Ohio Farmers Market Conference
Since its inception, the Ohio Farmers Market Network (OFMN) has hosted the annual Ohio Farmers Market Conference. The conference is open to market managers, vendors, and other vested individuals from around the state. Past partners include the City of Dublin, Case Western Reserve University, Produce Perks Midwest and The Ohio State University.
The Ohio Farmers Market Conference offers an opportunity to connect and learn from one another, and from professionals across the United States. Past keynote speakers include:
Darlene Wolnik
Training and Technical Assistance Director at the Farmers Market Coalition
Vance Corum
Farmers' market consultant, speaker and author of "The New Farmers' Market"
The Ohio Farmers Market Conference focuses on the education and professional development of those who serve their community, and current and relevant issues facing farmers markets in Ohio. Through the conference, OFMN provides an opportunity to learn, refresh and renew our connection to our markets and one another.
2023 Ohio Farmers Market Conference
Planting Seeds: Preparing Your Market for Growth
The Ohio Farmers Market Network will host the 14th annual Ohio Farmers Market Conference on Thursday, March 9, 2023. The conference is open to market managers, farmers, food producers and other vested individuals near and far. The event will be hosted in Columbus, Ohio at The Wells Barn located on the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens campus. This year’s conference theme is “Planting Seeds: Preparing Your Market for Growth.”
The conference is designed to meet the needs of farmers markets, market managers and vendors - big and small, urban and rural. Those in search of information and best practices related to farmers markets will find an array of topics from food safety to marketing.
Topics of the 2023 Ohio Farmers Market Conference include:
“We are beyond excited to be back, in person, for the first time since the pandemic! We’ve also revamped our conference schedule this year. Rather than a two-day conference hosted once, we’ll be hosting two single-day conferences. This conference will focus on preparing for the upcoming market season, and the November conference will focus on post season and evaluation,” said Jaime Hadji, Board Chair of the Ohio Farmers Market Conference.
Sponsorship
OFMN operates on a small budget that must support a large array of operating expenses that include insurance, marketing promotions, regional meetings and conferences, and more. Your vital sponsorship will help us produce successful conferences, workshops and events that are an asset to farmers markets, market managers, market vendors, and communities all throughout Ohio. OFMN is run by an all-volunteer board.
OFMN’s continued success comes from our broad base of support within the state. Through your support, OFMN will continue to improve the quality of our marketplaces and their vendors.
Please contact us at hello@ohiofarmersmarketnetwork.org to discuss your support of Ohio farmers markets. If you have any questions about sponsorship, please do not hesitate to contact us.
The Ohio Nutrition Incentive Network (OHNIN) is a multi-sector coalition that collaborates to improve healthy food access across Ohio. The OHNIN Advisory Committee coordinates and supports the implementation of Ohio Produce Perks, an effective, measurable, community-based intervention that promotes increased consumption of fresh and healthy foods for vulnerable populations.
OHNIN draws strength and influence from national experts, state-level collaborators, and local stakeholders working toward a shared vision of increased affordable access to healthy foods for low-income Ohioans. OHNIN’s robust and committed membership informs strategic expansion, supports marketing and outreach, and ensures program alignment.
The Ohio Farmers Market Network is a proud member of the OHNIN Advisory Committee, working on behalf of markets, vendors and consumers throughout Ohio.
We’re closing the gap between you and the most delicious food ever to be born and raised in Ohio.
Grow Eat Ohio is a group of people who joined forces to help increase awareness of Ohio’s farmers markets and the growers and producers that power them. Farmers markets are beautiful intersections of healthy food, vibrant communities, local economies, environmentally conscious consumption, and actives for all types of lifestyles. We think that we should all be a little bit more vocal about all of that.
Our greater hope is that buying food from local farmers and food producers becomes a weekly tradition like any other. Fresh food from Ohio farmers is everywhere—rural and urban, Sunday and Saturday (and every day in between), morning, afternoon and evening. And with the support of our community, the availability of these farm fresh and handmade products will become more accessible, of better quality and variety, and a better way of feeding the world around us.