We Are HERE for YOU: Market Managers Virtual Conference, March 1-4, 2021

February 17, 2021 Britni Gallo

WE ARE HERE FOR YOU

Bottom line, that is what the Farmers Market Federation is all about, and why we do what we do: provide resources to advance the professionalism among farmers market management, help to build experiences around local food, work to make markets accessible to everyone in their community, and support creating markets that can become a vital piece of their community fabric.

The year 2020 was incredibly challenging. You showed us how resilient Farmers Markets could be: restructuring, redesigning, and renovating in order to safely provide delivery of locally grown food for our customers and community. In addition, you made room for “Giving Back” to help families in need and meeting people where they are with projects such as Barryville’s “Victory Garden” and Aurora Farmers Market’s “Sharing the Bounty.”

We applaud you! It was no easy feat. But we know you, and you will not spend any time relishing your accomplishments, for a Farmers Market Manager’s work is never done. Here we are in February once again. It’s time to sow the seeds for a new market season, requiring tireless planning, sweat, and tears. Plus, with the pandemic still to consider, everyone’s resilience, patience, and energy are wearing thin. Challenges remain, but much progress is being made, and we can see light at the end of the tunnel.

We want Conference 2021 to help you reboot, recharge, refocus and realize how valuable what you do is for all of us.

So please join the many in the Market community who have already registered and click here to Sign up for Conference today! Take advantage of this unique opportunity to attend a Conference from the comfort of your own home or office space, without hotel beds, travel hassle, or dress code, and with 11 educational topic sessions, built-in fatigue breaks, networking opportunities, a virtual farm tour and Happy Hour! All for the reasonable price of $50.

Added Conference Bonus: If you aren’t able to attend one, some, or even any of the live sessions, by registering you will have access to all of what our Conference offers: presentation power points, session recordings, resource materials, and a list of other attendees to build your contacts. All these will be the ‘gifts that keep on giving’ for your Market as you plan for a new season.

Remember, The Farmers Market Federation of NY is here for you, and providing all that our Market Managers Conference ‘21 offers is what we do.

We thank you for being there for us and for all our Market communities around NY State.

Cheers!

An Investment in Your Market's Success that Makes Good Sense

February 5, 2021 Britni Gallo

What’s the best $50 investment you can make for your Market’s success in 2021?

It just might be participating in the 2021 Virtual Farmers Market Managers Conference March 1-4. A little goes a long way when receiving a variety of diverse, stimulating, and timely topics for sessions led by experienced Market leaders in the field– (Check out the Conference Agenda here)

However, equally, if not more important than experiencing the sessions, attending conference provides golden opportunities for networking and “roundtable” discussions with your market peers. While attendees of our conferences have told us that they appreciate the educational sessions, they have found the networking opportunities to be an important draw of the event. This past year of quarantine and isolation has shown us the value of connections with one another, even more so because of the barriers to do so. Examples of this were the Open Forums with market operators hosted by the Federation over the Spring and Summer. Managers and staff from all over the state came together to share ideas for redesigning marketplaces ensuring safety mitigation measures could be followed. An enormous learning from each other took place by being able to discuss and share new and effective planning strategies. Many of you let us know that contacts made then, continue today.

The Federation feels fortunate to be a part of facilitating that coming together, and we look forward to a meeting of hearts and minds again at our 2021 conference. Being a Market Manager is a unique job, whether paid or volunteer. The ability to participate, network and learn with managers from all around the state, and sometimes beyond our borders, gives you the opportunity to directly discuss issues with others who share your concerns, hear about successes in other markets that you can put to use, and add friends and colleagues to your contact list that you can call on outside of the conference when the need arises.

Don’t miss out on this great educational and connection opportunity for farmers market managers that not only makes good Sense, but could very well be worth its weight in Market gold. Register here today!

2021 Farmers Markets Managers Virtual Conference

January 15, 2021 Britni Gallo

Reimagining Markets for a Brand New World:
Adapting Markets in our Newly Changed Environment

Farmers Market Managers Virtual Conference March 1-4, 2021

2020 showed us the dynamic resilience of Farmers Markets and their operators to restructure, redesign, and renovate for safely providing delivery of locally grown nutritious food for their customers. The 2021 Market Managers Conference will highlight lessons learned through the 2020 season by looking at best practices, expanding upon how markets can be reimagined as agents of change for future challenges while continuing to ensure we meet the needs of our communities, customers, farmers, and vendors in our newly changed environment.

Here is a description of three of our featured conference sessions to look forward to:

Renovating your Market when Change is Needed

We welcome Chereese Jervis-Hill and Deb Wagoner, managers of markets in both downstate and the Western region. They will share their experiences as new managers, how they implemented measures that helped to transform their markets, and what promotions and strategies they used for rebuilding and creating smart business planning.

Building your Database of Market Knowledge

Darlene Wolnik, Training and Technical Assistance Director for the Farmers Market Coalition will lead this session about collecting data and analyzing the numbers to build your market story and narrate the impact your market is making in the community, which in turn can expand outreach opportunities that will help grow our markets.

The How-To of Building SNAP Programs Now and for the Future

We are joined by Mallory Burnham of Cornell Cooperative Extension and Margaret O’Neill of the Rochester Public Market for a discussion of fortifying SNAP at your market and getting the most out of participating by targeting promotion efforts and creating strategies for outreach to customers and community partnerships.

The conference will also feature interactive networking opportunities to allow managers to share experiences, ideas, and challenges; a virtual tour of the Kriemhild Dairy farm, built-in fatigue breaks, and a virtual Happy Hour hosted by Jim Farr of the Rochester Public Market and featuring John Urlaub, owner of the Rohrbach Brewing Company in Rochester, NY. Together they will lead us to celebrate farmers markets and a successful conference.

You can view the full agenda here

The conference registration fee of $50 per person will cover the full conference, including access to presentation documents and recordings. Register now for the 2021 Farmers Market Managers Conference: “Reimagining Markets for a Brand New World”. All registrations and payments will be done online through Eventbrite. Once registered, you will receive an email with your unique links to all conference sessions.

Register for Conference 2021

For more information, contact the Farmers Market Federation of NY at deggert@nyfarmersmarket.com or call 315-400-1447.

"Reimagining Markets for a Brand New World" Farmers Market Managers Virtual Conference 2021

December 14, 2020 Britni Gallo

Farmers Market Managers Virtual Conference 2021 to highlight adapting Markets in our newly changed environment.

2020 showed us the dynamic resilience of Farmers Markets and their operators to restructure, redesign, and renovate for safely providing delivery of locally grown nutritious food for their customers. The 2021 NYS Farmers Market Managers Conference will highlight lessons learned through the 2020 season by looking at best practices and expand upon how markets can be reimagined as agents of change for future challenges while continuing to create successful marketplaces.

Three featured conference sessions to look forward to are the following:

ADA Requirements and Farmers Markets

We welcome guest speaker Stephanie Woodward, an attorney and disability rights advocate. Stephanie will help markets better understand the needs of the disabled community, ADA legal requirements, and how to improve market access and the market experience. She will talk about service animals, what is allowed, what is required, and how we navigate through the process. She will also highlight the issue of mask-wearing mandates – what are everyone’s rights and how to best protect everyone.

De-escalating Contentious Situations at Markets - Skills for resolving conflicts

Will Nassau is a de-escalation negotiator with Nassau Facilitation Services. Will’s presentation will help us to better resolve issues that have the potential to blow up on us – customers who refuse to follow rules, vendors that feel entitled. By using real-life examples, Will uses an interactive technique with the audience to learn to understand the behavior and diffuse the conflict before it gets out of hand.

Undoing Racism at Our Farmers Markets

Taisy Conk, Program Director of Community Food Action, and Iyeshima Harris, Project Director of East New York Farms will lead this session which focuses on how markets can develop strategies to reflect ethnic and diverse communities. This interactive workshop will provide a space to discuss how race and racism affect farmers markets’ staff, customers, and vendors. The facilitators and participants will share challenges, practices, and successes in building more just and equitable markets.

You can view the full agenda here

Register for Conference 2021

For more information, contact the Farmers Market Federation of NY at deggert@nyfarmersmarket.com or call 315-400-1447.