Market Management 101 Course

A comprehensive program to learn farmers market management

Learn at your own pace.

Connect with other market managers.

This course will help you confidently take on the role of farmers market manager. You’ll have access to the knowledge you need to run a safe, vibrant, and welcoming market.

Being a market manager is incredibly rewarding. However, it is a challenging role that requires a wide breadth of knowledge and skills.

In one week alone, you could be promoting the market, recruiting vendors, resolving disputes, obtaining permits, keeping an eye out for food safety issues, updating an emergency action plan, managing an incentive program, and planning a special event.

To top it all off, you’re often the only one on the team and the folks you report to may not understand at all what it takes to run a successful market.

This course is for you if you are …

a new, or relatively new, market manager
You want to start out on the right foot with a solid understanding of what this role requires and with access to experts and resources that will support your success.
an experienced market manager
You have learned a lot on the job but could use some help filling in the gaps. Perhaps you’re looking to update your market rules, improve your vendor recruitment, shore up the safety of your market and attract more customers.
a supervisor of a market manager
Your organization runs a market or is planning to open a market. You need to understand what is involved in running a successful market.
running multiple markets
You are looking for a reliable and thorough training program for your staff. Contact us for volume discounts.

Through this course, you will learn to better manage your market. You will also gain a community of market managers dealing with similar challenges.

The Course has 12 Modules

Covering real world market issues.

Role of a Market Manager

We outline the role of a market manager. Our group discusses what a typical day looks like for them, and we review sample job descriptions. We then talk about leadership, because as a market manager, you are a leader.

Community Interest Assessment

You will learn about assessing your community's interest for your farmers market. This step helps to create buy in from customers and vendors. It also clarifies a market's identity.

Public Safety

It is essential to think through what could happen at your market and prepare for those potential incidents. You'll hear from an emergency manager who shares tools to help you develop an emergency action plan.

Risk and Liability

Our speaker walks you through the key precautions market managers need to consider.

Recruiting and Retaining Vendors

Experienced market managers share how they work to attract and keep vendors at their markets. You'll also hear from a long-time vendor who shares her perspectives on how to keep your vendors happy

Farmers Markets & Community Health

We discuss nutrition security, the benefits of local food, and why your work as a farmer's market manager has much bigger implications for your community than just selling produce.

Rules and Regulations

The creators of the Farmer's Market Legal Toolkit discuss the type of rules your market needs to consider. They share resources and examples that will help you craft or fine tune your market's rules and procedures.

Budgets and Accounting

We help you think through what to include in your budget. Our experienced market manager shares how your mission and goals impact and shape your budget.

Marketing with Social Media

We go into detail about the top social media platforms, connecting with influencers, and using live video to attract new shoppers

Market Data

Collecting and using data helps you better run, promote, and fund your market. In this module, an experienced market manager shares how her market uses data and helps you think through what you want to collect and use.

Special Event Planning

We talk about why to host special events, what to consider when planning them, and then share examples of different types of events you could host.

Opening Day

Here we wrap up the course with a run through of what you can expect on your first day at market.

Note: Food Safety

We connect Virginia market managers with food safety requirements. That doesn't mean those outside of Virginia don't need to learn about food safety, of course. Because food safety regulations vary by location, we encourage you to contact your Department of Agriculture, Department of Health, and/or Farmers Market Association to determine the requirements in your region.

Farmers Market University is a program of the Virginia Farmers Market Association, a 501c3 non-profit. We’ve been teaching this course since 2017.

With so many of our students coming from outside of Virginia, we realized there was national interest in our courses. We launched this platform to make them available to all.

Here’s what you’re getting when you enroll today:

Market Management 101

12 modules with video recordings, downloadable audio recordings, written transcripts and additional course resources.

You'll also be invited to join our private Facebook group to connect with other market managers.

You’ll get access to everything for:

5 Monthly Payments of

$115

ENROLL + PAY MONTHLY

OR

A One-Time Payment of

$500

PAY IN FULL + SAVE

"Having worked over the past 25 years as a market vendor, a volunteer, a board member and a manager, I have learned more in this class than all the years of hands-on experience at farmers markets. The topics covered by qualified professionals were outstanding. All of the modules were presented with clear objectives, reference links, PDFs, and the presenter's contact information. I have gone back many times already to check on policies and recommendations I learned in class."

Lisa DiConsiglio
Field to Table Community Farmers Markets
Arlington, VA

"I literally went from knowing nothing about managing a farmers market (I have zero experience) to being comfortable enough to say I CAN DO THIS!!! All the courses, guest speakers and staff managing this course will walk you through the entire process making it super easy to complete and understand what it takes to be a market manager. I'm 30 years old with zero experience in managing a market and if I did it anybody can."

Emanuel Gonzalez

"I was thrown in with zero experience into a market that was in crisis. This class has been enlightening, especially about administrative systems, policy creation and vendor relations. I ran the market last year just using common sense, but I have been able to create administrative systems I can hand on to others to help me run the market."

Jessica Shipe
The Market at Second Stage
Amherst, VA