Grow your farmers market by building relationships with customers

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Partnering with organizations can help elevate farmers markets in a community.

“Think about your community and the value of organizations you’re interested in partnering with and how those values align,” said April Jones, manager of the Pinehurst Farmers Market in Columbia, South Carolina.

“The more people you have involved with a farmers market, the better your farmers market will be,” said Jones during a webinar hosted by the Food Animal Concerns Trust, a national non-for-profit organization that has been working for the humane treatment of food-producing animals since 1982.

“We’ve had our farmers market almost three years and we started it because the community doesn’t have access to fresh fruits and vegetables,” she said. “We had two grocery stores, but they both closed.”

Jones said it is important to engage and educate customers to build a relationship with the farmers market.

“It is really important to reach out to organizations because they have resources, people and social capital you can connect with,” she said.

For example, a farmers market may partner with a library to hosts classes.

“Also think about an art museum to talk about the beauty of fruits and vegetables,” Jones said. “I think vegetables can be showcased as art especially heirloom vegetables that are beautiful.”

When developing a farmers market, Jones said, some of the first things to decide are the hours for the market and when it will be held — weekly, biweekly or once a month.

“Think about the best option to get the most customers,” Jones said.

“If you’re just starting a market, I’d keep the time short,” she said. “My market is on Wednesdays from 1:30 to 3 p.m., which allows the farmers to feel respected and that their time is valuable.”

For the Pinehurst market, it has been successful to be open for a short amount of time.

“If you have a longer period of time, you have to make sure you have enough customers to get a certain hourly rate for the farmers so they feel it’s worth their time,” Jones said.

For pricing strategies, it is important to think about the customers, demographics and income levels.

“You want everyone to have a great experience and you want to make sure you’re pricing fairly so farmers are making a profit,” Jones said.

Pricing items on different tiers provides opportunities for people to purchase products. In addition to fruits and vegetables, the market can also include jams, jellies scones or cakes that are at a higher price.

“Our farmers have a price point for everyone,” Jones said.

To draw attention to a booth, Jones recommends putting a cloth on the table, adding flowers and utilizing a color scheme.

“Use big letters for your signage,” she said. “Also, make sure you have the correct pricing so people don’t have to ask you.”

Farmers markets have different laws based on the state they are located in.

“Research cottage laws in your state,” Jones said. “For example, in South Carolina we can buy raw milk, but in Ohio, raw milk is illegal.”

Grants can help generate funding for farmers markets.

“There are so many grants which are an amazing way to raise funds and also a fabulous way to create partnerships,” Jones said. “These can be lifelong relationships where even after they’ve given you money for the grant you can still reach out to them for additional resources such volunteers or organizing events.”

Start local when thinking about grants, Jones said.

“Grants may be available from local nonprofits, churches, art museums, libraries or a local university,” Jones said.

“I’ve found when I start with small grants, I’m able to craft my story and build a relationship with the organization,” she said. “Maybe start with a $5,000 grant and the next time you could apply for a $20,000 or $50,000 grant when you feel more comfortable.”

Jones utilizes social media to promote the Pinehurst Farmers Market.

“I create my own ads to upload to Instagram and Facebook,” Jones said.

“I use different strategies — for Facebook I post more recipes and pictures, as well,” she said. “For Instagram it’s mostly pictures and videos.”

There are a lot of options for promotion.

“You can do Facebook Live when you’re at your market,” Jones said. “Focus on the message you want to get to your customers.”

To encourage repeat customers at a farmers market, Jones said, it is important to develop relationships with the customers.

“Think about each customer as a relationship,” she said. “Ask them about their child or grandchild and think about ways to draw people together like having live music or demonstrations at the market.”