Assessment of Farmers Market In Progress
The USDA awarded Dakota College at Bottineau (DCB) a Farmers Market Promotion Grant late last year. Partnering with FARRMS and collaborating with the North Dakota Farmers Market and Growers Association, this three-year grant will provide marketing and management strategies for the state’s farmers markets and its producers. The project “Enhancing Consumer Marketing Strategies of North Dakota Farmers Markets and Market Producers” will support the farmers markets of North Dakota with developing enhanced consumer marketing and market management strategies through market manager training, a vendor and consumer marketing assessment, and market manager and market producer support activities providing direct benefits to North Dakota’s farmers markets’ managers, vendors and customers. The technical assistance and marketing strategies will be tailored to two categories of farmers markets in North Dakota.
- Farmers market in urban cities.
- Rural farmers markets in less populated areas.
Dakota College in Bottineau will provide market manager training, a vendor and consumer marketing assessment, and market manager and market producer support activities directly to the markets. Six farmer markets responded to the call for summer interns to begin the market assessments. Selected interns were trained and will be working at:
- BisMarket, Bismarck
- Capital Farmers Market, Bismarck
- Red River Market, Fargo
- Town Square Farmer’s Market, Grand Forks
- Lena’s Fresh Farmers Market, Rolla
- Bottineau Farmers Market, Bottineau
Interns will assist market managers and conduct a Customer Satisfaction Survey. If you shop at farmers markets, we want to know how ND’s farmers markets can better meet your needs. The information gathered will be used to provide education to farmers market managers and market vendors statewide.
The customer satisfaction survey takes less than five minutes to complete. Anyone who has attended at least one farmer’s market this summer is eligible to complete a survey. Those who provide contact information will be entered into a drawing for a pre-paid $25 gift card. One winner per farmers market site will be selected. The survey may be taken online at www.fresherfoods.org or a survey can be mailed to you by contacting Amy Koehler at Dakota College at Bottineau 701-228-5605.