Colleen Donovan

Doin’ the Dots: farmers market data collection engages community participation

How many customers do we have? What do customers care about most? How much do they spend? And how do you answer these questions with no turnstiles, barcodes, or cash registers to be found? The very charms of shopping a farmers market – a weekly intimacy with the product and producer; low-tech, hand-crafted displays; and […]

Love farmers markets? Thank your market managers.

August is peak season for Washington State’s 160 farmers markets. With the rain in check and days long, farmers are out in full force with their tree-ripened peaches, corn picked that day, heirloom tomatoes, farmstead cheeses, grass-fed meats, and more. We estimate that farmers markets support around 1,400 unique farms. Some of these farms have […]