Tent Talk

The leaves aren't the only thing changing this fall! We're shaking things up with an adjusted schedule, a fresh new Tent Talk season, and an updated interactive platform. In our upcoming series, Survive & Thrive, we're focusing on how to operate a successful market business during unprecedented times.

In this episode, we're taking a look back at where we've been and forward to where we're going. From 2020 to 2026, tune in as we reflect on all things farmers markets, Farmers Market Pros, and inTents: The Farmers Market Conference.

Listen closely for a few important dates and deadlines. To keep growing your market business, subscribe to our newsletter at farmersmarketforum.com.

This episode of Tent Talk, the Farmers Market Podcast, is supported by American Farmland Trust.

Almost 350 episodes in, we're making some changes to Tent Talk. We're still here, that big archive is still bingeable and new episodes are on the schedule. We're also moving our newsletter to a more interactive platform, making it weekly and adding related offerings. Watch for upcoming webinars, live calls and later this year additional private podcast episodes just for members. Tune in to hear what we're doing on our summer not-a-vacation. Pop over to farmersmarketforum.com to subscribe to the newsletter. Let's keep growing community. #farmersmarketpodcast #farmersmarketsdontjusthappen #farmersmarketforum farmersmarketforum.com

We're talking this month about Building a Bigger Tent at our farmers markets. Let's remember that the more people and communities we welcome to markets, the deeper our variety of produce, products and personalities. Exclusion, whether purposeful or just thoughtless, means we miss out on all the richness that comes with diversity.

Sagdrina Brown Jalal is back with us for this episode, just in time for Juneteenth. While that day of historic remembrance is coming up next week on June 19th, observances and events will start this weekend and extend into next. We're talking about how your market can support that holiday. And we're looking at how organizations like the West Georgia Farmers Cooperative are working to level the playing field and lift up small farmers all year round. Tune in while we discuss:

• Support can be more appropriate than leadership
• The exhausting history of resilience
• Bridging urban and rural division
• Looking beyond Federal funding
• Partnership and collaboration as strength

#Farmersmarkets #Juneteenth #Blackfarmersmarkets #Cooperatives #Belovedcommunity #SageDCollective

This month we're going to be talking about Building a Bigger Tent and keeping our commitment to making farmers markets a welcoming and opportunity filled place for everyone. We're also getting ready to launch some new ways to share information to make your farmers market more profitable and less stressful for farmers, producers and managers. Don't miss those upcoming announcements. Meanwhile, expect some shorter episodes this summer leading up to our next full season, and the occasional longer one. Dip into the archives anytime: there are currently almost 350 episodes there.

Quick reminder: you have just a few days before registration closes on June 5th for the International Public Markets Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this month. Our own Catt Fields White will be hosting a panel there on market operations. Click the PPS logo on the Resource Page at FarmersMarketPros.com to register.

Wrapping up our series on defining farmers markets, we're chatting in this episode about what a farmers market is, and what it isn't. Whether inadvertently or intentionally, a lot of places and platforms and events are identified as farmers markets that don't meet the definition. Tents alone do not a farmers market make and the same goes for fresh produce. Are there farmers present? Does it happen regularly? We're intent on keeping our word. Speaking up for farmers markets means reminding people what a farmers market really is, and why that matters. Listen in as we discuss

• What makes a farmers market
• Helping consumers know the difference
• Other platforms, other names
• Calling out greenwashing
• Keeping our word

Today's episode of Tent Talk, the Farmers Market Podcast, is supported by TentCraft

In this episode of our series on defining farmers markets we consider online ordering and delivery services by looking back to a June, 2021 conversation with Christine Farren, Executive Director of San Francisco's Foodwise. Back then, the organization formerly known as Cuesa was redesigning the curated boxes developed on the fly during peak Covid into a delivery service managed with a logistics partner. Tune in as we discuss how online ordering and home delivery fits into the definition of farmers markets as a place where farmers and eaters form relationships. Listen to our conversation about:

• Flexibility as a superpower
• Sharing other organizations' strengths
• Doing the math on delivery
• Keeping new systems equitable
• The importance of face time

Today's episode of Tent Talk, the Farmers Market Podcast, is supported by Project for Public Spaces

Continuing our series on defining farmers markets we like to wonder: what if everyone in a region or in the country agreed on one set of best practices and one set of rules for farmers markets? In this episode we're talking with Dr. Kim Hutchison and Meredith Ledlie Johnson about how the Virginia Farmers Market Association has done just that. Bringing in multiple stakeholders helped create consistent standards. Education and certification of managers and farmers markets provides validation and a sense of pride. Leveraging that recognition to negotiate managers' compensation and public policy are additional benefits. Listen in as we talk about:

• Creating consistent standards
• Recognizing our industry's strengths
• Bringing multiple agencies to the table
• Documenting the work we do
• How certification affects salaries

Today's episode of Tent Talk, the Farmers Market Podcast, is supported by American Farmland Trust

Defining farmers markets starts with one common thread: the presence of farmers, selling to shoppers. From there all bets are off and protocols and structure can vary widely. This week we're looking back to a conversation with farmer Jake Johannes from the Sacred Sun Cooperative. He shares how the Brookside Farmers Market in Kansas City, Missouri is organized as an almost all-volunteer market. Farmers and vendors serve on the board, actively assisting a paid manager to maintain standards centered on local food and "radically sustainable practices". Listen in as we talk about: • Centering producers • Maintaining market integrity • Avoiding conflicts of interest • Supporting your market manager • Compassionate decision making Today's episode of Tent Talk, the Farmers Market Podcast, is supported by Farmers Market University.

We're wrapping up this month's Marketing Methods series with a reminder that social media is just one way to create loyal shoppers for your farmers market operation, and not necessarily the best one. Nowadays rules and algorithms and reach seem to change daily, at the whim of the platforms. Email newsletters let you control your list and your timing, and personalize your outreach to build connections. How do you maximize those results?

In this episode, Erika Tebbens, the Director of Impact at woman-owned and woman-led local food marketing agency Taste the Local Difference, makes a convincing case for breathing new life into your email marketing campaigns. Listen in to this exclusive excerpt of Erika's presentation at the 2025 In Tents National Farmers Market Conference. We've skipped the parts of her session that relied heavily on visuals. Listen in for expert tips on how to keep your content in front of shoppers who will keep coming back to the market, as well as:

• Determining the best email platform
• Building and expanding your own contact list
• Including effective calls to action

Is anyone else going all in on the Spring cleaning vibes? It's a great time to do a refresh, or even just a review of your market business website. We've been saying this a lot lately, but we'll say it again: have you made it easy for your customers to find you? Is your location front and center? Your website is an opportunity for you to tell potential shoppers not only where you are, but who you are and why your business is unique. Whether you've got thousands of social media followers, or you're just starting to grow your market business, your website is still often the first place a shopper will go to learn more about you. Tune in for another episode in this month's Marketing Methods series, and follow along as we discuss:

• Making sure crucial information is front and center
• Landing pages and links
• Vendors and sponsors and maps, oh my!
• Who updates your website, and how often