Census

2023 WVFMA Farmers Market Census
Welcome to the 2023 Farmers Market Census! This is your opportunity to directly impact the growth and development of West Virginia's Farmers Markets. Your participation contributes to a better understanding of the economic landscape among farmers markets in West Virginia. Your input directly informs decisions for our state and brings funding to local communities. Rest assured, your responses are confidential and will be used only in aggregate form. Individual market data will never be shared without your explicit permission. Please estimate about 25 to 30 minutes to complete this survey. Gathering your sales and vendor records before you start will help ensure accurate responses. Your thoughtful input improves the quality of services for farmers markets across the state. The results will be shared on the West Virginia Farmers Market Association (WVFMA) website, wvfarmers.org, by Spring 2024. Thank you for your dedication to local food and your role in building a stronger farmers market community in West Virginia. Survey period: January 1 - December 31, 2023.
Opening Month- Closing Month

Contact Information

Alternate Contact

General Sales and Customer Report

All your responses are confidential and will be used only in aggregate form. Individual market data will never be shared without your explicit permission. Please provide the following information regarding your market's sales and customers in 2023.

Incentive Programs

Please provide information about the incentive programs in which your market participates. You can skip these questions if they don't apply or if you choose not to answer.

How many vendors accept the following incentive programs

What is the estimated amount of sales per incentive type

Vendor Data and Programs

This section gathers information about vendor details and programs. Feel free to skip any questions that aren't applicable, or you choose not to answer.
Selected Value: 0
GHP/GAP Certification: "Good Handling Practices" (GHP) or "Good Agricultural Practices" (GAP) certifications are voluntary audit programs that verify food safety measures on farms.

Community Engagement and Programs

Share details about community support programs and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) initiatives.
Let us know your greatest market need, whether cold storage, point of sale, or anything else that stands between your market and growth.

Organization and Market Manager

Information about the organizational structure and market demographics.

Optional: Organizational Assessment

Participating in the following optional survey can help shape the future of the West Virginia Farmers Market Association (WVFMA) and enhance the services we provide to farmers, communities, and markets across the state. Your input is crucial in our efforts to tailor services that align with the needs of the agriculture sector.

Value Added Products Project

Future Generations University is creating a training program for value-added product creation in partnership with a Northeast SARE project. As they prepare to implement the program, they are gathering baseline data. Furthermore, they are engaged in two maple syrup marketing programs and are collecting information concerning maple products available at farmers markets.

HISTORY OF THE ANNUAL CENSUS

The West Virginia Farmers Market Census began in 2012 to identify challenges and strengths in the local food system. Information provided by farmers and farmers market managers has guided the work of the West Virginia Farmers Market Association, which includes many of the resources you find on this website. An annual report is created using the data shared through this survey and has been presented to partners and stakeholders during the Small Farm Conference since 2015.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO TO PREPARE FOR THE ANNUAL CENSUS?

To prepare for this year’s census, start gathering the following information:

  • Total Sales from All Vendors;
  • The number of vendors registered to sell;
  • The average number of vendors who come setup at the market weekly;
  • How many customers visit your market on average each week; and
  • Where your vendors sell products besides at your farmers market.

WVFMA works with USDA to conduct its annual farmers market census (for inclusion in the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food web database). They also utilize the census as a method to collect crucial data on farmers markets.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CENSUS?

The West Virginia Farmers Market Census is an opportunity for our organization to feel the heartbeat of our state. The questions are geared towards understanding each individual market, as well as markets as a whole of West Virginia. Questions in the census provide insight to individual markets, benefits the community, and provides data on how we can expand services to meet needs. Other questions may affect policies and practices statewide if enough of the markets seem to face a similar challenge. Policy makers, grant funders, and other support organizations seek to better understand the needs of our farmers, and this is the best way for us to show them that West Virginia farmers markets are worth their time, energy, focus, effort, and funding.

 

Policy Climate Survey

The WVFMA is dedicated to helping our markets, vendors, and communities grow and thrive. One of the ways we do that is by creating and evaluating public policies that effect those communities. This public policy survey will help us determine the need for current and future initiatives and policies that will benefit our markets. We appreciate your feedback and encourage you to share this survey with your fellow markets, vendors, and community organizers.

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, contact us at coordinator@wvfarmers.org.

Annual Report