| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| gil |
Setting up a Farmers Market - Pt2 getting organisedMany thanks to all of you who came up with useful suggestions and comments in Pt 1 about what makes a good farmers market from a visitor's point of view.We had an open meeting this evening about how to take things further in the light of the successful trial run last month. Various decisions made : 1. We need to set up as a separate, autonomous organisation (what's been done so far has been as part of the Communities On The Edge project for reviving remote rural communities) 2. We now have a 5-person Management Committee composed of local farmers, growers and producers. Suppose it was inevitable that I would end up on it. 3. We also have people committed to help, but not to serve officially. 4. Exploratory visit to another FM planned for the end of June. 5. We are starting monthly FMs in Langholm from the end of August onwards. The original plan was to do another trial run just before Xmas, so we've taken on rather more than that. 
6. These will be held indoors so we don't have to mess around with stalls/awnings/tents, and can have on-site cafe, toilet, kitchen and gallery facilities. Whether or not we can sustain local and visitor interest over time remains to be seen. How long did your local FM take to get established ? Have there been any near you that folded ? How many stalls do you get at the ones you go to ? Are any of you involved in organising your local FM ? I'd be really grateful if you could share your experiences... Thanks |
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| Nick |
All I can add is our local FM has perhaps 12 stalls. Let's see...
Indian guy with samosas (the only available hot food, and always busy. HAVE HOT FOOD) Bread two veg stalls 4-5 butchers Owl sanctuary (don't ask) 1-2 plant stalls. Someone with jars of jams and pickles. For some reason, we are unable to spend more than 15 minutes without a coffee/water/burger/something onna stick whilst in a town centre, and this is borne out by the samosa stand. I can't help think that the pork butcher might just double his takings and profits if he actually cooked some of his sausages and sold them there and then. £3 for a pound of sausages. £3 for a hot dog. The maths aren't that hard. I'm afraid I can add very little else, except that it may take time for people to spot it and use it and become habitual. If you're only going monthly, you may find that it could take 6 months or more to get going. Please don't give up after 3 quiet months! |
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| caths |
hello gil
organisations I have worked for have set up and managed a number of fms and the reality is that there are no hard and fast rules about whether a market will work in a given location. From what you say about the proposed set up I would suggest the following considerations - early markets always attract more interest than when they become a regular feature, so do expect some decline in numbers after the first two or three - that is not a sign that the market is failing, just that things are leveling out to what will become the norm - the location of the hall the market will be in - where is this in relation to areas of busy footfall - if it is directly off the main street in a busy town centre for example, it will be easier to get people to call in than if it is 1/4 mile away up a very quiet side street - how close is the site to adequate parking facilities = people do not want to lug heavy bags of food very far, especially bulky vegetables - markets can fold for various reasons, but beware some of the following: changes in passing footfall in a town centre eg through redevelopment or simply a number of shop closures can take people away from a market; lack of variety - you may find that producers will want to limit numbers of their competitors as they think this will maximise their profits (eg a cheese producer may resent the presence of a second cheese producer) yet the visitor wants choice and is less likely to come regularly if there is only one - the tension between producer and visitor expectations can take some management (and perhaps it would be good to get someone with a consumer perspective onto the management group?); nothing is worse from the visitor point of view than going to a market and finding very little in the way of stall numbers and variety - I agree with Nick Howe that 10-12 stalls is a minimum for a successful market and that hot food will encourage people to stay and buy more - teas and coffees and a sit down area is a great idea - the other key to a successful market is regular ongoing promotion and this has to be done for each market - banners, roadside signs, leaflets etc - otherwise people will forget about it Steve Garret of Cardiff Riverside Market has produced an excellent guide to setting up a market (in an urban setting but still with lots of useful info for new market groups) and I think he would be willing to email a PDF of the guide to you as long as you respect their copyright - contact them on www.cardiffriversidemarket.org.uk. Also Food Standards Agency Scotland have produced a guide for fm organiswers covering food safety issues etc again very useful hope this helps and good luck |
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| gil |
Thanks Nick and caths for useful comments.
In May we had 4-5 meat stalls (incl poultry and eggs) preserves plants n shrubs n trees soap jewellery knitwear soup wine baked goods (cakes, pies, bread) No fruit'veg cos a bit early for that up here, but we will have by August. Also got an egg producer and another butcher wanting to take part. Ice cream (locally made) and sausages/burgers are possible. Since we're the only FM in the entire region, we could also get game and honey. We're using the main hall of one of the main arts/music venues. It's not on the high street (which is very narrow and windy and would be a complete pain for everyone), but on the main street off that, with plenty of parking. August market is to coincide with the last weekend of the Arts Festival; September market will be in a marquee at the Agricultural Show. October onwards back to the arts centre. If you're a stallholder at a FM, what do you expect from the organisers ? What matters to you ? |
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| Nick |
Oh, and advertise. Lots. And lots and lots and LOTS.
And never stop. People only come if they know it's on. So tell them. (lots). |
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| hedgewitch |
If at all possible, I'd add a contact number they can check with - would the local tourist information centre do this for you? I've been to too many FMs advertised as 'last Saturday in the month' etc. only to find they've cancelled or changed the date when I got there. So now I only go if I can check it's still on. |
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| caths |
what would a producer expect from the organisers:
- good unldading/ loading access and somewhere to park which isnt too far away of I want to get extra stock - advertising/ marketing of the market - already said but as also said very important - toilet/ handwashing facilities/ somewhere to wash equipment eg sampling trays etc - rubbish bins if "instantly consumables" being sold - burgers etc - electricity if running fridges though you can charge them extra for this - table (unless bringing a fridge display) what should the organiser expect from the producer: - completed booking form and payment up front or cash on the day at the start of the market - the organiser should also include market terms and conditions on the booking form - these are whatever you think is important, but you should specify things such as the stallholder is responsible for holding adequate public liability insurance for the sale of his products and any claims arising (you can specify a limit of you wish); the stallholder must comply with current environmental helath regs to the satisfaction of the relevant inspecting officer; similar for trading standards; the stallholder should consider HACCP and food hygiene issues in relation to the market and have appropriate procedures in place for ensuring food safety; all stallholders are invited to attend by the management committee and in the event of a dispute the decision of the committee is final; stallholders bringing the reputation of the market into disrepute will be excluded etc, etc,etc A few other rambling points about an indoor venue: - if you are inside and allowing stallholders to cook burgers etc, check the details out with the venue owners first - there may be a sprinkler system installed which your stallholders could set off! - also think about the smells, smoke etc which may be produced when considering where to put them. Many fire officers and insurers are very funny about gas bottles being used nowadays so best check with the venue and fire officer. - also check with the venue/ fire officer how many people are allowed in the room in total at any one time (this should already have been agreed between the venue and fire officer) if you have anyone selling alcohol, make sure they are aware that they need both a personal licence and a premises licence and it is their responsibility to get one (unless the venue already holds a premises licence and will include them on it) - check with the venue whether they hold poublic liability for events held there by third parties, or whether yuou need your own sorry if this sounds like checklist overload but better to be prepared! |
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| caths |
PS - on reading the above I come across as a right check list lets make life difficult jobs worth  I'm not honest - I speak from experience of having set sprinkler systems off, having the fire officer shouting at me for too many people in a hall, having the fire officer very unamused by gas bottles - just want you to learn from my mistakes rather than make them yourself 
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| gil |
Caths - these are all useful points, and well worth making. Thank you.
Our idea was to have the ice cream and burgers outside, to attract passers by, which should avoid some of the problems. We need to write our Terms and Conditions, and send them to potential stallholders; get a bookings system worked out. Deal with TS, EH, H&S, licencing bodies etc. It'll be a fair amount of work to start with. |
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| Helen_A |
Re: licence - I was under the impression that the key one is that the person selling the alcohol (or overseeing that sale) has both the standard personal license and the off-licence. As long as none of the alcohol is to be comsumed on the premises then they should be covered even if there is no premises licence? Mind you that's England and Wales, could be different in Scotland... (and there may be local bylaws as well)
Helen_A |