Tent Talk

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 and shoppers shopping! Her most recent accomplishment was helping the Boise Farmers Market organization find and train a new leader as she transitioned out of her role and moved to a new state and away from hands-on market life. Tune in for an insightful conversation about what it takes to find your own replacement, the steps to take for a peaceful transition of power, and what market managers should be doing whether or not they plan to leave their job. This week's episode is made possible by support from Food4All.

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 market, how to develop clear policies around non-food ingestibles, and what to consider when vetting vendor applications. This week's episode is made possible by support from American Farmland Trust.

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 devotion to seasonal menus, and how he's built close relationships with local farmers and purveyors. This week's episode is made possible by support from The Food Corridor.

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, coordinating OFMA's Farmers Market Learning Network, and providing technical assistance to markets needing guidance in offering EBT/SNAP programs. Amanda has experience applying for grants, implementing grant awards and reviewing FMPP grant applications, so she knows how grueling the grant applications are, from tricky forms to acquiring matching funds. Listen along to this week's episode for some practical advice, helpful tools and words of wisdom for applying for farmers market grants. This week's episode is made possible by support from Grapevine Local Marketing.

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 and recently certified Ohio Master Urban Farmer, Christine serves as an ambassador for local food and entrepreneurs. She believes that food is transformative, affecting change in community health and wellness, access, equity, education and understanding. Fueled by that belief and a recent grant award, Christine is expanding her farmers market's outreach through an experiential learning collaboration with a local high school and with a variety of cooperative programs with other local organizations. This week's episode is made possible by support from USDA, Square, Market Wurks, Farmers Market Coalition, The Food Corridor and American Farmland Trust.

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 territory (so-called Portland, Oregon). In her session "Creating and Retaining Confident Vendors", shiny lays out a toolkit for extensive farmer and vendor orientation and models how she establishes a culture of learning rather than assumed expertise and builds vendor comfort, relationships and retention. This week's episode is made possible by support from USDA, Square, Market Wurks, Farmers Market Coalition, The Food Corridor and American Farmland Trust.

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 skills and we were curious to find out what talents our attendees wield in their day-to-day. So over the course of the conference, we invited our attendees to share their farmers market superpower. Are you a logistics mastermind, or an expert vendor-wrangler or a community partnership genius? We asked, we found out and in this episode of Tent Talk, we're sharing those answers! This week's episode is made possible by support from USDA, Square, Market Wurks, Farmers Market Coalition, The Food Corridor and American Farmland Trust.

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 in the agricultural industry! To get in the zone for the 2023 Farm Bill, this week on Tent Talk, we're chatting with Ben Feldman, Executive Director of the Farmers Market Coalition. In this episode you'll get some background info on what the Farm Bill is, who and what it impacts, and why we should be making friends with our congressional representatives. This week's episode is made possible by support from the USDA.

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 marketing your market through community outreach and simple ways to reel in sponsors - all the things you're likely thinking about as you enter your 2023 farmers market season! Enjoy this Best of Tent Talk episode & we'll have another great episode for you next week. This week's episode is made possible by support from our incredible Farmers Market Pros partners including the USDA, Square, The Food Corridor, MarketWurks, Farmers Market Coalition, American Farmland Trust and more!