Market Manager FAQ
Posted On: October 14, 2013
Market Manager Frequently Asked Questions
Welcome to the Farmers Market Manager Frequently Asked Questions, a starting place for current and prospective farmers market managers and organizers looking to develop, expand, and improve their organizations. This resource is made possible thanks to the submissions many market leaders have made to the Farmers Market Resource Library, discussions among peers on the FMC Listserv, and the expertise of the FMC Education Committee. This FAQ was developed in 2010 in partnership with the Wallace Center at Winrock International, with support from USDA Risk Management Agency.
This FAQ is broken into seven categories, in which you will find links to specific entries in the FMC Resource Library.
Market Fundamentals
Market Policies
Market Staff
Insurance, Liability, and Regulation
Market Growth, Outreach, and Evaluation
Extending the Market Season
Increasing Market Access
Please use the Contact Form to suggest additional questions and answers, as well as to clarify or add detail to an existing question or notify us of broken links. Updates will be made to the FAQ periodically based on this input. Share resources with your peers by adding a new resource to the FMC Resource Library using the Submit Form here.
Market Manager Frequently Asked Questions Coming Soon
Posted On: July 13, 2010
- “Should we charge vendors a single base fee or a percentage-of-sales fee?”
- “ What types of insurance does our market organization need?”
- “ What rules should apply to artisan vendors?”

Sample video FAQ footage of market staff at the Crescent City Farmers Market as they prepare signage before the opening bell
These are just a few of the questions that FMC, and our member state associations, get every month from both new and existing markets. A better question might be, “Where can I refer people to find answers to these questions!?” Starting next month, the farmers market community might have some answers to these and other questions.
In a far-reaching partnership, the Farmers Market Coalition has been working with the Wallace Center for Sustainable Agriculture to develop a set of Frequently Asked Questions for Farmers Market Managers, to be housed on the FMC web site with linkages to entries in the Farmers Market Resource Library. These FAQs, grouped into seven categories, ranging from ‘Getting Started’ to ‘SNAP and Nutrition Programs’ are being developed with the help of FMC member and listserv subscriber input, the FMC Education Committee, Wallace Center Intern Kathleen Stewart, and former FMC Intern Sarah Johnson.
Alongside these FAQs, which will be launched at the beginning of August, will be a set of video interviews with farmers market staff around the country. These videos, which will showcase best practices from leading market organizations, will be housed on an FMC YouTube Channel along with past webinars and favorite videos of markets around the country. The videos feature interviews with:
Chris Curtis, Director of the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance
Seattle, Washington
Bernie Prince and Ann Yonkers, Co-Directors; Sarah Mosbacher, Markets and Program Manager
FRESHFARM Markets
Washington, DC
Michael Hurwitz, Director; and Liz Carollo, Publicity Coordinator
NYC Greenmarket
New York, New York
David Rand, Farm Forager; Lyle Allen, Executive Director; and Mark Psilos, Market Manager
Green City Market
Chicago, Illinois
Emery Van Hook, Director of Markets
Crescent City Farmers Market
New Orleans, Louisiana
Video credits also go to Darlene Wolnik of marketumbrella.org and Pat Lute of FRESHFARM Markets, who donated considerable time to coordinate the on-site interviews in Washington, DC and New Orleans. During National Farmers Market Week, the FMC web site visitors will be able to read, watch, and provide feedback on this dynamic new educational resource. In the meantime, submissions to the resource library can be made at www.farmersmarketcoalition.org/resources/submit.