How to build foot traffic for a small town Farmer's Market

Hi Zach and fellow permies!
My husband & I retired to a small town (5000+ people) and are looking at selling our excess garden produce (and hopefully planning, if profitable, an extensive garden expansion). Our local Farmer's Market typically has 1-3 vendors and very light foot traffic. As in, we are often the only buyers there when we stop by. Larger, busier Farmer's Markets are a minimum of 80 miles away (one way) and the cost of transportation would put us at a pricing disadvantage compared to the vendors that live nearby.

We're unsure of the reasons behind the lack of foot traffic at our local Farmer's Market. Based on the conversations we've had, many people grew up with parents or grandparents that had large kitchen gardens, but most of them don't grow their own produce now. Of those that do garden, some are organic, some think nothing of using pesticides. People shop for food at WalMart or the one other grocery store. Both stores have small organic produce sections, but are mainly limited to lettuce mixes, greens & carrots. There is often a choice between organic or commercially grown strawberries or blueberries. This is a lower income area with quite a few retirees.    

So, how do we figure out why our Farmer's Market has so few people attending?...and how can we help build foot traffic without it becoming another part-time job on our ever-expanding To Do List? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

How about putting up advertising fliers in local churches, the library and other public places.  Maybe highlight how people should go to the farmer's market to get food that tastes like it did when they were kids (perhaps aiming at the retirees).

Thanks for the idea, Mike.  Certainly worth a try!

Hi Merry,

I have helped to manage several farmers markets and have a few suggestions of things to think about:

1. Finding out (as much as possible) why people aren't going to the farmers market would be helpful. The best strategy for determining this is simply talking to as many people as you can. Ask why they don't go and what would motivate them to go.

2. Making the market a "place to be" can be really effective. Is there a way to get a local musician to play for an hour or so? Providing coffee (either by recruiting a dedicated coffee vendor or having current vendors take turns bringing some) and a comfortable place to sit and chat can be a great draw. A really small market can't compete w/ a supermarket in terms of diversity of product/quantity so it's helpful to think about what you offer that they can't. Usually this is quality of product, which you can (and should!) emphasize but this can also be experience. If you can make the market a nice place to spend an hour, where people can have a cup of coffee and chat and feel like they're a part of a community, they will come back (and bring their friends!).

3. Recruiting vendors can be helpful. I've found that a lot of people prefer to shop at the supermarket because they can get everything they need in one place. If your market is mostly vegetables, recruiting someone w/ eggs or meat could be a big selling point. Or, going back to the idea of making the market a place to be, having a coffee and/or baked goods vendor is always a draw.

These are just a few things that come to mind; the Farmers Market Coalition (https://farmersmarketcoalition.org/) is a great resource for market development and has a lot dedicated to increasing traffic.

Good luck!

Farmers markets in rural areas will have more traffic if they are:

Near an urban area
Near cottage country
Have reputation as destination

Bring something to the market that is amazing and get in newspapers talking about it and promoting the market.

🌿Zach

You might have to take over the orgnisation of the market or at least help. A market with 1-3 vendors is not a market. No one would go there. It depends really on the location how many stalls you need. You can ask someone to bask as well, but who would do that in such a tiny market? I think yhou would need at least 15-20 stalls to make it viable. Than means in order to make it work you have to contact a lot of people and ask weather they want to try it. The fees have to be very low because it is not a good market. There is a huge difference what you can make on a good and on a bad market.

Wow! Lots to think about and lots of researching / talking to people to do. Thanks, Claire, Zach (table in book helpful), & Angelika! At first blush, it seems like too much work to do for the money we would potentially make; we are also considering what we could supply to local restaurants, especially during the Summer & Fall tourist times (small, but growing). We've also thought about what products we could grow that transport well, selling long distance via internet or to wholesalers.
 
But we keep coming back to the Farmer's Market option. Our community could really use a thriving, vibrant Farmer's Market. A place to hang out and visit with neighbors (currently WalMart). A place to buy quality, healthy foods. A place for tourists to mingle with locals and feel a part of the place. At least during the tourist season, the Farmer's Market might become part of the "reputation as destination" mentioned by Zach (wasn't sure what you meant by being near cottage country though, could you clarify?).  

Like I said, lots to think about...and we thought things would slow down for us in "retirement."  

Claire Battaglia wrote:Hi Merry,

I have helped to manage several farmers markets and have a few suggestions of things to think about:

1. Finding out (as much as possible) why people aren't going to the farmers market would be helpful. The best strategy for determining this is simply talking to as many people as you can. Ask why they don't go and what would motivate them to go.

2. Making the market a "place to be" can be really effective. Is there a way to get a local musician to play for an hour or so? Providing coffee (either by recruiting a dedicated coffee vendor or having current vendors take turns bringing some) and a comfortable place to sit and chat can be a great draw. A really small market can't compete w/ a supermarket in terms of diversity of product/quantity so it's helpful to think about what you offer that they can't. Usually this is quality of product, which you can (and should!) emphasize but this can also be experience. If you can make the market a nice place to spend an hour, where people can have a cup of coffee and chat and feel like they're a part of a community, they will come back (and bring their friends!).

3. Recruiting vendors can be helpful. I've found that a lot of people prefer to shop at the supermarket because they can get everything they need in one place. If your market is mostly vegetables, recruiting someone w/ eggs or meat could be a big selling point. Or, going back to the idea of making the market a place to be, having a coffee and/or baked goods vendor is always a draw.

These are just a few things that come to mind; the Farmers Market Coalition (https://farmersmarketcoalition.org/) is a great resource for market development and has a lot dedicated to increasing traffic.

Good luck!

^^ This ^^

I love going to a farmer's market if there is someone playing live music (a small sound system, two microphones, an open guitar case for tips), and if there is a place to get a good cup of coffee.

Getting larger community buy-in is important.  Is there a local baker who would be willing to set up a table with breads and sweets?  Is there a local coffee house that would set up a table with a couple of choices of coffee and tea for purchase?  Are the local Girl Scouts selling cookies?  Get them out there, and that'll bring their parents.  Are there local artists who would set up a table and display their ceramics/paintings/carvings, etc?  What about other community organizations that are looking for exposure?  The blood mobile, the local High School choir, Boy Scouts selling whatever they sell to earn money for the summer Jamboree, church groups raising money for a mission trip, crafty people selling Christmas crap, etc.

Nothing draws a crowd like a crowd.  Even having a local restaurant or two present selling sandwiches or soup or whatever . . . people are more likely to stop and linger if there are 20 tables than if there are 3.

A local bee guy selling honey.
A florist selling some flowers.
The local pet shelter with puppies for adoption.
Local music teachers who teach guitar, fiddle, piano . . . whatever . . . and willing to take an hour of stage time in exchange for advertising for their business and exposure for their students.
Same with the local dance studio.
The local dude who makes his own venison jerky and sausage.
The local micro-brewery with their bottled wares for sale (if it's OK to sell alcohol at such a market).

The possibilities are endless.

You might want to limit how often you are out there, so it creates a bit of a demand --- the first and third Saturday of the month from 9:00 till 1:00 -- something like that.

Thre are some companies hre who orgnize markets for a living... So it could not be only volunteering. A bee guy always draws attention.
And it exposes you in the local community if you organize such a thing. Is there a chamber of commerce?
I sell plants and selling is really half of it. Producing is easier!

I agree that there need to be more vendors for more people to bother stopping by, but also, does the market have a way of accepting food stamps? If your area is low-income, this may be how many people buy their food. We live in a pretty economically depressed area and when our farmer's market started accepting ebt, it just exploded. It is now definitely the most happening place in the area on a Sunday morning. Whether everyone agrees with the ebt system or not, people are collecting it, and will be spending it. The question is where.

I know it would be a ton of work to really get things going with more vendors, etc., but it sounds like your area could really use a good farmer's market.  

Hello! I used to volunteer at the East Oxford Farmers' Market. At the start there were about five stalls (and then we grew), so don't feel discouraged! We used to advertise on the day of the market, by putting up durable posters on the lamp-posts on the main road (the market was held in the car park of the community centre on a side street) to remind people that it was happening. "Today! Farmers' Market 100 m from here!" It was a pain to put the posters up and take them back down afterwards, but we'd take turns. They were printed on stiff plastic (reusable) with holes for tying them to street furniture.
I agree with the suggestion putting up posters in the supermarket, pharmacy, wherever people spend a moment and look at the noticeboard... and using the "vegetables the way they used to be" angle. And if your prices are cheap, emhasise that too!
We found that the main draw was the vegetable stall, and the other stuff (cakes, breads, preserves, chocolate, candles etc) was secondary. If the vegetable farmers couldn't come for some reason, people wouldn't even begin shopping. So you've already got the basics right!
Here in Mexico we shop at a farmers' market that was set up by consumers who wanted pesticide-free produce. It grew out of a weekly CSA veggie basket, when people started adding other pructs to the baskets... and finally it became easier to just have all the products in one place on Saturdays and Wednesdays. They organise themselves by assemblies and participatory certification where they draw up their own criteria and hold annual inspections... but they've already got 15 stalls. Perhaps you could also offer veggie baskets, to augment the market? Take orders at the market for delivery later in the week so people get fresh vegetables twice a week?
Best of luck!! You've got a good thing going.

What about a courtesy knife sharpening service to draw traffic? It seems like a good fit, but very few seem to have it.

I've been considering offering a quick-and-dirty sharpening service for free. Bring your favourite two kitchen blades. It'll be a coarse edge, steeled into place, but it will cut. And believe me, it'll be a big step up from what most people have now.

I would have a jar for tips. People who can afford to would help offset my costs, but it would be voluntary, no pressure.

The problem is, markets charge for access and there just isn't enough to cover that unless you charge commercial rates. So I would need free access or work on the street outside.

Thoughts?