Tent Talk

Change is hard, especially when dozens of small farmers and vendors are involved, but that doesn't mean it can't be done! On this week's episode we hear from Lauren Wolfer, Program Director for the Palm Springs Cultural Center about big changes at Certified Farmers' Markets of the Coachella Valley. During the pandemic Lauren stepped in to replace the longtime farmers market manager and then this fall CFMCV implemented a big change in their weekly market schedule, shifting their Palm Desert farmers market from Wednesday to Sunday. After years of discussing this move, it was finally put into action right before their busy winter season. Listen along to our conversation with Lauren to hear how the schedule shift has impacted their organization, how farmers and vendors are adjusting, and what the shopper response has been. This week's episode is made possible by support from Marketing For Markets.

Eek! The end of 2022 is rapidly approaching! Join us this week as we look ahead to another wonderful year of making farmers market magic happen. In this episode we discuss what market operators should be considering as the calendar year wraps up and how to plan for 2023. Time to pull out those calendars and start dreaming of all the awesome things you're going to accomplish in the next 12 months! This week's episode is made possible by support from MarketWurks.

This week on Tent Talk we're joined by Lisa Herlinger, founder of Ruby Jewel ice cream sandwiches. Lisa is a trained chef turned entrepreneur who launched her gourmet ice cream sandwich company at the Portland Farmers Market back in 2004. Now, almost 2 decades later, it's a thriving business with wholesale grocery and convenience store distribution, spreading joy and dominating the frozen novelty aisle nationwide. Tune in to hear about Ruby Jewel's origin, what steps Lisa made to push her farmers market business to the next level, and how she was able to scale her business without sacrificing the quality of ingredients. You're gonna love this farmers market success story! This week's episode is made possible by support from The Kitchen Door.

Our guest this week is Laura Robbins, Owner of Wild Robbins Farm located in Sherborn Massachusetts. While farmers markets weren't part of Laura's original business plan when she established her farm in 2019, she's found them to be the perfect venue for her to sell her meat and eggs direct to customers who can't make it out to her farm store. She's also discovered the power of value-added products to draw in new customers and reduce waste. In this episode Laura shares how her chicken pot pies became an undeniable revenue stream and what farmers should know about the value of value-added! This week's episode is made possible by support from Thriving Farmer Value-Added Summit. Register for this free online event by clicking the Growing Farmers logo at https://www.farmersmarketpros.com/partners!

It's Thanksgiving week, so we thought we'd replay an episode that highlights what we're most thankful for: our incredible farmers market community! On this Best of Tent Talk episode you'll hear thoughts from 2 dozen farmers market professionals that we interviewed earlier this year at the 2022 InTents Conference in San Diego. Over the course of the 3 day conference, attendees sat down with Justine to share their "why". Why do they do what they do? Why do they get up at 4 am to make farmers market magic happen week after week? Why do they keep going when they feel like they can't? And as expected, the answers were enlightening, heartfelt, and inspiring. We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we do! This week's episode is made possible by support from InTents: the Farmers Market Conference.

This week our guest is B. Griffin, Farmers Market Support Program Manager for Community Farm Alliance, a nonprofit 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, the difficulties farmers and market operators have faced implementing it, and the problem-solving efforts CFA has put into action. We also get an update on the impact last summer's floods in Kentucky had on their local food system and what the rest of the country can learn from their disaster response and relief efforts. This week's episode is made possible by support from Farmers Market Coalition.

Join us for a magical episode this week as we talk with Denise Alvarez, farmers market vendor, artist, photographer and owner of Click Bloom, a desert inspired gift company based out of Arizona. She has a deep love for gift-giving and a knack for connecting with her fellow vendors and farmers market shoppers. In this episode Denise breaks down her philosophy of marketing through "magic moments" and shares tips for how to stand out at the farmers market. We also discuss what crafters can do to feel at home at food-centric farmers markets and endear themselves to market managers. This week's episode is made possible by support from Square.

Our guest this week is Yvette Lippert, market manager for the Downtown Yakima Farmers Market. Since she was hired back in 2018, Yvette has revitalized the decades-old market and overseen its growth, connecting with various businesses and organizations in the community along the way. Now, as a part of that growth, Yvette's market has embarked on an exciting long-term construction and relocation project. In this episode Yvette walks us through the different phases of this project and how the Yakima community and her farmers market community has responded. We also discuss some pros and cons of moving into a fancy new market location. This week's episode is made possible by support from The Food Corridor.

If you're a farmers market operator, chances are you've been recruited to lend your expertise to some other large scale event. Our skills as farmers market professionals are extremely applicable to special occasions such as neighborhood block parties, artisan fairs, community fundraisers and annual holiday markets! In this week's episode of Tent Talk we share some helpful tips to successfully executing special non-farmers market events with other event organizers. Listen along as we discuss the importance of choosing your events wisely and tools to collaborating with other event planners. It's all about implementing direct communication, clearly establishing roles and delegating tasks! This week's episode is made possible by support from MarketWurks.

This week on Tent Talk we're joined by two special guests with insight on making farmers markets more inclusive for every body. In this episode we chat with writer and researcher Ragen Chastain and Resource Libraries Coordinator for the Farmers Market Coalition, Nina Budabin McQuown about recognizing and combating weight stigma at farmers markets. In our conversation Ragen and Nina educate us on what weight stigma is, how these biases present in a farmers market setting, and what market managers and vendors can do to ensure all shoppers feel welcome. Join us for an enlightening discussion! This week's episode is made possible by support from InTents, the farmers market conference.