About the Kent Farmers' Market Association

KENT FARMERS MARKET ASSOCIATION

The Association was formed in 2007 following a project carried out by the Kent Business School which found that growth in the Farmers Market economy was faltering because:-

• Market Managers had little experience in the food retail business and especially 'marketing'.

• The sector was highly fragmented, 

• There was no general promotion and awareness of a Farmers' Markets ‘brand’. 

The Association was then formed to promote and support Farmers Market Managers and later Producers. It is run by volunteers and is a not for profit organisation. It was, and still is, based on the premise that by co-operating together we can be far stronger than the individual parts.

Our main objective is to support and promote Farmers Markets, local food and drink producers and other outlets selling local produce. To this end we have developed a platform aimed at both customers and producers on a single, easy-to-use web site so all can easily find the information and contacts they need.

The web site shows potential customers the location of Farmers Markets, their opening times, directions and parking information as well as a listing of Producers attending each market. It also incorporates 'Advice and Guidance' to help those who starting up a market and those wanting to start and grow their food business.

FUTURE OF THE ASSOCIATION

The platform has now grown become a comprehensive guide as to where shoppers and visitors alike can find local producers of food and drink in the south east.

Our approach is to provide Food maps by different categories of produceand drink showing the location of the Producers thus enabling shoppers, tourists and Food analysts to visit the locations where the produce is grown/made nd how to purchase it. In addition the platform incudes a comprehensive 'What's in Season'section, a Market Calendar and a Food and Drink Events Calendar.

The Association does not sell any produce to consumer but simply offer guidance as to where to find local produce and incorporates links to the local producers own web site

A common problem experienced by small producers is 'How do customers find us to buy our produce ? '. Most are so busy producing that they have little time to spend on marketing and very few of them have any experience in this field. Providing solutions to these common problems has now became one of the key objective of the Association. The web site now:-

• incorporates Producer and rural Retail Outlet information maps(*)

• incorporates information regarding the health and economic benefits of eating local food in season and reducing food miles

• makes best use of Producer members’ time and money through use of standard web design templates and social media marketing.

• encourages best practice, by helping managers and producers improve standards and offers information about Food Regulations. 

• helps Producers find new retail outlets for their produce and thus help them grow their businesses, 

• helps local food retail outlets find new local Producers

• advises both Markets and small Producers how to take first steps and build for the future, 

• provides Supplier discounts to Association members

(*) this activity is ongoing and more maps will be produced in future

We also offer Membership to Farmers Markets located outside of Kent so that they can also benefit from the work of the Association (e.g Insurance, suppliers, web site etc). 

The Association is 'Not for profit' organisation and is financed by subscriptions. In addition, we have been fortunate from help from sponsors and in receiving various grants.

Data Protection

Kent Farmers' Market Association collects data in order to keep our traders, market managers and shoppers informed about local food in Kent. A full statement of our data policy can be read here. You have the right to view and amend the data we hold on you or be removed from our database entirely.

Please CONTACT US on info@kfma.org.uk for more information.