Starting a Farmers Market Stand: What You’ll Need & Tips

In most states, farmers are allowed to sell home grown fruits and vegetables without a license. Purchasing products for resale often requires a Hawkers license. Processed foods usually require a special permit from the Health Department. If you have questions about the regulations, contact your local Board of Health. Check with your Chamber of Commerce, planning office, and other relevant community services to find out what permits you need.

• However, you do not have to incorporate to obtain tax-exempt status.
• They cannot be used to buy flowers or ready to eat prepared foods.
• There is no permit needed from the state to start a farmers’ market or operate a farm stand or mobile market.
• If you need to, add value or find a new way to extend your product’s season.
• Only sell clean produce in neat containers which will not splinter.
• Establishing a legal business entity such as an LLC or corporation protects you from being held personally liable if your farmers market is sued.

Any farmers’ market, farm stand, or mobile market in New York State is an eligible location for customers with FreshConnect Checks to spend their benefit for any eligible food items sold there. Farmers that direct market their products at farmers markets can increase their revenue through the acceptance of these nutrition assistance programs. You’ll need to find a convenient space, either indoors or out, to sell the produce and other products.

Unexpected Supplies You’ll Need for Your Farmers Market Stand

But there are a handful of small supplies that can make a big difference in creating a pleasant shopping experience for your customers. Learn to quickly identify the different kinds of people that attend farmers markets. Greet each potential customer that walks by your booth with a friendly “Hi!

Vendors who have thousands of pounds of gear and inventory cannot haul those things long distances from their cars. Avoid hawking your produce or using aggressive selling tactics at farmer’s markets. Customers are accustomed to making small talk with vendors and building up trusting relationships over time. The board serves as the governing body for the Market Association membership.

Idaho Farmers Market Association

If you need to take a call, or just can’t resist the temptation of staying up to date with all your friends on Starting And Operating A Farmers Market, we recommend you step away from the booth. Once you have created your farmers market checklist, it’s time to carefully look at the list and prioritize the tasks that need to be done first. If you know your first farmer’s market is in two weeks, and it takes 9 days to produce the goods you intend to sell, this should be an item that is moved to the top of the list. This will ensure the important items are taken care of if you happen to run out of time. This may require being certified by the Board of Health in your county, obtaining a health or food handler permit, as well as understanding how selling prepared foods need to be properly labeled. Extending your market’s season offers more sales opportunities for your vendors and more access to fresh food for your community.

• Because paper work and waiting are involved, leave plenty of time to file the appropriate papers before your market opens.
• You may also wish to investigate the purchase of an “umbrella” policy to cover the market and all vendors together.
• You just need a booth space to rent, whether indoors or outdoors.
• Be sure you and any employees who staff your market table and well educated and ready to answer customer questions!
• They provide urban consumers with high quality produce which, because of its freshness, is often more nutritious than produce sold at stores.

Establish a fee schedule for the rental of space at the market, i.e. a set stall fee, per day, per month fee, per season fee. A good neighbor distance from existing nearby certified farmers’ markets. Please keep in mind when considering hosting a farmers’ market, that adequate unmet demand in your area will ensure a crowd. Demand is a function of several factors in each specific area. Monitor for possible violations of state and market sanitation and food safety guidelines.

Responsibilities of Market Manger or Market Management

You might also consider a premium recruitment option, such as advertising on Indeed, Glassdoor, or ZipRecruiter. Further, if you have the resources, you could consider hiring a recruitment agency to help you find talent. Pay–per-click marketing – Use Google AdWords to come up faster from searches. As opening day nears, prepare for launch by reviewing and improving some key elements of your business. If you feel overwhelmed by this step or don’t know how to begin, it might be a good idea to hire a professional to help you check all the legal boxes.

Below are the steps DCASE recommends before launching a new market. We also highly recommend joining the Chicago Farmers Market Collective to connect with other market managers throughout the City. 8.Consider adding a child or pet friendly element to your booth.