Franklin County Farmers Market
Raising awareness and ease of access to a producer only market
Our Seeds of Success series highlights the accomplishments and lessons-learned from Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program (FMLFPP) grant recipients. Learning from one another, we can build stronger local food systems across the nation.
Franklin County Farmers Market is a producer only market located in the historic district of Frankfort Kentucky. Operating for over 30 years, it is the only farmers market in Franklin County. Frankfort, the state capital of Kentucky, is the fifth-smallest state capitol in the United States and has a below-average median family income for both Kentucky and the U.S.
Why FMLFPP
After participating in a Healthy Communities Needs Assessment conducted by the Health Department of Kentucky, Franklin County Farmers Market learned how unaware the surrounding community was about the existence of the market and the range of programs it offered. Following this assessment Franklin County Farmers Market determined the importance of increasing local food consumption while also improving market access for more residents. Franklin County Farmers Market applied for and received a Capacity Building Farmers Market Promotion Program Grant (FMPP) for $199, 245 in 2017 to improve marketing and outreach of the market while also piloting direct marketing opportunities such as a farm to workplace delivery program.
Impact
As a result of this grant project, Franklin County Farmers Market was able to:
Increase market sales by 83% from the beginning of the grant period.
Develop the Farm to Frankfort Workplace Delivery Program to serve seven area workplaces. The development of this program allowed Franklin Country Farmers Market to pivot quickly to online ordering and curbside pickup in response to COVID-19.
Begin a sliding-scale cooperative food buying program with 130 participating families. Sixty-eight percent of participants who benefited from this program identified as having limited income.
Expand social media presence on Facebook and Instagram. Facebook likes increased by 128% and Instagram follows by 481%
Lessons Learned
Tune into the community and connect with other organizations: Franklin County Farmers Market was able to market its own activities by partnering and supporting the work of other community organizations. Partnerships with the local library and the Emergency Food Pantry allowed Franklin County Farmers Market to connect with a new customer base. Working with the Franklin County Emergency Food Pantry allowed the pantry to offer clients access to fresh, local food while also bringing in thousands of dollars for the market’s producers. It also allowed Franklin County Farmers Market the opportunity to connect pantry clients with the market’s range of food access programming.
Track your work so you can evaluate progress and tell your market’s story: It is easy to get caught up in the busyness of the market season and forget to keep records. However, keeping track of sales numbers, market attendance, special events offered, money raised, and other metrics- and taking good pictures! – let you track your accomplishments. Take time at least once a year to review these metrics, reflect on them internally, and share the highlights with the community.
Take time to be intentional about growing your organization’s capacity: As your organization grows, increases staff, and tries to accomplish more, it can cause strains and growing pains within your organization. Work to intentionally build your organization’s capacity, formalize accounting and recordkeeping practices, address conflict in constructive ways, and regularly check in about how things are going.
Where are they now?
Franklin County Farmers Market has continued to offer both online ordering with curbside pickup options and traditional in person sales during the 2021 market season. Vendor participation, customer attendance and market sales have been strong. This hybrid model will continue in 2022.
In partnership with the statewide organization, Community Farm Alliance, Franklin County Farmers Market began offering FreshRx, a vegetable prescription program for expectant moms, in 2021. Additionally, a voucher program was started with another local family support organization to help vendors sell fresh produce to the city school system.
Franklin County Farmers Market has continued to navigate COVID and strive to offer a range of shopping options that help keep the community healthy on many levels. They returned to pre-pandemic market configuration mid-season and have offered sampling, music, chef demonstrations, and kids activities in 2021. Franklin County Farmers Market is looking forward to even more robustly engaging in all these activities that make the market a loved community gathering space in 2022.
Relevant Resources
Looking to start a similar project or facing similar issues? Check out the resources below:
To learn more about using Food Value Chains to create shared value for enhanced marketing success:
To learn about Local Food Systems' Response to COVID-19:
To learn how to guide community discussions, assessments and choices with local food systems:
To read the 2020 Farmers Market Manager Survey results:
Want to read more Seeds of Success stories? Curious to learn about FMLFPP?
*The USDA is providing this story as a public service. The views expressed in the features do not necessarily reflect those of USDA.
