đź—Ž Workshop Schedule for Friday & Saturday (PDF)

đź—Ž 2026 WSFMA Conference Program (PDF), with Speaker bios and emails

 

Friday, Workshops Session 1

🥕 From Set-Up to Stand-Out: Building a Strong, Unified Market Presence

Sean Conroe, Collins Family Orchard

Join Sean Conroe, Community Market Manager of Collins Family Orchards, for a practical, behind-the-scenes look at how a family orchard pulled together its marketing across markets and beyond. Sean will share how Collins Family Orchards’ brand and approach evolved over time, what pieces actually matter in a vendor marketing mix (from booths and staff training to websites, newsletters, and social), and where things made the biggest difference. Along the way, he’ll highlight real examples of what worked, what didn’t, and what kind of support from market staff helped elevate those efforts. The session will wrap with observations from other markets and vendors, plus ideas for how market teams can better support vendor success moving forward.

🥕 What do Vendors think of Farmers Markets? 2025 Survey Results

Colleen Donovan, Washington State Farmers Market Association

Vendors are farmers markets’ core customer and their success is core to our collective and individual missions. As we know, the needs, demands, and opportunities for vendors and farmers markets have evolved over the decades. And we know that recruiting and retaining vendors, especially farmers, is a shared goal. What do they think? How can we get a better sense of the diversity of farmers in Washington, hear what vendors value, what issues matter, and what resources are truly useful? The Washington State Farmers Market Association, in partnership with Arrowleaf Consulting, conducted a statewide survey of farmers market growers and other vendors last year to find out. Colleen Donovan will share key findings, data, and explore potential recommendations as we all work to incorporate adjustments and new ideas that will inform farmers markets in 2026 and beyond.

🥕 Lightning Round: Resources for Farmers Market Farmers and New Businesses

Looking to learn what’s new? Relevant resources to share? This workshop will give you a lot of contacts. Hold on to your notes from this “lightning round style” workshop. Hear highlights from the USDA National Resource Conservation Service, WSDA Regional Markets, WSDA Organic Program, Washington Farm Bureau, SNAP Market Match, MarketWurks, Manage My Market and more! They’re all here to meet with you one-on-one with Exhibitors during Friday’s Trade Show.

Friday, Workshops Session 2

🥕 The Food Safety Case Files: What Farmers Markets Need to Know Before Opening Day

Susan Shelton, Washington State Department of Health, Food Safety Program

Farmers market organizers play a critical role in setting the tone for food safety long before the first customer arrives. This session equips organizers with a clear, usable framework for identifying food safety risks, understanding why they matter, and addressing them early. Through short case files drawn from real market settings, participants will learn how to spot early warning signs, ask effective questions, and guide vendors toward safe practices that will prevent small issues from escalating. You will leave better prepared to support vendors, work with their local health departments, and balance food safety so the season can be safe, successful, and enjoyable for everyone.

🥕 Yes! Sponsorships Can Fund Your Market

Matt Kelly, Queen Anne Farmers Market

No matter the size or age of your farmers market, sponsorships can be a powerful way to fund your work, increase visibility, and build strong connections in your community. Drawing on years of successful fundraising experience, the Queen Anne Farmers Market will share what has worked for them and why sponsorships have become a reliable part of their market’s funding model. This interactive presentation is for organizers who are new to sponsorships or looking for peer market examples. You will learn how to identify potential sponsors, set realistic pricing, and sell those sponsorships to local and national partners. You can expect to leave with practical tiered sponsorship model examples, metrics for measuring their success, and relationship-building strategies that support long term sponsorship growth and renewal.

🥕 Growing through Change in 2026: WIC & Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program

Cameron Akita, Washington State Department of Social & Health Services, Senior FMNP
Nick Lee, Washington State Department of Health, WIC FMNP

This session is designed for farmers market managers, board members, and vendors who are currently or interested in participating in the WIC and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program. We will offering an overview of advancements and policy updates for the WIC and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Programs (FMNP) in 2026. You will receive critical insights into technological innovations, program enhancements, and strategies for improving vendor and participant engagement. The interactive discussion will focus on navigating changes, maximizing program impact, and ensuring long-term sustainability for WIC and Senior FMNP in 2026.

Friday, Workshops Session 3

🥕 Farmers Markets: The Heart of the Community Food System

Katie Rains, Washington State Department of Agriculture
Clare Lane, Anti-Hunger and Nutrition Coalition

Our farmers markets are a vital force that fuel local food economies, improve food access and nutrition, and forge meaningful connections between shoppers and the seeds, soil, land, and labor that make their food possible.  The importance of local supply chains has come into sharper focus since communities across the state faced debilitating disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. While our food system has demonstrated resilience time and again, largely thanks to effort and innovation from folks like you, it has also shown a few cracks.  Washington State legislators have taken an interest in understanding how state investments and regulatory burdens impact our state’s food system. WSDA is looking to represent the voices of stakeholders working where food access and agricultural viability intersect – and we can’t wait to hear from you.

🥕 Music at the Market

Ben Chandler, Seattle Farmers Markets Association & The Low Lonesome Sound

“Atmosphere” brings farmers markets to life and sets the stage for engagement, experience, and market memories. At the heart of atmosphere is music. Join Ben Chandler and market friends to share their approach to the fine art of managing the often incredible (and occasionally bothersome) world of busking and market-adjacent street performance. This workshop aims to provide a place for conversations about the various relationships that music and art programming in general have to our markets.

🥕 Best of the Booth: “Information Booth” Tour & Idea Exchange

Amanda Milholland, Jefferson County Farmers Markets

After coffee, the Information Booth is one of the first things we look for at a farmers market. It’s not just for selling bags and distributing tokens, the Information Booth is the farmers market’s 10’ x 10’ HQ and control center where you’ll find people in charge, vital information, and supplies to manage the mundane to the market emergency. Join us this year to tour the Port Townsend Farmers Market Info Booth! Go behind the scenes with host Amanda Milholland to get her best secrets, share sources of equipment, and exchange your favorite tips and tricks. And be sure to bring any wayward tokens from other farmers markets that you’ve collected and be reunited with some of yours!

Saturday, Workshops Session 4

🥕 Working with Vendors Making Organic Claims at your Farmers Market

Katherine Withey, Washington State Department of Agriculture, Organic Program
Sarah Wiley, Washington State Department of Agriculture, Organic Program

Join us to hear from two WSDA Organic Certifiers who know Washington farmers and farmers markets well! Learn about the process farmers go through, what information is available to you as a manager, and what to monitor at their market booth. Shoppers want to know how and where products were grown – and they expect clear, honest information. And they can be misled by vendor signs. Unlike most claims, using the term “organic” is regulated by the USDA and has specific definitions. Market managers play a key role in helping vendors (and their seasonal staff) to follow the organic labeling requirements. This ensures shoppers are buying what they think they are – and keeps vendors out of trouble. We’ll cover what it takes to make an “organic claim,” what types of organic claims are allowed on market booth and product signs, and how to verify the certification status of an operation.

🥕 Doing More With Less: Partnerships That Make Your Farmers Market Programming Possible

Leah Nichelson, Camas Farmers Market

How would you like to grow your farmers market’s programming without growing your workload? This session focuses on building smart, mutually beneficial partnerships that help markets do more with less. Using real-world examples from the Camas Farmers Market, we’ll explore how collaborations with schools, nonprofits, colleges, and community groups can support kids activities, education, marketing, and special programs. You will leave with simple, realistic ideas for finding the right partners, setting clear expectations, and creating partnerships that are fun, effective, and sustainable for everyone involved. Perfect for market managers, board members, and volunteers who are building their teamwork to make farmers markets stronger.

🥕 Bookkeeping That Works: Practical Financial Systems for Farmers Markets – Action Lab, Part 1

Bryce Dazell, Evergreen Bookkeeping Solutions

Farmers markets operate in complex, fast-moving environments, with lots of quirks that stump their bookkeepers. So how can we build clear, reliable, transparent financial systems to set markets up for long-term stability and accountability. This two-part, interactive workshop is designed for market managers, staff, board members, and treasurers who want to strengthen their financial systems and better understand how their books support day-to-day operations and long-term planning. You will leave with greater clarity, increased confidence, and practical ideas for improving financial processes at their market.

Led by Bryce Dazell, founder of Evergreen Bookkeeping Solutions, the session draws on hands-on experience working with farmers’ markets and community-based organizations across Washington State. Bryce specializes in helping small teams build practical, understandable financial systems that support good decision-making without requiring an accounting background. Topics may include structuring a usable chart of accounts, tracking vendor fees and market revenue, handling food access currencies, payroll and tax considerations, internal controls, and understanding financial statements.

Saturday, Workshops Session 5

🥕 Running a Co-op Table at Your Farmers Market: What Works, What Breaks, and What We Learned the Hard Way

Michele Batchelder, Vashon Island Growers Association & Farmers Market

Ever thought about running a shared table at your farmers market? Ever tied it? A shared table or “coop booth” takes many forms. The gist is that your market allows multiple vendors (usually small or beginning, usually farmers) to sell from one, shared booth rather than their own individual booth. From check in chaos to staffing gaps to technology headaches, co-op tables can be messy — and powerful. This workshop walks through the real-world trials and tribulations of launching and operating a cooperative market table at the Vashon Island Farmers Market. Michelle will share practical systems, common pitfalls, and proven strategies that help multiple producers succeed together.

🥕 2025 Vendor Survey: What Growers Say About Food Access Programs & New Food Access Resources

Colleen Donovan, Washington State Farmers Market Association
Alyssa Auvinen, Project Consultant & Pepper’s Family Farm

Farmers market vendors are key partners in food access programs at farmers markets! Knowing that their participation is vital, the WSFMA asked them about their experiences in a 2025 survey. Come hear key findings, what they like and what challenges they face. As a vendor or market manager, it takes time to learn how each food access program works and train staff (and shoppers!). Whether you manage or sell at a farmers market that offers food access programs, or you’re considering bringing in food access programs to your market, keeping up with the rules and “need to know” topics for multiple food access programs is, well, complex. Join Colleen Donovan, WSFMA, and Alyssa Auvinen, project consultant, as they share new survey data, practical resources, including new Farmers Market Factsheets and a new “Vendor Guide to Accepting Food Access Currencies at Washington Farmers Markets.”

🥕 Bookkeeping That Works: Practical Financial Systems for Farmers Markets – Action Lab, Part 2

Bryce Dazell, Evergreen Bookkeeping Solutions

Farmers markets operate in complex, fast-moving environments, with lots of quirks that stump their bookkeepers. So how can we build clear, reliable, transparent financial systems to set markets up for long-term stability and accountability. This two-part, interactive workshop is designed for market managers, staff, board members, and treasurers who want to strengthen their financial systems and better understand how their books support day-to-day operations and long-term planning. You will leave with greater clarity, increased confidence, and practical ideas for improving financial processes at their market.

Led by Bryce Dazell, founder of Evergreen Bookkeeping Solutions, the session draws on hands-on experience working with farmers’ markets and community-based organizations across Washington State. Bryce specializes in helping small teams build practical, understandable financial systems that support good decision-making without requiring an accounting background. Topics may include structuring a usable chart of accounts, tracking vendor fees and market revenue, handling food access currencies, payroll and tax considerations, internal controls, and understanding financial statements.