BC Farmers’ Market Learning Month – Farmers’ Markets
November is BC Farmers’ Market Learning Month and we’ve hand picked a cornucopia of resources in order to inspire your organizations growth in 2022!
The following videos and learning tools have been sourced from our conferences, webinar series as well as trusted sources and partners. The majority of the educational opportunities here are free to view however there are some very worthwhile outsourced workshops that have a small fee attached.
Ask Melissa Maltais, BCAFM Membership & Program Lead
Fridays in November from 10am to 2pm
Resource Type: Meeting over Google Meet
Need some clarity in regards to BCAFM’s bylaws?
Would you like to sit down and have fresh eyes on your budget?
How about a brainstorming session on a fun marketing campaign for 2022?
Presented by: Melissa Maltais, BCAFM Membership & Programs Lead
Melissa Maltais has previously worked with the Surrey Urban Farmers Market, New Westminster Farmers Market and with the Fraser North Farmers Market Society overseeing the management of the Port Coquitlam and Haney Farmers Markets.
She is an award winning fundraiser and has assisted in generating over $1 million in revenue for the BC SPCA helping animals in need of veterinary care. Melissa has been with the BCAFM on and off since 2013 as the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Coupon Coordinator, Administrative Coordinator and helped developed webinars for BCAFM in 2020.
Ask Jasmine Noble, BCAFM Communications & Creative Lead
Fridays in November
Resource Type: Meeting over Google Meet
Looking for a social media makeover?
Feeling stuck on your social media strategy?
Want to learn how to create a content calendar that engages your audience and saves you time?
Presented by: Jasmine Noble, Communications & Creative Lead
Jasmine has worked as a social media consultant, digital creator, and brand photographer for 4 years, and thrives in helping out small businesses tell their stories on social media through meaningful, engaging, and eye-catching posts. Jasmine has been with BCAFM for one year as the communications & creative lead – coordinating communications, taking photos for the Trail website, and creating fun graphics for our marketing pieces!
Monetize Your Market – Increase Your Sponsorship Revenue
February 2021
Sourced From: BCAFM Conference
Resource Type: Youtube
Recording Length: 48 minutes
Your Farmers Market has the potential to generate $250 – $500 per market in extra sponsorship revenue by attracting the right sponsors to the table! In this interactive workshop, Melissa will show you how to:
Discover where your local sponsors are at
Nurture those relationships to further your fundraising goals
Identify parts of your in-person market which has revenue earning potential
Identify parts of your online presence which has revenue earning potential
Craft that killer sponsorship package
Presented by: Melissa Maltais, Fraser North Farmers’ Market Society
Canva Template – Advertising Sales Sheet
Date: February 2021
Sourced From: Fraser North Farmers’ Market Society
Resource Type: Canva Template
From digital space on your website and newsletters to signage on your opening day! Use this Canva template to reach out and earn more sponsorship dollars for your farmers’ market!
Provided by: Fraser North Farmers’ Market Society
Music Stage Sponsorship Package Template For Farmers’ Markets
Date: September 2020
Sourced From: Fraser North Farmers’ Market Society
Resource Type: Word Document
Your farmers’ market space and programming is valuable real estate for receiving sponsorships! Use this template and tailor it towards individual donors and programs in your market.
Provided by: Fraser North Farmers’ Market Society
Hold An Online Silent Auction: The Five Steps To Success
Sourced From: 32 Auctions
Resource Type: Website
Hosting an online auction is a great way to host a fundraiser for your farmers’ market. Reach out to members of your community for donations. And here’s a tip: gift cards and PDF gift certificates are SUPER easy to send to the winners after the event is over!
Provided by: 32 Auctions
25 Online Fundraising Ideas Perfect for Any Cause (Social Distancing Approved!)
Date: May 2021
Sourced From: Personify Wild Apricot
Resource Type: Website
COVID-19 has completely changed the landscape of fundraising, and the foolproof methods nonprofit professionals have always relied on are now out of the question.
Nonprofits have been forced to postpone their meetings with donors, cancel their events, and figure out how to continue raising funds in the era of social distancing.
The good news is that it is entirely possible to reach your nonprofit’s fundraising goals online.
Provided by: Personify Wild Apricot
Board Table Disruption: Conflicts of Interest
Date: November 24, 2021
Time: 12pm to 1pm
Sourced From: Pacific Legal and Outreach Society
Resource Type: Online Workshop
Recording Length: 60 minutes
Does your board know how to identify, avoid, and navigate conflicts of interest?
Join PLEO Legal Director, Martha Rans, for a conversation with governance experts Kyla Epstein and Guy Chartier on this important legal issue.
Presented by: PLEO
Individual Director Responsibilities
2020
Sourced From: Vantage Point
Resource Type: Vimeo Video
Recording Length: 2 minutes
This short video highlights the responsibilities of individual directors when they join your organization.
Presented by: Vantage Point
How to be an Awesome Board Member
May 4, 2015
Sourced From: BCAFM Conference
Resource Type: Youtube Video
Recording Length: 1 hour 30 minutes
This highly interactive session will take all farmers’ market Board members (new, old, engaged, flustered, clueless, trying hard, and everyone in between) through a process of learning, thinking, and collaborating in order to become more effective, reflective, and influential in their work – without putting in any more hours!
Presented by: Michelle Wolf (Farmers’ Markets of Nova Scotia and Whole Green Heart)
Creating Effective Leadership Through Better Governance
Feb 20, 2014
Sourced From: BCAFM Conference
Resource Type: Youtube Video
Recording Length: 1 hour 13 Minutes
With planning for a new season on the horizon, bringing new directors and managers up to speed can be a challenge. This workshop brings high-level principles of governance to a working level that the participants can connect with and apply. Whether your market has only started operating in the last 2-3 years or is well established, this workshop will be of value if you are seeking more clarity on how key decisions for your market are made, and the relationship between your board members and your market manager.
Presented by: David Lee, Propellor Social Enterprise Advisor
Building Community in an Online World
February 2021
Sourced From: BCAFM Conference
Resource Type: Youtube
Recording Length: 46 minutes
The best part about shopping at your local farmers market has always been the community of shoppers and vendors. It’s the fact that shoppers get a real life connection with the folks who produce their food, but in 2020 we learned that having a presence online is vital. But how do we juggle our businesses online without losing that connection?
In this workshop, you’ll learn how to not only grow a community around your business online through social media and email newsletters but how to foster true connection with your followers. You’ll learn the basics of how to implement a social media strategy on both Facebook and Instagram and how to grow an email list that supports your business growth.
Presented by: Kendall Ballantine, Central Park Farms
Sharing Your Story; Being Intentional About Your Brand’s Images
February 2021
Sourced From: BCAFM Conference
Sponsored By: The Number
Resource Type: Youtube
Recording Length: 34 minutes
This workshop focuses on sharing your brand’s story through intentional images and how to get those images. Discover how to market your business through relevant and captivating images with the elements “Look, Feel & Function.” You will learn how to intentionally plan out images that get your story across, and we will talk about creating photos specific to function, different ways to use your subject in photos, and how colours, textures, and light affect the mood. Whether you are using an iPhone or hiring professional photographers, learn how to ask the right questions to help guide you in building an awesome image library for your brand.
Presented by: Jolene Kolk, Food Photographer & Stylist, Pantry Studios (www.pantrystudios.ca)
Boost Your Market’s Online Presence For Free
February 2021
Sourced From: BCAFM Conference
Resource Type: Youtube
Recording Length: 45 minutes
Discover a wide range of free tools and social media concepts at this workshop, as well as how to use them effectively to fortify your market’s online presence. We will be showcasing tools like Canva (image creator and editor), Buffer (scheduling software), various cloud based softwares, and useful resources like Linktree, Google Surveys, Mailchimp, etc.
We will be demonstrating how to use them and create a quick post for your market during the workshop, and provide take-home instructions to use at your own pace. As a market manager or market staff, you will take away a robust selection of new tools and ideas to revitalize your social media and online presence.
Presented by: Lily Nichol, Market Manager, New West Farmers Market
Presented by: Minna Guo, Assistant Manager, New West Farmers Market
Beautiful Photos For Busy Market Managers
April 20, 2021
Sourced From: Farmers’ Market Coalition
Resource Type: Zoom Recording
Recording Length: 57 minutes
Good photos are the foundation of a dynamic and vibrant farmers market social media. Even the liveliest market can look stagnant if the photos don’t capture the energy of the market. On the other hand, a bright and animated photo can capture the spirit of the farmers market and be your best tool for marketing and promotion.
Presented by: Farmers’ Market Coalition
Marketing Your Farmers’ Market
May 4, 2015
Sourced From: BCAFM Conference
Resource Type: Youtube Video
Recording Length: 42 minutes
Farmers’ market vendors and farm producers will benefit tremendously from understanding that ‘marketing’ is the art of crafting and sharing your unique story well and consistently. If we do not share our values through our stories, we leave our customers guessing and shopping elsewhere. Marketing come out of the passions and values and motivations we have for the gutsy work we do in the world. So come learn how to take what is amazing about you and your farm and product and turn it into a simple, winning brand.
Presented by: Michelle Wolf (Farmers’ Markets of Nova Scotia and Whole Green Heart)
Your Budget Tells Your Market Story
November 9, 2020
Sourced From: BCAFM Webinar Series
Resource Type: Youtube Video
Recording Length: 48 minutes
In this webinar, Heather O’Hara from the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets and Melissa Maltais from Fraser North Farmers’ Market Society discuss practical tips and tools to gear up for budget planning season, from crafting your financial tale to presenting to your financial board.
DOWNLOAD your Farmers’ Market Budget Template
Presented by: Heather O’Hara, BCAFM Executive Director
Presented by: Melissa Maltais, former Fraser North Farmers Market Society Executive Director
Ongoing Operating Revenues: Real Operating Revenue Opportunities for Farmers’ Market Series
August 12, 2020
Sourced From: BCAFM Webinar Series
Resource Type: Youtube Video
Recording Length: 58 minutes
In part one of this two-part webinar series, Melissa Maltais from Fraser North Farmers’ Market Society along with Heather O’Hara from the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets discuss practical tips and tools to secure grants, sponsorship, municipal operating agreements and other revenue opportunities for your market.
In this webinar, we cover municipal operating agreements and sponsorship opportunities, along with some great fundraising examples for farmers’ market organizers
Presented by: Melissa Maltais, former Fraser North Farmers Market Society Executive Director
Presented by: Heather O’Hara, BCAFM Executive Director
Equity and your Farmers Market Board of Directors
February 2021
Sourced From: BCAFM Conference
Resource Type: Youtube Video
Recording Length: 1 hour 10 minutes
People step forward to volunteer as board members for their local Farmers Market for all sorts of reasons, commonly sharing a desire to contribute to local food security, and to connect their community with local farmers. It is not likely that they step forward thinking: “I hope I can do this with a bunch of like-minded white people”, and yet farmers market boards are often without much, if any, BIPOC representation. In this workshop, we’ll explore what board governance is, and how boards can be active in engaging a more diverse representation of their community.
Participants will learn about actively recruiting and orienting new board members with equity as a guiding principle. We will shine a light on governance structure and the language used to describe it as key ways to better understand what we are asking volunteers to do, and how structure and language can act as barriers to participation.
Presented by: Paige Dampier, Close to Home Organics
Presented by: Ruby Campbell, Director of Advancement, Faculty Art & Social Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Introduction To Territorial Acknowledgements
2021
Sourced From: Nahanee Creative
Resource Type: On Demand Workshop
Cost: $40
This on demand mini-course on Territorial Acknowledgements is for everyone who wants to learn: what Territorial Acknowledgements are, why they matter, and how to create and deliver yours in a good way. Together, we’ll dive deeper into the concepts of colonial conditioning and decolonizing practices in relation to Lands, Belonging and Shared Territory.
You will explore brave new language and be encouraged to critically analyze how you share your commitment to Territorial Acknowledgements.
While the teachings and critical Indigenous theory shared by Ta7talíya-men Paisley Eva Nahanee are grounded in the Squamish worldview, they are applicable across Indigenous Territories.
Presented by: Ta7talíya-men Paisley Eva Nahanee, Nahanee Creative
Building Diverse & Equitable Nonprofit Boards: A Panel Discussion With Sector Experts
September 29, 2021
Sourced From: Charity Village
Resource Type: Youtube Video
Recording Length: 57 minutes
Earlier this year, Statistics Canada released the results of a survey exploring the diversity of charity and nonprofit boards in Canada. The results confirmed what many in the sector already know – that those who identify as immigrants, persons of colour, LGBTQ2+ individuals, persons with a disability, and First Nations, Metis, and Inuit are vastly underrepresented on nonprofit and charity boards of directors. In this panel discussion we discuss the implications of these findings and what organizations can do to build a more diverse and equitable sector, starting with their boards.
Presented by: Charity Village
Anti Racism in Farmers’ Markets: A Toolkit For Markets and Their Teams
2021
Sourced From: Equity In Farmers Markets
Resource Type: Toolkit PDF
This toolkit is designed for Market Managers, Boards of Directors, Market volunteers, and Market stakeholders.
It was developed to assist Farmers Markets in the shared goal of making Farmers Markets more equitable for farmers of colour, especially Black and Indigenous farmers, who have historically and are currently being shut out of the benefits of participating in Farmers Markets.
Created by: The Equity in Farmers’ Markets Working Group is a group of BIPOC and white allies who are connected to Farmers Markets as farmers, managers, and customers and are working to make change in markets and food spaces.
Connecting Your Market to Diverse Communities
March 23, 2017
Sourced From: BCAFM Conference
Resource Type: Youtube Video
Recording Length: 32 minutes
In 2016, the Vancouver Farmers Markets (VFM) launched their Local Food Global Flavours (LFGF) project with the goals of attracting more Asian shoppers and increasing sales of locally grown Asian vegetables at their markets. The Hua Foundation was a partner on the project and provided valuable insight into the Asian community’s values, preferences and market traditions/norms. Kevin will provide that expertise in this workshop and offer his suggestions for markets and vendors to better appeal and serve the Asian consumer. Eric Koo is a VFM vendor and a participant in the LFGF program. Eric speaks Cantonese and grows Asian vegetables among other crops. He will share his experience with the LFGF program, and as a vendor who has developed a following for his Asian vegetables.
Presented by: Roberta Lapaglia, Vancouver Farmers’ Market
Taking Action On Board Diversity: Five Questions To Get Your Started
2017
Sourced From: Board Source
Resource Type: Info Sheet PDF
At the most fundamental level, who serves on a board impacts how it functions and the decisions it makes. While
board composition is not one-size-fits all, a board that is homogeneous in any way risks having blind spots that
negatively impact its ability to make the best decisions and plans for the organization. The blind spots created
by a lack of racial and ethnic diversity are particularly concerning, as they may result in strategies and plans that
ineffectively address societal challenges and inequities, or even reinforce them.
Presented by: BoardSource.org
Ensuring Product Transparency: Toolkit for BC Farmers’ Markets
2020
Sourced From: BCAFM Tools & Resources
Resource Type: Toolkit PDF
Consumers have many choices of where to purchase local food. Therefore there is a greater responsibility on farmers’ market organizers to ensure the authenticity of products being sold through the farmers’ market.
The belief that customers are purchasing products that were made, baked, grown or raised by the producer in BC is a definitive and deciding factor in consumers’ choice of where to spend their money. Therefore, ensuring the authenticity and transparency of products being sold at member BC farmers’ markets is of significant importance.
Prepared for BCAFM by: Tabitha McLoughlin, Executive Director – Grow Local Society
Delegations to Local Councils
September 22, 2016
Sourced From: BCAFM Conference
Resource Type: Youtube Video
Participants in this workshop will learn about delegations and presentations to your local government, and how to make a business case for farmers’ markets by highlighting their successes.
Presented by: Helen Fathers, former Market Manager – White Rock Farmers’ Market
Farmers Market Contingency Plans For Extreme Environmental Challenges
July 26, 2021
Sourced From: Farmers’ Market Pros
Resource Type: Podcast via Youtube
Across the United States we’re seeing record-breaking heatwaves, summer downpours and an early start to fire season. As extreme weather becomes more and more common, farmers market operators have to get creative and develop contingency plans to keep their farmers market up and running while also keeping their farmers, vendors and shoppers safe. In this episode we discuss how to handle inclement weather and other environmental issues that impact your outdoor farmers market.
Presented by: Farmers Market Pros
De-escalating Tense Situations At The Farmers Market
Jan 18, 2021
Sourced From: Farmers’ Market Pros
Resource Type: Podcast via Youtube
Bad days happen – even at the farmers market. Sometimes market managers and staff have to face disgruntled shoppers and tense situtations. After almost a year of stay at home orders and COVID-19 restrictions, it seems like everyone’s feeling a little on edge. On this week’s episode of Tent Talk, we share some helpful tips and resources on how to de-escalate conflict at the farmers market. We also discuss the importance of relaxation and self-care in between market days.
Presented by: Farmers Market Pros
Navigating and Communicating During A Crisis
2016
Sourced From: BCAFM Tools & Resources
Resource Type: Toolkit PDF
A crisis is any event that threatens to harm, damage or disrupt people, property, business, reputations and revenue.
What you are facing may not yet be a crisis, but it could escalate into one. Be prepared for how to handle a crisis at your market by downloading this toolkit.
Adapted by: This guide was adapted by the BC Association of Farmers Markets, with permission, from the manual “Crisis Communications Guide” published by Farmers Market Federation New York and Cornell University Cooperative Extension Jefferson Country in August 2011.