Tent Talk

On this week's episode, hosts Brijet and Catt answer a listener question about bad weather on farmers market days. Listen along for tips on how to handle weather issues at your market before, during, and after they happen. 

This week we bring you a Best of Tent Talk episode! In our conversation with devoted farmers market shoppers, Tiffany and Terence Cooke, we chat about the perks of making friends with your local farmers market vendors, the keys to a successful weekly meal planning process, and how they capture their delicious homemade creations in photos.

Farmers markets have operated all over the world for centuries, and today they are an important element in many farmers, food makers, and communities' economies. This week on Tent Talk, co-host Catt Fields White reports on her recent visit to London for the International Public Markets Conference, where she connected with other market managers and operators from around the globe.  

Ever wonder how to keep momentum going at a year round farmers market when the weather changes drastically from one season to the next? This week on Tent Talk we chat with Sara Matlin of Phoenix Public Market about her solutions to extreme temperature variances, how to bring the community together with intention, working with volunteers and interns, and making it to the 15 year anniversary mark. 

Many farmers market food makers stay in farmers markets for years and years, others use the markets as a launch pad to create a wholesale empire or open brick and mortar restaurants. On this week's episode of Tent Talk, we talk with Eric Dobbs of Seven Seas Roasting Company, a coffee vendor that recently launched their first retail outlet after years in local farmers' markets, about what it takes...

On this week's episode of Tent Talk, we talk with Sena Wheeler of Sena Sea, a successful fresh fish operation in the Seattle area and Eastern Washington farmers markets. We chat with Sena about how her plan to sell fish direct  to consumers took a big turn when she discovered direct sales at farmers markets, and how markets made her family business a success. 

How do surrounding businesses get along with their neighborhood farmers markets? Find out on this week's episode! We chat with the team at Waypoint Public, a local restaurant who shares their storefront with a busy weekly farmers' market. Listen along to learn how markets can synergize with the businesses around them. 

This week we bring you a Best of Tent Talk episode! In our interview with Amber Holland, operations director for Portland Farmers Markets, we discuss efforts to reduce waste at farmers markets, challenges she's overcome as a market operator, and creating new programs to enhance her markets. 

On this week's episode of Tent Talk we're joined by Trish Watlington of Two Forks Farm and Farm to Fork San Diego . We chat about the challenges restaurant owners face in buying direct from farmers, how to make the system work better, and how to leverage the power of farm to table commitment to increase business for both farmers and restauranteurs. 

This week on Tent Talk , our guests are Melissa and Taylor of Quantum Microgreens . In this episode they share the story of how the made the leap into farming on a micro scale. We also chat about the importance of continual learning when it comes to farming and entrepreneurship, and how Melissa and Taylor share that knowledge with their customers at the farmers market.

On this week's episode of Tent Talk, we chat about the recent InTents: The Farmers Market Conference, held in San Diego, California in February 2019. We reminisce about our favorite parts of this year's event, what we'd like to add to future conferences, and why we think it's important to bring the market community together. 

This week's Tent Talk episode is the last in our series of Tent Talk Live episodes recorded at the 2019 InTents: The Farmers Market Conference in San Diego, California. The presentation "Using Our Voices to Create Change" was led by Amelia Moore Program Coordinator for California Alliance of Farmers Markets and Executive Director of the Farmers Market Coalition , Ben Feldman. Listen along for tips...

For this week's episode of Tent Talk we bring you yet another live episode. In his presentation "The world needs less food," recorded at the 2019 InTents: The Farmers Market Conference held last month in San Diego, organic farmer and author, Brent Preston dives deep into the complexity of our food system. Though he doesn't claim to have a quick-fix solution to these large issues, Brent offers an i...

This week on Tent Talk , we bring you another special episode recorded live at the 2019 InTents: The Farmers Market Conference in San Diego. InTents Conference alum Sarah Marshall of Marshall's Haute Sauce returned to the main stage to share her insight on how to avoid farmers' market burnout. In this episode Sarah explains why working as farmers market vendor is tough and provides a helpful roadm...

This week on Tent Talk we bring you a special episode recorded live from the 2019 InTents: The Farmers Market Conference in San Diego! In this panel discussion, moderated by Marcy Coburn, CEO of CUESA, panelists discussed why new markets are great, when a new market isn't a good idea, and everything in between.

In this week's episode we tackle another round of tough questions sent in from our market manager listeners. Listen along for sage advice from our resident market manager experts. We cover complex issues like booking market musicians, rearranging vendors when your market site is under construction, and what to do about Yelp reviews.

On this week's episode of Tent Talk we made good use of our own expertise and answered some tricky farmers' market questions we received from vendors. In this episode you'll get advice from the Tent Talk hosts on various issues that vendors face. Listen along for tips on sampling your product, incentivizing employees to increase their sales numbers, and what makes a good farmers' market business n...

This week on Tent Talk we are joined by Candread Gadaga, farmers market vendor and farmers market musician! On this episode Candread tells us about his journey from playing music at the market to starting his own hot food vendor business to packaging his own sauces for sale.

This week on Tent Talk our guest is Lisa Kivirist, farmer, advocate for women in sustainable agriculture, and author of Soil Sisters: A Toolkit for Women Farmers . In this episode Lisa shares her passion for cottage food law, how the community of female farmers is growing, and why she loves going to conferences. 

This week on Tent Talk we are joined by Dr. Gail Myers, Agri-Cultural Anthropologist and co-founder of Farms to Grow, Inc. Over the last 15 years Dr. Myers has been busy lecturing, researching, teaching, writing and documenting stories of African American farmers, sharecroppers, and gardeners. In our interview we chat about the inspiration for Farms to Grow Inc., what it takes to run a community f...

Our guest this week is Joe Hargrave, founder and CEO of Tacolicious . What started as a pop-up taco stand, then became a mainstay at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco is now a 6 location enterprise across the Bay Area. In our interview with Joe he tells us about the bumpy road that led him to tacos and why Tacolicious will always have a booth at that the farmers market. If you're a f...

For our first Tent Talk episode of the new year, we welcomed Ross Graham of Food Liability Insurance Program  to the show. Ross is a licensed insurance agent and strategic partnership manager focused on helping businesses find the coverage they need at an affordable price. In or conversation with Ross we talk about all things risk management at the farmers market and how to protect vendors and mar...

Our guest this week is Sagdrina Jalal, founding Executive Director of the Georgia Farmers Market Association. Sagdrina works hard to provide support and education for farmers market managers in Georgia and across the country as a member of the board of directors of the Farmers Market Coalition. In our conversation with Sagdrina we discuss the pros of participating in a farmers market association,...

Our guest this week is community activist and farmer Karen Washington. She has spent decades promoting urban farming as a way for all New Yorkers to access fresh, locally grown food. In our interview we chat with Karen about how community activism got her interested in farming, how Rise & Root found their product niche for the farmers market, and her hopes for the next generation of farmers. Liste...

This week on Tent Talk we are joined by Food Cost & Strategic Sourcing Consultant, Sarah Delevan. Sarah works with food makers, restaurants, caterers, and retail markets throughout the US to help them become and remain financially sustainable. In this episode Sarah provides tips on sourcing quality ingredients, shares keys to understanding your food financials, and identifies mistakes food-driven...