Navigating the Farmer's Market

From Ecologic

See also: Navigating the Farmer's Market 2008

Navigating the Farmer's Market is an event where we try to get people who haven't visited the Farmer's Market to come along with us and give it a try! We show them around and show them the ropes.

[edit] Brainstorming

Possible reasons people may not go to the Farmer's Market:

They don't know it exists, or why it's significant
They don't know where it is
They don't want to walk all the way down/up, especially with a lot of groceries
It takes place too early in the morning

So addressing those four concerns might be a good way to build participation for the event (and ultimately, a better appreciation for farmer's markets among RPI students!).

a) They don't know it exists, or why it's significant This is an easy fix: just advertise more. There's plenty of outlets for advertising on campus (Rennserv, Concerto, flyers, Facebook, Union Events Calendar, etc.), so that should be easy. I like how Terra Cafe leaves facts about local food at the tables during lunch -- maybe we could use some of those for the ads? Will Terra Cafe be serving any samples during Earth Week?

b) They don't know where it is That's what we're for! Another easy fix.

c) They don't want to walk all the way down/up, especially with a lot of groceries This one's a bit more tricky. In the past, did you all walk down together? I really like that idea (it's great for bonding with people!). But would more people come if there was some sort of carpool? Or if a Redhawk shuttle took a group down (or just back up)?

d) It takes place too early in the morning Personally, I'm a morning person, so this doesn't bother me at all. But I know that Relay for Life takes place the first Friday night of Earth Week. Should we have a farmer's market event anyway, and see who comes by? Or would it be better to scale up and advertise for one Saturday morning only? Also, is 10:30 AM an acceptable start time?