Farmers Market Questionnaire

OMB 0581-0169

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE

FARMERS MARKET QUESTIONNAIRE

Preliminary Information

Name of Market ______________________________

Local Address:

Street name and number ( e.g., 999 USDA Road) ______________________________

Location description (e.g., City Hall parking lot) ______________________________

City: ______________________________

State ______________________________

Zip code (required) ______________________________

County ______________________________

Mailing Address (if different from above)

Line 1: (e.g., PO Box 999) ______________________________

City: ______________________________

State: ______________________________

Zip code: ______________________________

Name of person completing survey ______________________________

Title of person completing survey ______________________________

Telephone number (including area code) ______________________________

Facsimile number (including area code) ______________________________

E-mail address ______________________________

Market website ______________________________

SECTION I

FARMERS MARKET PROFILE

1. Including last season, how many years has this market been in operation? ______ Years

2. Was this market open year-round last season?

• Yes

• No If Not open year round, what were your months of operation?

Starting Month: __________ Ending Month: ___________

3. What were the total sales ($) at this farmers market last season?

$_________.00 (Insert only numbers; e.g., 9999)

4. Estimate the percentage of retail sales (i.e., direct to consumers) and the percentage of

wholesale sales (i.e., to restaurants, businesses and/or institutions) at this market last season. (Insert only numbers; e.g., 99)

Retail sales (direct to consumers)	____.00 %
Wholesale sales (restaurants, businesses and/or institutions)	____.00 %
Total:	100.00 %

SECTION II

INFORMATION ABOUT FARMERS MARKET PRODUCERS/VENDORS

1. How many producers/vendors participated at this market last season?

(Do not count return visits) __________ producer/vendors

2. How many producers/vendors at this market only sold farm products that they produced

themselves last season? If none, please write “0”. __________ producer/vendors

3. Did any of the producers/vendors use farmers markets as their only sales outlet for their

farm products last season?

• No

○ Yes If Yes, please indicate how many producers/vendors.

__________ producer/vendors

4. How many producers/vendors used THIS farmers market as their only sales outlet for

their farm products last season? If none, please write “0”.

__________ producer/vendors

5. Please indicate how many of the producers/vendors at this farmers market had annual

market sales in the following categories. The total number of vendors should equal your

answer to Question 1, above)

Market sales last season	Number of producers/vendors
$1 - $1,000	____
$1,001 - $5,000	____
$5,001 - $10,000	____
$10,001 - $25,000	____
$25,001 - $50,000	____
$50,001 – 100,000	____
100,001 or more	____
Total number of producers/vendors	____ (This number should equal your answer to Question 1)

6. What percentage of your producers/vendors using this market traveled the following distances

to sell at this farmers market last season? (Your answers should add to 100%)

0-10 miles	____.00 %
11-20 miles	____.00 %
21-50 miles	____.00 %
51 – 100 miles	____.00 %
101 miles or more	____.00 %
Total:	100.00 %

7. What percentage of producers/vendors at this market belong to the following

ethnic and racial groups last season? (Your answers should add to 100 %.)

Ethnicity:
Hispanic or Latino	____.00 %
Not Hispanic or Latino	____.00 %
Total:	100.00 %

Race:	____.00 %
American Indian or Alaska Native	____.00 %
Asian	____.00 %
Black or African American	____.00 %
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	____.00 %
White	____.00 %
Total:	100.00 %

8. Which of the following statements about this market was MOST true last season?

○ We have more demand than supply -- we need more producers/vendors.

○ We have more supply than demand -- we need more customers.

○ Our supply and demand is roughly equal.

SECTION III

PRODUCTS SOLD AT YOUR FARMERS MARKET

1. Please indicate/check which of the following products were sold at this market last

season. For each product sold, indicate the number of different producers/vendors that

sold the product.

Products sold at this farmers market	Number of producers/vendors that sold these products
Fresh fruits and vegetables	______
Milk and/or dairy products	______
Meat and/or poultry products	______
Fish and/or seafood	______
Herbs, flowers and plants	______
Honey, nuts, jams, jellies and preserves	______
Baked goods	______
Prepared food (for immediate consumption)	______
Other processed foods	______
Crafts/woodworking	______
Other 1. (please specify____________________ )	______
Other 2. (please specify ____________________ )	______
Other 3. (please specify ____________________ )	______

2. Please indicate the importance of the following reasons why people shopped at farmers

market last season.

Reasons	Not an important	Somewhat important	Important	Very important	Extremely important
Price
Freshness and condition of product
Taste and texture of product
Support of local agriculture
Variety of products offered
Access to locally produced food
Ability to know how food products are produced
Other (please specify ________________________ )
Other (please specify ________________________ )

SECTION IV

SPECIALLY LABELED PRODUCTS SOLD AT YOUR FARMERS MARKET

1. Were there any organically labeled items available at this market during last season?

• No If No, please go to question 2.

○ Yes If Yes, please indicate which of the following organically-labeled items were sold at this market last season, and the number of producers/vendors who sold these products.

Products sold at this farmers market	Number of producers/vendors that sold these products
Organic fresh fruits and vegetables	______
Organic milk and/or dairy products	______
Organic meat and/or poultry products	______
Organic herbs, flowers and plants	______
Organic honey, jams, jellies and preserves	______
Other 1. (please specify____________________ )	______
Other 2. (please specify ____________________ )	______
Other 3. (please specify ____________________ )	______

2. Do producers/vendors at this market use labels other than organic to sell products?

• No

• Yes If yes, which of the following labels do they use?

• Locally grown

• Natural

• Pasture-raised/free range

• Chemical-free/pesticide free

• Hormone-free/antibiotic-free

• Other (please specify___________________________________ )

SECTION V

MARKET OPERATIONS

1. Does this market operate in a permanent facility?

• No

• Yes If Yes, do you rent or own the facility?

○ Own the facility ○ Rent facility

2. How large is the total retail sales area for this market last season?

Please do not include parking or administrative offices.

Please select one of the units of measure below and fill in the blank.

_______.00 square feet OR _______.00 acres.

3. Please indicate the different types of advertising that this farmers market utilized

last season. Then, for each type of advertising used, indicate your assessment of its

effectiveness.

Types of advertising methods currently used	Not effective	Somewhat effective	Effective	Very effective	Extremely effective
□ Newspaper
□ Radio
□ Television
□ Brochures/flyers
□ Direct mail
□ Newsletter
□ Signs/banners on market day
□ Internet website
□ Other(s)____________

4. How much did this market spend on advertising last season?

$__________.00 dollars (Insert only numbers; e.g., 9999)

5. Does this market conduct periodic customer surveys to assess customer satisfaction or

preferences?

○ Yes ○ No

6. What was this market’s annual operating budget last season?

$__________.00 dollars (Insert only numbers; e.g., 9999)

7. Was this farmers market economically self-sustaining last season? By self-sustaining

we mean that market income from all sources was sufficient to pay all the costs of

operating the market.

○ Yes ○ No

8. What sources of revenue did you use to finance this farmers market’s operations last

season? Please indicate the percentage of the operating revenues from each of the

following sources. The percentage should add up to 100%.

Producer/vendor fees	_______.00 %
State government agency	_______.00 %
City/county municipal government agency	_______.00 %
Nonprofit organization	_______.00 %
Farmer market association	_______.00 %
Trade or business association (e.g., Chamber of Commerce)	_______.00 %
Other (please specify ______________ )	_______.00 %
Total:	100.00 %

9. Are producers/vendors charged a fee to sell at this market?

○ No

○ Yes If Yes, please indicate the types of fees charged to vendors at this

farmers market.

□ Flat rate □ Percentage of sales

□ Farm inspection fee □ Membership fee

□ Other, Please specify: _______________ )

10. Did the managers of this market receive a salary last season?

○ No

○ Yes If Yes, what was their annual salary last season? $__________.00 dollars

11. What was your managers work schedule last season?

○ Part-time seasonal ○ Part-time year-round

○ Full-time seasonal ○ Full-time year-round

12. Did the manager of this market manage other markets?

○ No

○ Yes If Yes, indicated the total number of markets they managed last season,

including this market __________ markets

13. Not including your market’s manager, did this market employ any paid workers last

season?

○ No If No, please go to question 14.

○ Yes If Yes, indicate how many of the following types of employees did this

market employ last season?

Part-time seasonal	□ None	_____ employees
Part-time year-round	□ None	_____ employees
Full-time seasonal	□ None	_____ employees
Full-time year-round	□ None	_____ employees

14. Did any volunteers work at this farmers market last season?

○ No

○ Yes If Yes, how many volunteers worked at this market last season?

_____ number of volunteers

15. Who develops rules, regulations and producer/vendor criteria for this market?

□ State government agency

□ City/county or municipal government agency

□ Producer/vendor-operated Board of Directors

□ Community association/non-profit organization

□ Market manager

□ Other. Please specify: _____________

16. Do any of the following restrictions apply to this farmers market?

Agricultural producers are only allowed to sell farm products they produce themselves at this market	○ Yes ○ No
Producers are allowed to resell other producers’ farm products	○ Yes ○ No
Producers can sell farm products from outside the local area	○ Yes ○ No
The range of items that can be sold at this market is limited (e.g., sales of meat, eggs, fish/seafood are prohibited)	○ Yes ○ No
Product mix at this market is controlled by limiting the number of producers/vendors of the same item	○ Yes ○ No

17. Which of the following operational issues do you believe are in need of improvement

at this market? Please indicate the importance of these issues.

	Not important	Somewhat important	Important	Very important	Extremely important
Customer number (low attendance)
Low sales per producer/vendor
Access to public restrooms
Development of business plan for market
Liability insurance coverage
Parking for customers
Tenant agreements/relationships with market tenants
Utilities (e.g., electricity, water)
Certified processing/kitchen facilities
Advertising/publicity
Waste management
Other (please specify ______________)
Other (please specify ______________)

18. Which of the following types of market assistance would most help this market’s

producers/vendors increase their sales to consumers? Please indicate the importance

of these types of assistance.

	Not helpful	Somewhat helpful	Helpful	Very helpful	Extremely helpful
Research on local customer demographics and preferences
Improvements in layout of facility
Renovation of aging facility
Training on how to better target consumers
Training on business plan development
Support/funding for producer/vendor advertising and publicity
Training on merchandising/retail displays
Support/funding for local food promotion campaigns
Other, please specify and rate its importance:_________________________)
Other, please specify and rate its importance:_________________________)

SECTION VI

NUTRITION, FOOD STAMPS AND FOOD GLEANING PROGRAMS

1. Did any of the producers/vendors at this market participate in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Farmers Market Nutrition program last season?

○ No
○ Yes	If Yes, please indicate the number of producers/vendors that participated in the WIC program last season. ____ producers/vendors
	If Yes, what was the total value of WIC Farmers Market Nutrition program sales last season? $ ____.00 total value of WIC Farmers Market Nutrition program sales

2. Did any of the producers/vendors at this market participate in the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition program last season?

○ No
○ Yes	If Yes, please indicate the number of producers/vendors that participated in the Senior program during last season. ____ producers/vendors
	If Yes, what was the total value of Senior Farmers Market Nutrition program sales last season? $ ____.00 total value of Senior Farmers Market Nutrition program sales

3. Did any of the producers/vendors at this market accept food stamps using electronic benefits transfer (EBT) technology last season?

○ No
○ Yes	If Yes, please indicate the number of producers/vendors that accept food stamps using electronic benefits transfer (EBT) technology last season. ____ producers/vendors
	If Yes, what was the total value ($) of EBT sales at this market last season? $ ____ .00 total value of EBT program sales

4. Did any of the producers/vendors at this market participate in a food “gleaning” or donation program last season?

○ No
○ Yes	If Yes, please indicate the number of producers/vendors that participated in a food “gleaning” or donation program during last season. ____ producers/vendors
	If Yes, please estimate the total value of the food “gleaned” or donated last season. $ ____ .00 total value of food “gleaned” or donated

Section VII

Information about Farmers Market Customers

1. On average, how many customers patronized this market weekly last season?

____ customers (Insert only numbers; e.g., 99)

2. What was the total number of customers who patronized this farmers market last season?

____ customers (Insert only numbers; e.g., 99)

3. Last season, what percentage of your customers traveled the following distances to this farmers market? Please indicate the percentage of customers that traveled different distances. The total should add up to 100%.

0-5 miles	____ .00 %
6-10 miles	____ .00 %
11-20 miles	____ .00 %
21-50 miles	____ .00 %
51 miles or more	____ .00 %
Total	100.00 %

4. USDA plans to repeat this survey again. What types of additional information

do you recommend that we collect from Farmers Markets in our next survey?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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