We receive emails every week from people all over the state who want to start a farmers’ market. Sometimes they’re working for a company or nonprofit who likes the idea of hosting a farmers’ market on their property. Other times, they’re an individual who wants to have a farmers’ market in their neighborhood. Occasionally it’s an already-established farmer or vendor branching out and seeking support. Wherever you’re coming from, there are some important things to know about Maine farmers’ markets in general before you start your market:
- MFFM does not organize, run, or coordinate any farmers’ markets of our own. We do not recruit vendors, but we can help you get the word out that applications are open once you get your market going through our Market Matchmaker Tool.
- Almost all of Maine’s farmers’ markets are entirely self-organized and run by the vendors themselves. Farmers tend to start new markets when they are in a position to pursue new sales outlets, and when they see a good opportunity in the local food ecosystem to do so.
- Farmers’ markets serve small businesses, and have to make business sense. If a vendor can’t recoup their expenses, make enough to afford to be away from their farm, and fit the market into their existing weekly sales model, it won’t work.
- Planning season for most Maine markets is December-March. That gives markets enough time for meetings, updates to rules, membership application review, and officer elections. It also gives individual vendors enough time to plan supply, start crops, hire help, and work weekly schedules around a market.
- Large crowds do not always mean a good market. In Maine farmers’s experience, markets in highly touristed, or very busy event areas sometimes flop because there aren’t enough people actually shopping for groceries to take home and cook themselves.
- Setting up food access programs can take up to a year. For a farmers’ market to be able to sell SNAP-eligible food items, it will need a license from USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). The application and approval process is long, detailed, and can require a lot of back-and-forth with the USDA. But once a farmers’ market is up and running, we can help with that!
- Farmers’ markets are built on relationships. They are a weekly source for food where both producers and customers learn to depend on each other for what they need. Customers don’t always find exactly what they want, and vendors don’t always have great sales days, but as long as folks can get enough of what they need out of it, the market can continue.
- Farmers’ markets don’t just happen! There’s so much behind-the-scenes planning and work before the first farm trucks even arrive to the site. Similarly, vendors don’t just magically have products to sell! There’s often over a year of planning involved in the production of your food, and there’s a lot of labor involved in picking, harvesting, washing, bunching, organizing, trucking, setting up an entire outdoor store, and packing up and taking leftover food home at the end of the day.
How to move toward organizing a market, if you have a cohort of interested vendors:
Take a dive into our “Operating a Farmers’ Market” library of resources. We are here to help you with information and resources, especially if you are a producer-organized market.
What can help a market develop and thrive:
Adequate parking. Even if you live in a highly walkable area, most shoppers still want the option of using a vehicle to haul heavy bags and get perishable food home quickly. Farmers want customers to be able to park closeby so that they won’t hesitate to buy those heavy cabbages and potatoes!
Even more important, vendors must be able to get their vehicles, sometimes large box trucks or trucks with trailers, in and out of the market location easily, and at the right time of day. Some vendors may need up to two hours to set up at the height of summer, and could take an hour or more to break down and pack up.
Consistent Schedule and Location. It can take some time to build up a regular customer base, and change people’s shopping habits. Sticking to the same schedule and location, especially in the beginning, can help you build up a customer base and make the market worth it to your vendors sooner.
Supportive site hosts. A good host, whether it’s a municipality, public organization, or private owner, can make all the difference in a market’s success. If an organization grants the use of space for a weekly farmers’ market, but then kicks the market out of their spot often due to other one-off uses, it really messes up customer retention and sales consistency.
Facilities. Not every site can offer public restrooms, but for vendors, who are on site for the duration, may have ridden up to two hours in a truck to get there, and have hardly any opportunity to leave their booth if they don’t have backup help, a bathroom is a must. Potable water can be a lifesaver on a hectic market day, too.
Rent. Many markets in Maine pay $0 in rent to use the space. This is because many municipalities and organizations see the value of having a farmers’ market, from community engagement, to food access, to free foot traffic and advertising, and many more benefits.
The information on this page was put together by market farmers and vendors. Got anything to add? [email protected]