Sunday, September 18, 2016

We want your feedback!

"A farmers market must be equal in its effort to support its customer community and its vendor community. To us, a market isn't an "event," its a source of fresh, local produce. It's an alternative to the grocery store and the place where your kids can meet the person who grew the tomato, extracted the honey, collected the eggs and so on. We want the market to be an experience in eating seasonally and appreciating the bounty of rich Ohio."

When I wrote about the early closure for the 2016 market season a few weeks ago, it saddened me to know that we were taking away an opportunity for vendors and customers who truly love the market. It saddened me to think about the future of this market and its ability to weather the downturn in support. Would the market be strong again? How could we attract more customers? How could we retain our vendors who experienced this downturn first hand?

Closing the market early was not an easy decision, nor a quick one. For weeks we talked about the market, the slowing pace of customers and our options for moving forward. We listened to all of our vendors and heard very clearly their concern for shrinking financial sustainability. We also heard from customers who were frustrated with the lack of variety and the decline of vendor participation.

Sadly, the decline of a market happens quickly. Customers decline, vendors decline. Customers decline again, vendors decline again. It's a vicious cycle and in the case of this year's market, left us with fewer than 100 customers and less than 10 vendors.

So, we close early and start to think about what's ahead for the Dublin Farmers' Market. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, we want to hear from you! Click here to take a brief, 10 question survey. Have more to share? Email us at info@dublinfarmersmarket.com. We'd love to hear from you!

Jaime Moore
Market Manager
Dublin Farmers' Market

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