Category: Management and Operations

Alabama Rules For Certification of State Farmers Markets

Management and Operations | Market Start-up and Development

Alabama Rules For Certification of State Farmers Markets from the Department of Agriculture and Industries

Published July 12, 2017 Publisher Website Download Resource State & Local Policy

From the Land Of Kansas Farmers Market Resources

Management and Operations

Resources from From the Land of Kansas including:

  • How to Register your market
  • Farmers’ market economic impact analysis
  • Food Safety for Kansas Farmers Market Vendors: Regulations and Best Practices
  • Sampling Safely at Kansas Farmers Markets
  • Templates
Published June 29, 2017 Publisher Website Download Resource Application FormState & Local Policy

The Art and Science of Farmers’ Market Display

Management and Operations

Having a great products is important but only if you can successfully attract customers to ‘try and buy’. This tutorial goes over some basic tips for arranging your space, display strategies that work and a few other tips that will let customers know you are open for business.

 

Published May 09, 2017 Topical guides

Washington State Farmers Market Management Toolkit

Management and Operations

The Washington State Farmers Market Management Toolkit provides timely information, tips, and templates to help market managers navigate the increasing demands they face. We hope to cut your learning curve, share best practices, and adapt the excellent existing resources to your market.

Each chapter includes downloadable tools in Word or Excel that you can tailor to your market needs. The Toolkit is designed to be added to and updated in real time. Please send us your recommendations and suggested improvements. The Toolkit is available both online and as a binder from the WSFMA thanks to support from the USDA Farmers Market Promotion Program.

This Toolkit is dedicated to Washington State’s indefatigable farmers market staff, boards, volunteers, sponsors, and farmers and other vendors who are working hard to support local farms, grow good food for families, and make our communities brighter.

 

Published November 01, 2016 Publication

How to Choose the Best Credit Card Processor

Management and Operations

At a Farmers Market, accepting credit cards is one of the first steps you can take to cater to busy people who are looking for the right mix of quality and convenience. Until a few years ago, it was easier to accept cash rather than credit cards. If you were able to accept credit cards, you likely had to invest in an expensive POS system or use one of those obnoxious carbon copy machines that never quite pressed the right way. But today, new technology gives farmers more options than ever before. ConsumerAffairs.com has researched and created a comprehensive guide about credit card processing that will help break down how to accept credit cards the cheapest and most effective way.

Published October 12, 2016 Publication

2016 Farmers’ Market Customer Survey

Management and Operations

This is a sample of an end-of-season survey for farmers market customers provided by The Food Trust in Philadelphia, PA.

Click Here:

2016 Farmers’ Market Customer Survey

 

Published September 16, 2016 Survey

Eat Healthy, Give Healthy! Fresh Produce Food Drive Guidebook

Management and Operations

Created by The Food Trust in Philadelphia, PA, this guide provides best practices for operating food drives at farmers markets.

Eat Healthy, Give Healthy! Fresh Produce Food Drive Guidebook

Published September 16, 2016 Topical guides

Using Excel for Analyzing Survey Questionnaires

Evaluation | Management and Operations

This guide walks the reader through five steps to analyze survey results, including the creation of an Excel database and the coding, entering, cleaning, and analysis of data. While written for Microsoft Excel 2002, many of the tips are appropriate for more recent versions of Excel or other comparable spreadsheet programs.

 

Published September 18, 2015 Publisher Website Download Resource PublicationSurvey

Token & Incentive Accounting Templates

Management and Operations | SNAP/EBT and Nutrition Programs

Between 2010 and 2013, Washington State University collected data and provided education at 15 pilot markets participating in a Wireless Technology Project. The project was funded by a USDA Specialty Crop Block grant through the Washington State Department of Agriculture. The team worked with the Anacortes Farmers Market (AFM) and their CPA (Sheri Muntean CPA PhD) to create training tools and a series of templates that facilitated Markets’ ability to take food stamps/EBT cards, incentives, and Debit/Credit cards.

The Farmers Market Vendor Token Return Form (Token-Incentive-Accounting-Templates-9.17.201-updates) template tracks tokens, incentives and daily sales information collected from vendors at the end of the Market day.

The Token Accounting Spreadsheet (Generic-Farmers-Market-Worksheets) template facilitates the recording of vendor information from the Paper Forms (above), token counts, and card-machine batch-reports. It allows results to be reconciled against accounting records, expedites check writing to vendors and protects against errors and irregularities.

The AFM, working as the Skagit Valley Farmers Market Coalition, continues to maintain and develop these materials. Training materials for the use of these forms will be posted here soon. If you have questions, please contact Sheri Muntean CPA PhD at sheri@shamballacentre.com.

Published August 24, 2015 Publisher Website Form

Token & Incentive Accounting Templates

Management and Operations | SNAP/EBT and Nutrition Programs

Between 2010 and 2013, Washington State University collected data and provided education at 15 pilot markets participating in a Wireless Technology Project. The project was funded by a USDA Specialty Crop Block grant through the Washington State Department of Agriculture. The team worked with the Anacortes Farmers Market (AFM) and their CPA (Sheri Muntean CPA PhD) to create training tools and a series of templates that facilitated Markets’ ability to take food stamps/EBT cards, incentives, and Debit/Credit cards.

The Farmers Market Vendor Token Return Form template tracks tokens, incentives and daily sales information collected from vendors at the end of the Market day.

The Token Accounting Spreadsheet template facilitates the recording of vendor information from the Paper Forms (above), token counts, and card-machine batch-reports. It allows results to be reconciled against accounting records, expedites check writing to vendors and protects against errors and irregularities.

The AFM, working as the Skagit Valley Farmers Market Coalition, continues to maintain and develop these materials. Training materials for the use of these forms will be posted here soon. If you have questions, please contact Sheri Muntean CPA PhD at sheri@shamballacentre.com.

Published August 24, 2015 Publisher Website Form