Tent Talk

We're talking with James Grevious of Rebel Marketplace in Aurora, Colorado. He's creating neighborhood food security with the hyper local farmers market he has developed and managed, featuring urban gardeners and farmers.    Listen in For James' views and tips on: • Intentionally developing and incubating urban farmers  • Increasing community capacity from the inside vs outside intervention • Mark...

Today we're chatting about what to wear and what not to wear at your farmers market. Find that perfect blend of comfort and creativity in staff uniforms to make your team stand out and be recognizable. Encourage your farmers and vendors to do the same for their teams.  Listen in as we discuss everything from punny t-shirts and safety vests to comfortable shoes and how we wish everyone from farmers...

B. Griffin, Farmers Market Support Program Manager for Community Farm Alliance, a non profit serving farmers markets throughout Kentucky. In this episode: B. gives us a rundown of the new Electronic Farmers Market Nutrition Program that was recently rolled out in Kentucky and the problem-solving efforts CFA has put into action. We also get an update on the impact last summer's floods in Kentucky h...

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 managers. Yes, you can have an amazing product an...

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 professionals. She's all about learning, and also...

National Farmers Market Week is right around the corner! Sometimes we plan way in advance for this important week, and sometimes it sneaks up on us. Guess what happened this year? Not to worry, we all still have time to take advantage of this national campaign to bring attention to our local markets.   Tune in today as we discuss this year's theme and how to finish this sentence: Farmers Markets a...

The Information Booth is open! It's time for another Hot Topics Q&A episode of Tent Talk, where we provide some answers and insights around recent questions that we've heard from vendors, farmers and market managers.    Our social media direct messages and our private Farmers Market Pros Community on Facebook are full of great discussions this month and always. We also hear about hot topics from t...

School's out for summer and that means even more kids at the market, both in the aisles and in the tents.     Whether developing programs for kids visiting your market, or putting teens to work in your booth, this episode is full of ideas to help you make the most of this season for market fans of all ages. Tune in today to hear: Ways that markets, farmers and businesses are putting their kids to...

We recently celebrated a  big  milestone at the Little Italy Mercato farmers market - 15 years! - and a not-so-big milestone at our Chula Vista market - 1 year! Whatever milestone you have coming up at your market, whether it's big or small, this episode is packed with tons of tips to help you celebrate your vendors, your community, and your farmers market family.  Tune in today to hear: How to se...

Jorge Bustamante had a problem. Covid-19 completely shut down his thriving transportation business and he wasn't sure what to do next. He knew one thing, however, people loved his family's pozole recipe. So he formed a business plan, took our Vendor 101  course and My Pozole was born. In just a few short years, he's grown his business so much that he's at farmer's markets seven days a week and rec...

A few years ago our guest and friend of the show,  Sagrdrina Jalal  set out to create the anti-racist farmers market toolkit . Sagrdrina was the founding executive director of the Georgia Farmer's Market Association and is the lead facilitator of the anti-racist farmer's market toolkit and related communities of practice. Tune in today for: Tips for making your farmers market more inclusive The hi...

What happens when farmers market managers from 50 countries assemble in Europe to talk about strengthening local food systems, shortening food chains, preserving biodiversity, and protecting small farmers? Listen to this week's episode where we follow Catt on the road as she attends the FIRST general assembly of the World Farmers Market Coalition in Rome! Their mission is to cultivate and promote...

Last time Daniel and Kasi Haire were on Tent Talk, back in early 2020, we were all adjusting our farmers market operations to accommodate COVID-19 protocols. In the time since, this farmers market power couple who manage the Nolensville Farmers Market have become invaluable contributors to our online community, sharing brilliant market hacks and solutions to the sticky situations market managers c...

Our guests this week are Jonathan Przybyl and Amanda Abou-Eid, owners and bakers at Proof Bread in the Phoenix, Arizona metro area. Jon and Amanda took over an existing farmers market and wholesale bakery business in 2017 when their favorite bread vendor decided to retire. After four years of baking in their garage, Proof Bread has expanded into a commercial bakery space and is now sold at 5 weekl...

Spring is just around the corner and it's time for market managers, farmers and vendors to get in the zone for peak farmers market season! This week on Tent Talk we're chatting about all the things you need to do to get ready for those excited shoppers who'll be flocking to your market. Tune in to hear what you should be doing a few months, a few weeks, and a few days before the start of your mark...

This week on Tent Talk, we're chatting about big changes at Farmers Market Pros just in time for a spring refresh! Tune in to hear about our favorite takeaways and moments from InTents 2023, our travel plans this spring, and what we're looking forward to in the future. This week's episode is made possible by support from  MarketWurks .

This week on Tent Talk we're joined by our friend, Tamara Cameron, former farmers market manager and Executive Director of the Boise Farmers Market. Tamara worked for the Boise Farmers Market for over 4 years, implementing new software programs, harnessing an impressive volunteer force and leading them through the trials and tribulations of COVID-19 by implementing systems to keep farmers farming...

Do dietary supplements, nutritional powders, health and CBD products have a place at the farmers market? Well, it depends! This week on Tent Talk, we tackle the topic of vendor products that straddle the lines between food, medicine and dietary supplements. Join us as we discuss what types of nutritional supplements and products make sense in a farmers market setting based on the mission of your m...

This week on Tent Talk, our guest is Chef Michael Ceraldi, owner of Ceraldi on Cape Cod. Chef Michael opened his namesake restaurant in 2014 and has become well known for his rotating 7-course tasting menu of upscale fare with an Italian accent, focusing on hyper-local ingredients sourced from Cape Cod purveyors. Tune to hear his fascinating chef journey, what led him to his philosophy and devotio...

The clock is ticking! USDA FMPP Applications are due May 2, 2023, at 11:59 pm Eastern Time! This week on Tent Talk we chat with Amanda Cross, Programs Manager for the Oregon Farmers Market Association about applying for grants for your farmers market. Amanda has been working in and around farmers markets for twelve years and she joined OFMA in 2019 to support Oregon farmers market managers, coordi...

This week we're sharing another live recording from the InTents: the Farmers Market Conference 2023 held in San Diego last month. In this Tent Talk Live episode, you'll hear a presentation titled "Marketing: It's Not Just for Shoppers Anymore" from Christine Hawks who manages Columbus' Worthington Farmers Market, the largest year-round market in Central Ohio. As a Certified Farmers Market Manager...

This week we're sharing a live recording from the 7th annual InTents: the Farmers Market Conference which we hosted in San Diego and online earlier this month. In this Tent Talk Live episode we hear from shiny flanary, a queer Black farmer and founder and manager of Come Thru Market, a Black and Indigenous incubator farmers market and farmer training program in unceded Chinook and Cowlitz territor...

Earlier this month we hosted hundreds of farmers market managers and participants at our 7th annual InTents: the Farmers Market Conference. Farmers market folk flew in from all over the US and Canada and even more tuned in virtually for 3 days of learning and growing with people who understand that #ourjobisweird. It's no secret that being a farmers market manager draws on an eclectic set of skill...

As the current US Farm Bill is set to expire later this year, legislators and policy-makers are hard at work behind the scenes, negotiating and developing the massive omnibus bill that will eventually impact all of us. The details of the final bill aren't clear yet but it's never too soon to start paying close attention to the policies that will impact farmers, market managers and anyone working i...

This week the Farmers Market Pros team is busy hosting the 7th annual InTents Conference in San Diego, California so we're replaying our interview with Melissa Maltais, past conference speaker and Membership and Program Lead at BC Farmers Markets, from last Spring. Melissa is a brilliant marketer, fundraiser and advocate for farmers markets in Canada. This episode is jam packed with tips on market...