Market Operations

It’s about this time of year that most farmers’ markets will start to look at their rules & regulations and determine if they need to be updated. There are many good reasons for having rules for operation of your farmers’ market. But the enforcement of these rules can often lead to power struggles within the market and tenuous relationships between the manager and vendors if not handled properly.

In New York State, participation in the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program requires rules & regulations for market operation. This is an important reason for rules to operate your market, but not the most important. Without rules, vendors will have no frame of reference for what is acceptable behavior at the market.  Rules govern everything from when set-up can start to what types of products can be sold at the market to the management structure of the market and how decisions are made.

Clear rules are imperitive to smooth operation of your farmers’ market. While there are no “clear and fast” rules on how to fashion your market rules, just try and answer the questions below and it will give you a good start.

- When does your market operate (season, days of the week, time of day)?

- When can sales start?

- When can vendors set up & do they have to stay until the end of market day?

- Where can your products come from which are sold at the market? (within a certain radius, from certain states, should crafts be homemade-how will you judge this, etc…)

- How does reimbursement happen for vendors?

- How are decisions made at the market?

- What is the role of the manager at the market?

- Does your market have committees (friends of the market, fundraising, marketing/pr, community events, etc…)

I hope this discussion has helped you understand the importance of market rules and puts you well on your way to creating or updating your market’s rules.