Well, look at you. You have decided to take your business to the next level and register for a farmers market or food event. We are so excited for you. We find that events do not always make us a large amount of money, but we find that we get other great benefits from doing events.One of the scariest things about signing up for your first farmers market or food event is just knowing what you will need to bring with you. That is why we created this checklist for your next farmers market or food event.
To get your downloadable version of this list, go here for our Get Off The Hot Mess Express checklist for your next farmers market or food event. You will want to have a copy of this list so that you can make sure you pack everything for events instead of running around looking like a hot mess express.
**This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase from one of my links, I may receive a commission or credit at no additional cost to you. For more info, please read my disclosure policy.**
If you are in the beginning stages and have not found an event yet, then let me give you a few ideas on where to find a food event.
- Local bake sales
- Local church events
- Local township events
- Local festivals
- Local farmer’s market
- Local school functions
These are great places to look to find events that you can attend for your business. Events are a great way to gain exposure in your community. We love events because it gives us the opportunity to hang out and mingle with our customers.
We currently do not have a storefront so events are part of our marketing plan. We use it as a way to connect and share with our customers and community.
To help you prepare for your event, we want to provide you with a list of the most common items that we bring with us when we attend an event. Please know that this is not an exhaustive list.
Depending on the time of year and the type of event, then you may need to bring different items. Use this list as a guide to help you plan for your first event. Make sure to download a copy of the checklist here.
Checklist For Your Next Farmers Market
- Product
- Sample cups of product
- Binder (includes all our important paperwork including insurance, business license, product ingredients, etc.)
- Sanitizer bucket
- Bleach unscented
- Sanitizer test strips
- Sanitizer spray bottles
- Display cases
- Table trays for display
- Towels
- Paper towel holder
- Coolers
- Ice/Ice packs/Coolants
- Stem thermometers
- Tablecloth
- Tables
- Change/cash
- Customer bags
- Forks, knives, spoons
- Containers for forks, knives, spoons
- Napkins
- Square processing equipment
- Baskets
- Labels
- Business cards
- Gloves
- Tablecloth with logo
- Paper towels
- Soap
- Trash bags
- Trash can with lid
- Coffee Urn for hot water
- 5-gallon catch bucket
- Tent
- Sides for tent
- Email sign up sheet
- Tape
- Clipboards
- Sanitizer cleaning sheet
- Pens
- Bandanas/hair nets
- Broom
- Order forms
- Business card photo sign
This checklist for your next farmers market should give you a jump start for planning for your business even without a storefront. We find it best to keep our list as a digital file. This way we can add to it whenever we need to remember new items. We also “save as” our file and name it for the current event. That way we can list the total number of products we are bringing. This ensures we do not accidentally forget items when packing for an event.
To get your downloadable version of this list, go here for our Get Off The Hot Mess Express checklist for vendor events. You will want to have a copy of this list so that you can make sure you pack everything for events instead of running around looking like a hot mess express.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. We love connecting with our community.
Make sure that you take the time to learn how to easily set up a handwashing station for your event. Go here to learn how we set up a relatively cheap and easy handwashing station at all of our events.
As professionals in the food industry, it is our responsibility to ensure the health and safety of our food for consumers. Learn more about how you should partner closely with your local health department to improve your business here.
