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Dighton officials try new outreach to boost fledgling farmers market
Summary
Board members and staff said low foot traffic at recent markets prompted outreach to 28 vendors, proposals to rebrand as "Vendor Fair and Farmers Market," and potential partnerships (Touch-a-Truck, COA, local festivals) to increase visitors.
Board members and staff on July 21 spent extensive time strategizing how to increase turnout at a first-year farmers market that has seen declining foot traffic. Staff reported contacting 28 prospective vendors, identified seven mobile food trucks with current town permits, and said another seven vendors without permits were potential recruits.
"We had 1,000 people watch the last video I made," said Tammy Miller, the board chair, describing social-media reach but noting fewer people actually walked through the market. Participants proposed cross-posting to neighboring towns’ Facebook pages, outreach in school backpacks, flyers at convenience stores, targeted postcards, partnerships with local festivals and the fire department ("touch-a-truck"), and combining the market with a health-and-wellness fair to broaden appeal.
The board discussed rebranding the event "Vendor Fair and Farmers Market" to avoid deterring nonproduce vendors and asked staff to focus on recruiting vendors with existing followings for future dates. Members agreed to continue the market through September/October to evaluate turnout and to plan earlier for next season.
