reserve your ticket today at farmersmarketpros.c...

As the weather begins to cool, many farmers markets across the country are transitioning into their winter season. However, COVID-19 is still a present danger and poses numerous challenges to planning indoor markets and events. This week on Tent Talk we speak with Shawn Menard of Seacoast Eat Local in New Hampshire about overcoming some of these challenges. Shawn provides helpful advice on how to...

This week our guest is Tent Talk co-host Justine's business and life partner Dave Mead! We talk with Dave about how his life as a musician led him to launch his farmers market business Baby Clydesdale Small Batch Hot Sauce. Dave also shares helpful insight into successful branding, attractive packaging, and honing his sales skills.

On this episode of Tent Talk we reveal some preliminary details of the fifth annual InTents: The Farmers Market Conference! Save the date for our live, online event February 15-18, 2021! We also answer some questions from our Farmers Market Pros Community about touchless shopping, vendors who've tested positive for COVID, and holding on to applications and market documents. Join us for an info-pac...

This week on Tent Talk we're joined by Lihlani Nelson, Associate Director and Research Fellow at the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law School. In cooperation with the Farmers Market Coalition, the Vermont Law School developed the Farmers Market Legal Toolkit, which provides free legal resources, best practice recommendations and case studies. In this episode we discuss free sp...

This week on Tent Talk, co-hosts Brijet, Catt and Justine discuss what happens when the management of an established farmers market changes. In this year full of changes that may be happening even more than in the past, for a variety of reasons. Whether you're a longtime market manager considering your exit strategy, a new manager who's inheriting a market, or a farmers market vendor curious about...

Way back in February we had the privilege of meeting Tamara Cameron, market manager for the Boise Farmers Market, at InTents: The Farmers Market Conference. Much has changed since we last spoke, so this week, Tamara joined us on Tent Talk to share how she's forging ahead with her market season, despite the trials of COVID-19. By implementing new software programs, harnessing an impressive voluntee...

This week on Tent Talk our guest is Darian Washington, creator and operator of Oatmeal & Company, based in Austin, Texas. After her corporate job took an unexpected turn, Darian and her young son turned their side hustle into a thriving business at local farmers markets . Listen along to hear the inspiring story behind Darian's leap into farmers market success! 

This week Brijet, Catt and Justine answer some tough questions from Tent Talk listeners and members of the Farmers Market Pros Community. Listen along for tips on how to handle CPR certification and first aid at the market, managing gift certificates, and longtime vendors returning to markets after a COVID hiatus. Do you have a question you'd like us to answer on Tent Talk? Drop us a line at conne...

Since farmers market managers across the country are dealing with fires, floods and pandemics, we decided to revisit our conversation with Sara Matlin of Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market from last summer. On this Best of Tent Talk episode, we discuss how to manage a market in an region with extreme temperature variances and enlisting the help of volunteers and interns to keep your market functionin...

This week we welcome back Chris Quinlan, our trusty farmers market conference friend and creator of market management software MarketWurks . In Episode 4 of Tent Talk, Chris shared his experience during his 8-year tenure managing the Whistler Farmers Market in British Columbia. These days, Chris devotes himself full time to running Marketwurks, and consulting with farmers market managers to make t...

The Farmers Market Pros are thrilled to release the 100th episode of Tent Talk, the farmers market podcast. Over the last 2+ years co-hosts Brijet, Catt and Justine have had some incredibly enlightening conversations with farmers, food makers, market managers, policy experts and each other. In this episode we celebrate by sharing our favorite episodes and also make a few exciting announcements abo...

This week on Tent Talk, our guest is Greg Plotkin, Digital Communication Manager for American Farmland Trust, an organization focusing protecting agricultural land, promoting environmentally sound farming practices, and keeping farmers on the land. Greg shares how farmers markets can participate in AFT's 2020 Farmers Market Celebration, now underway. We also chat about the connection between farme...

The USDA recognizes more than 3,500 farmers markets and direct farm marketing organizations as eligible to accept SNAP-EBT, though many markets don't. With record numbers of people out of work or underemployed during COVID-19, these programs are even more important than ever. On this episode of Tent Talk, co-hosts Catt, Brijet and Justine talk about how accepting SNAP-EBT at farmers markets not on...