Ep 313: Ask The Pros!

·40 min·3 clips

Longtime farmers market managers Catfield Swipe and Bridget Myers answer listener questions about political campaigners, plastic bags, and EBT costs.

The episode opens with hosts Catfield Swipe and Bridget Myers introducing themselves as experienced farmers market managers, educators, and consultants. They frame the episode as a direct response to listener questions submitted via email and social media. The first question deals with political campaigners or 'pirate vendors' who set up uninvited at markets, especially during election season. The hosts advise a friendly, educational approach first, explaining that vendors have paid fees and need insurance, and suggest offering alternative locations just outside the market footprint. They critique markets that allow only incumbent politicians, arguing it creates an unfair advantage. Next, a farmer named Leon asks for a tutorial on building effective market displays, noting a lack of online resources. The hosts recommend experts like Michael Kilpatrick of Growing Farms and Bill Davenport of Anchored Market Ventures, who have YouTube videos on the topic, and mention a display session at the upcoming Intents Conference. The third question comes from Sarah, a market manager trying to eliminate single-use plastic bags. The hosts discuss the challenge of breaking farmers' automatic bagging habits and explore incentives like providing free branded paper bags, reducing space fees for compliance, or running a 'bag exchange' program. They also touch on California's restrictive value-added product rules for farmers. Another market manager asks for a cost breakdown of implementing SNAP/EBT, including staff time for management and reconciliation. The hosts estimate it can take 5-6 hours per week for a decent-sized market, covering tasks like booth staffing, token counting, and reimbursement processing. They note additional costs for scripts or tokens and potential market match programs. The episode concludes with a fun question about the best thing eaten at a market lately. Bridget shares her recent cleanse and highlights pickled vegetable mix from Pretty Provisioned and dragon fruit, while Catfield raves about savory bombolini donuts from a vendor in Kansas. The hosts encourage listeners to submit more questions and promote the Intents Conference and resources from Project for Public Spaces.

As heard by us

A practical look at reusable bags, market waste, farmer buy-in, and the rules shaping small-farm revenue.

Tent Talk turns listener questions into a useful look at waste reduction where it actually has to work: at the booth. The episode follows a move away from plastic bags toward reusable mesh produce bags, with attention to the grant support that helped supply farmers and the…

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Want to cut market waste without pretending every vendor will change overnight?

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