Tent Talk

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 functioning. Want more Tent Talk content and access to extended interviews? Become a Farmers Market Pro member! Visit farmersmarketpros.com/support for details on how to sign up.

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 their operations more efficient. On this episode, we catch up with Chris about how he's assisting market managers through the current challenges they're facing and what he thinks the future of farmers market-centric conferences will look like. To hear our full un-cut conversation with Chris, become a Farmers Market Pro member! Visit farmersmarketpros.com/support for details on how to sign up.

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 about new Farmers Market Pros projects that we've got brewing. We hope you'll join us this week, and the next week, and the next as we keep this podcast party going!

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 farmers markets and agricultural conservation and how American Farmland Trust is supporting farmers through COVID-19.

Find out more about the 2020 Farmers Market Celebration at https://farmland.org!

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 only increases food security, but can also bolster vendor sales.

Also, happy National Farmers Market Week!! Visit www.farmersmarketcoalition.org for free resources and information on how to celebrate this year. Remember: farmers markets are essential!!

This week on Tent Talk, we're checking in with Maya Madsen of Maya's Cookies to hear all about surviving and thriving after an unexpected large boost in her Black owned farmers market business! Maya updates us on all that her business has been through these past few months. Listen along to hear about Maya's hurdles, wins, losses, celebrity shout outs, missed calls from Netflix execs, supply chain issues, awesome customers, coming back to the farmers markets and on and on!

In preparation for National Farmers Market Week, which is coming up August 2-8, our guest this week is Stephanie Fenty, Manager of Operations and Strategic Engagement at the Farmers Market Coalition. We talk about all the different ways markets can participate (while still adhering to COVID-19 safety regulations) and the amazing promotional resources the Farmers Market Coalition provides. You can download the free National Farmers Market Week Resources and Templates toolkit at farmersmarketcoalition.org!

In various parts of the country, farmers markets are still open, just opening, operating differently with drive throughs or curbside pickups or not opening at all. This week on Tent Talk, we're talking with Ashlie Pesic, the farmers' daughter at Da Le Ranch, about staffing to sell at multiple farmers markets and pivoting during COVID-19. Da Le Ranch is a Southern California meat and poultry farming operation that operates in several counties and cities, so they continue to deal with a variety of changing conditions and are well-versed in adapting to different farmers market health and safety requirements.

This week on Tent Talk, co-hosts Brijet, Catt and Justine talk about the importance of vendor education. When new vendors take courses such as Vendor-101, or have a general knowledge of what it takes to sell at the farmers' market, it lays a strong foundation for a successful farmers market business future! Listen along for tips on where to start if you have no experience as a vendor, or if you're a market manager, how to launch a vendor education course of your own.

Farmers' market managers and vendors are dealing with even more than the usual regulations, physical labor and day to day jobs right now. In these trying times, when we can't gather in person, online communities provide some much needed support. For this week's episode of Tent Talk, we chat with some of the members of our Farmers' Market Pros Facebook community about how your tribe of market industry people can provide support online and off.