Although the Dane County Farmer’s Market summer season draws to its annual end Saturday, staff members emphasized that it is a year-long market and said customers and vendors alike should be excited for what the future holds.
Director Larry Johnson reflected on a successful summer season, and said “the fruit crops have been excellent this year … apples and other crops have been really abundant and they’re really tasty.”
Fifty to 70 vendors will continue appearing every Saturday at Monona Terrace, where the market will move indoors throughout November and December before relocating to the Madison Senior Center in January until the summer 2014 season.
According to Johnson, since many vendors operate greenhouses, customers can still find a wide variety of fresh, locally grown produce, as well as meats, cheeses, bakery items, and holiday gifts and decorations such as plants, garlands and wreaths.
Early this summer, the Farmer’s Market created a social media marketing position following the encouragement of several vendors interested in expanding community outreach efforts. They hired Natalie Porter, a University of Wisconsin-Madison senior communications major.
Although establishing an online presence was Porter’s primary goal, “the main objective was … reaching out to the student body” through social networks, she said. “I started essentially from scratch.”
Johnson said he was “real pleased” with the success of the Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest accounts Porter created for the Farmer’s Market.
“It’s kind of hard to track social media,” explained Johnson, but “we’re getting more coverage.” Porter noted that while there was “a good response from both vendors and customers,” the Farmer’s Market has a long way to go to connect with its audience online.
Porter explained that social media initiatives are “still in the planning stages” for the winter season, and anticipates that limited transportation, competition with football games and busy student schedules will affect attendance.
One idea to encourage student attendance involves creating and distributing simple recipes using ingredients that can all be found at the Farmer’s Market, directed at college students who have difficulty cooking in student housing.
Johnson was optimistic about the impact social media will have on the winter season, and explained that the vendors and customers are “all in this together, wanting to have good local meals … I think that’s a great connection.”
