12/23/2023 0 Comments Buy startup panic![]() The program allows people using federal nutrition support to buy eligible products like Colorado-grown fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy, eggs and more. Increasing Access to Healthy Food A Market Days! participant enjoys a fresh peach and a bag full of free produce.Īnother goal of many farmers’ markets is to increase community access to healthy, fresh and affordable foods.įorty markets in Colorado – including the Larimer County Farmers’ Market – take part in programming from Nourish Colorado that allows Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants to receive up to $20 per day in matching funds through Double Up Food Bucks. Aspiring business owners and fledgling producers can also tap into Extension expertise through free or low-cost programs and trainings on topics like cottage food production, home food preservation, food safety and nutrition, and more. Like Slota and Koontz, businesses looking to grow their enterprises even further can tap into expertise from Extension professionals across the state who can provide resources like actionable market data and business advice.įarmers’ markets also provide opportunities for new vendors to network with and learn from seasoned hands, with 20-year veteran sellers sharing tents alongside new vendors. Not only is the food better, but they feel connected to the place and we’ve seen them come together to support our work because of that,” she said. “People really value having small local agriculture in their area. “We rely on community members investing in our farm at the beginning of the season to get things started and – regardless of weather or what happens during that season – they’re in it with us.” “We’re community-supported agriculture,” Slota said. Over a decade ago, two of those aspiring small business owners were Katie Slota and Nic Koontz, then business partners and now husband and wife and the founders of Native Hill Farms in north Fort Collins. “It’s fostering small businesses, it’s using education to incubate ideas and it’s offering communities a place where people can gather and create connections.” “A farmers’ market is everything that Extension is already doing,” she said. “Last year’s market grossed $1.3 million and we’re on track to top that this year,” O’Connor said. “In the last 43 years, it’s really morphed into a small business that Extension oversees,” O’Connor said. In the years since, that number has more than tripled, with 140 vendors accepted to the Larimer County Farmer’s Market in 2022. Back in the early 2000s, the market had 30 to 40 vendors. ![]() “The night before the first market I ever did, back in 2006, I actually had this panic that none of the vendors would show up,” she said.īut they did. When O’Connor first joined Extension, she hadn’t realized how involved her work with the market would be. Rachel Wildman, a 2020 graduate from CSU, works alongside O’Connor to support the market’s operations. Now, the market is fully operated through CSU Extension in Larimer County and has been managed by Extension horticulturalist Allison O’Connor for the past 17 years. In the 1970s, the Larimer County Farmers’ Market in Fort Collins was started by a group of Colorado Master Gardeners as an outreach activity to give backyard growers who had too much produce an outlet to sell it. Extension’s growing role in farmers’ markets ![]() “Before vendors start looking at more complex market opportunities, like forming a CSA, selling to restaurants or wholesaling, they can get that direct-to-consumer experience while building commercial connections,” she said. “The markets not only provide immediate feedback for producers in terms of pricing, quality and supply, but many markets also offer resources designed to support beginning producers,” Sullins said. While many online retailers are going further than ever to gather consumers’ digital data, the enterprising vendors at farmers markets have chosen a more organic way to get to know their customers: talking to them. ![]() “But they all have one thing in common: they’re a great place for producers to directly connect with consumers.” “Every market has a little bit of a different flavor,” said Martha Sullins, a food systems and business management expert with CSU Extension. Seasoned shoppers are likely familiar with the allure of farmers’ markets: a sea of popup tents shading prized Palisade peaches and fresh local veggies, one-of-a-kind artisan crafts, and the unbeatable smells of savory dishes and freshly baked treats guaranteed to get even the pickiest eaters racing to the table.įor business owners inside those tents looking out, the scene is just as sweet.
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