Feb
10
10:00 AM10:00
Webinar

Identifying and Overcoming Customer Obstacles

Wednesday, February 10th, 2021 at 10:00AM

This webinar is part of the Helping Farmers Markets Adapt to Current Consumer Trends: Winter Webinar Series.

Speaker

Josie Moroney
Cooperstown Farmers Market

Steve Ridler
Troy Farmers Market

The toolkit identified obstacles to customers and proposed some potential solutions. This session will highlight both an urban and rural farmers market and initiatives that they implemented. We’ll learn how they designed programs and services to meet the needs of their customers to encourage continued shopping.

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Jan
26
12:00 PM12:00
Webinar

Making the Customer the VIP

Tuesday, January 26th, 2021 at 12:00PM

This webinar is part of the Helping Farmers Markets Adapt to Current Consumer Trends: Winter Webinar Series.

Speaker

TBD

Creating a customer-focused market is the key to ensuring loyalty and continued purchases season after season. During this session we will hear from several markets about the mechanisms for customer input about their market and how they implement it to keep their customers feeling like the King or Queen of the market. We’ll also hear about programs or policies they have implemented which drive their customer experience.

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Jan
12
10:00 AM10:00
Webinar

Marketing Integrity: Meeting Customer Expectations

Tuesday, January 12th, 2021 at 10:00AM

This webinar is part of the Helping Farmers Markets Adapt to Current Consumer Trends: Winter Webinar Series.

Speakers

TK Zellers
GrowNYC

Amy Willis
Broome County Regional Farmers Market

Consumers support a farmers market because there is often an expectation that the product being displayed meets certain standards. During this session we’ll hear from two very different markets on how they meet their customer’s expectations on product standards, product diversity and farm inspection. 

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Dec
15
10:00 AM10:00
Webinar

Identifying and Reaching Unique Customers

Tuesday, December 15th, 2020 at 10:00AM

This webinar is part of the Helping Farmers Markets Adapt to Current Consumer Trends: Winter Webinar Series.

Speakers

Jackie Farrell
Westside Farmers Market

Erwin Rakoczy
Clarence Hollow Farmers Market

GrowNYC (invited)

Does your market appeal to unique customer bases? This session will look at programs that identify a specific target audience, how they pulled the program together and the impacts it has had on their market. 

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Dec
3
12:00 PM12:00
Webinar

Market Programs that Build Your Customer Base and Add Sales

Thursday, December 3rd, 2020 at 12:00 PM

This webinar is part of the Helping Farmers Markets Adapt to Current Consumer Trends: Winter Webinar Series.

SPEAKERS

Beth Irons
Oneida County Public Market

Market programs can be effective ways to build a customer base. But they do create extra work. This session will help us to identify programs that will help build your market and enhance your market mission. We’ll learn how to plan and prepare for market programming, as well as evaluate its effectiveness.

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Virtual Barn Dance
Nov
12
7:00 PM19:00

Virtual Barn Dance

RAISE THE ROOF, KICK UP YOUR HEELS — IT'S A VIRTUAL BARN DANCE FUN-RAISER, HOSTED BY THE FARMERS MARKET FEDERATION OF NY!

Join the Farmers Market Federation of NY to celebrate the end of a very challenging farmers market season with a Virtual Barn Dance on Thursday, November 12th from 7:00pm - 8:15pm

With music and instruction by renowned square dance caller and instructor, Jim Wass and his partner Ann, this Zoom event will guarantee to warm your heart and fill your soul with some farm country, toe-tapping rhythm.

So, grab a partner or tune in solo and get ready for some round dance and line dance stepping as we come together in virtual celebration. Let’s lift our spirits, swing some hips and kick up our heels for a job well done!

Purchase your tickets here!

Farmers Market Federation of NY is a 501(c)3 organization - donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law.

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Nov
10
11:00 AM11:00
Webinar

Marketing: Strategies for Outreach

Tuesday, November 10th, 2020 at 11:00AM

This webinar is part of the Helping Farmers Markets Adapt to Current Consumer Trends: Winter Webinar Series.

Speaker

Lindsay Ott Wilcox
CenterMost Marketing

Marketing your market is important to success, but often a misunderstood concept. Lindsay will help us to develop a marketing plan that will reach your target audience and grow your customer base. Participants will come away with a comprehensive marketing plan and marketing checklist to help them keep on track with their marketing efforts.

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Open Forum: Farm Safety Plan Requirements
Aug
24
10:00 AM10:00
Open Forum

Open Forum: Farm Safety Plan Requirements

Open Forum Aug 24.jpg

OPEN FORUM LED BY CCE SPECIALIST LAURA BIASILLO ON FARM SAFETY PLAN REQUIREMENTS—MONDAY, AUGUST 24TH, 2020

This instructional forum on developing safety plans for farmers/vendors- mandated by recent NYSDAM guidelines- was led by Laura Biasillo, Agricultural Economic Development Specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County and member of the Cornell Farm Safety Plan Task Force. No matter the size of your farm, whether you’re a crafter, or vendor part time at the market, having a safety plan in place is a requirement.  Please see the materials and video below for helpful information regarding this topic.  

View the Presentation: FM COVID-19 Safety Plan [PDF]
NYS COVID-19 Farm Safety Plan [PDF]
OFM - COVID-19 Reopening Safety Plan Template [WORD]
Cornell Cooperative Extension: Helping New Yorkers Thrive [LINK]

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Aug
13
10:00 AM10:00
Open Forum

Open Forum 10: Defusing Hostile Situations at Your Market

TENTH OPEN FORUM — THURSDAY, AUGUST 13TH, 2020

Topic: Defusing Hostile Situations at Your Market

We have seen, and more often now experienced ourselves, recent incidents of disruptive behavior by customers in retail settings across the country - some resulting in violent threats leading to actual physical harm. Farmers Markets are no exception.  We are all feeling the stresses and frustrations as this pandemic continues to disrupt our lives.  Even for the best of us, reason can give way to agitation and anger. This forum focuses on what we can do when confronted with combative customers and how we can help defuse contentious situations at our markets. We invited Marla Velky-Reger, LCSW-R Clinical Social Worker to speak about methods and tips we can use to de-escalate these types of encounters, while keeping ourselves safe and sane.

View the Chat Transcript [.txt]

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Jun
11
10:00 AM10:00
Open Forum

Open Forum 7: Farmers Market Reopening Safety Plans

SEVENTH OPEN FORUM — THURSDAY, JUNE 11th, 2020

Topic: Farmers Market Reopening Safety Plans

We invited Market Directors Jim Farr and Kelly McBride from Rochester Public Market, Jackie Farrell from Westside Market and Amy Willis of Broome County Regional Market to our forum panel.  They shared photos, a power point presentation and their safety planning know-how to help answer market managers’ questions about developing market safety plans that farmers markets are now required to have on the premises.

View the Chat Transcript [.txt]
View the Presentation from Rochester Public Market [PDF]

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Open Forum 5: Opening Under the New Guidelines
Apr
30
10:00 AM10:00
Open Forum

Open Forum 5: Opening Under the New Guidelines

FIFTH WEEKLY OPEN FORUM — APRIL 30, 2020

Since many farmers markets across the state had begun to open their Spring markets under the new safety guidelines, this forum was to facilitate open conversation in which questions, comments, and ideas could have been fielded with the group. We invited a panel of market directors who have given their valuable insights on previous calls to help respond to participants’ questions.

View the Chat Transcript [.txt]

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Open Forum 4: Using Online Platforms for Customers to Order Ahead
Apr
23
10:00 AM10:00
Open Forum

Open Forum 4: Using Online Platforms for Customers to Order Ahead

FOURTH WEEKLY OPEN FORUM — APRIL 23, 2020

This week’s discussion centered around using online sales platforms. Many markets have begun to use online sales to allow customers to preorder. There are a number of these platforms available. We heard from Ellen Pope, Director of Otsego 2000, Steve Ridler, Market Manager of Troy Waterfront Farmers Market ,and Jon Zeltsman and Dacotah Rousseau from Down to Earth markets in Ossining, NY about their experiences with the platforms Shopify, Local Food Marketplace, and the WhatsGood app.

View the Chat Transcript [.txt]

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Open Forum 3: Crowd Control — Adhering to COVID Safety Guidelines
Apr
16
10:00 AM10:00
Open Forum

Open Forum 3: Crowd Control — Adhering to COVID Safety Guidelines

THIRD WEEKLY OPEN FORUM — APRIL 16, 2020

The Open Forum’s main topic for discussion was crowd control — How is your market adhering to COVID-19 guidelines for social distancing and safety?

We were joined this week by Suzanne Flaum, Manager of the Kingston Farmers Market, Pascale Le Draoulec, Market Director of the Hastings Farmers Market in Westchester county, and Jessica Douglas of GrowNYC Greenmarkets.

View the Chat Transcript
View Kingston Farmers Market’s Powerpoint regarding social distancing and market safety measures!

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Open Forum 2: Second Weekly Open Forum for Markets Operating Under COVID-19
Apr
9
10:00 AM10:00
Open Forum

Open Forum 2: Second Weekly Open Forum for Markets Operating Under COVID-19

SECOND WEEKLY OPEN FORUM — April 9th, 2020

For this forum, we invited George Billard, Manager of Barryville Farmers’ Market in Sullivan County to speak about The Victory Garden Project developed for his market — a program featuring co-op style bundling of goods and produce directly from market farmers pre-packed according to themes such as The Vegetarian and The Brunch Bag. Orders are then available for a scheduled curbside pickup.

View the chat transcript [.txt]
Visit the Barryville Farmers’ Market webpage!

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Mar
30
12:00 PM12:00
Webinar

Market Programs and Services That Draw Customers

Hosted by Diane Eggert, Laura Biasillo, and Lindsay Ott Wilcox

Farmers markets are now competing with many other venues to get the attention and sales of consumers. This session will look at a variety of programs and services you can offer at your farmers market to successfully compete with other local food venues.

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