How to be a Farmers' Market Vendor: Are you a small business looking to become a vendor? Or perhaps you are already a vendor looking for some helpful tips on being a successful vendor. ARD and AFMA have created an information sheet with some vendor considerations, marketing tips and helpful resources. Check it out
here.
How to start a Farmers' Market: Find everything you need to know about starting a farmers' market at Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development's Sunnygirl website.
Farmers' Market Manager Resource Manual: The purpose of this manual is to help managers of Alberta Approved Farmers’ Markets operate economically successful, community-based farmers’ markets across Alberta. It is designed as a reference manual and is divided into sections to allow easy access to information on an as-needed basis.
Alberta Health Services Regulations: Please note that all managers and vendors need to comply with all Alberta Health Services regulations. Go to the Alberta Health Services website to find the following documents: Farmer's Markets (Brochure), Farmers' Market Guidelines for Canning Lids and Jars, Temporary Food Establishments at Farmers' Markets, Farmers' Market Managers' Checklist (Daily), Farmers' Market Vendors' Food Safety Checklist
.
New guidelines for Approved Farmers' Markets: Alberta Agriculture carried out a full review of the Approved Farmers' Market guidelines in 2008. Read the new guidelines here. You can also read a summary of the changes in this article by Eileen Kotowich.
Food Labels Made Easy:Check out this article with great information about creating food labels
Farmers' Market Coalition Resource Library: The Farmers' Market Coalition has an extensive list of resources for farmers' markets. Check it out at www.farmersmarketcoalition.org
GFunds Online: GFunds Online is a SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) community toolkit that allows you to quickly and simply navigate all 530 Federal and Provincial technology funding support programs, and connect with other SMEs, Support Service Providers, and Program Funding Providers. Visit their website at www.gfundsonline.com
Tools For Rapid Market Assessment: Thinking about evaluation? Want to do some easy surveying of either your customers or your vendors? Check out this Oregon Small Farms Technical report on doing Rapid Market Assessments.
Do you have the Entrepreneurial Spirit? Ropin the Web has Frequently Asked Questions and multiple resources on starting up a new business. Visit their website to gain access to all the great resources.
Alberta Farmers' Market Statistics: Alternative Agriculture Markets Study 2008 - A new report has been released from Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development about Farmer's Markets, Farm Direct Sales and Agtourism in the province which compares against figures from a study done in 2004. Read the executive summary or the full report and learn about how people are spending more at Farmers Markets. Farmers' Markets sales have increased in the province from $233 Million in 2004 to $388 Million in 2008 1/3 of Albertans say they will buy more locally grown food in the coming year.
Impact of Farmers' Markets - Farmers' Market Canada study Read about the IMPACT OF FARMERS MARKETS in the Farmers' Market Canada brochure based on their 2008 research. Also go to www.farmersmarketscanada.ca