Farmers Market Sales

Just off the top of my head, you need to:

Identify the various venues you wish to vend at. Make a note of the municipality they're located in. Contact Dept. of Health and inquire about permits, inspections, etc.

Contact the various venues and inquire if BBQ vending is something they'd be interested in. If so, how much would it cost you?

Contact your insurance agent and get a quote on a product liability policy.

Contact an attorney and an accountant. You'll need to set up a business entity. Don't forget, Uncle Sam will want a piece of the action.

Once you gather all your facts and figures relative to launching your business, you'll need to develop a business plan to see if the set-up costs make sense in the long run.

Sorry to say, the days of the 5 cent lemonade stand are long gone

Thank you Max That information will get me started.

You didn't say where you're located, so its hard to get specific, but in addition to MaxQue's advice, here are some other things to think about:

1) In NC, the farmers markets are controlled by the Dept. of Agriculture and they have their own regs, which are actually easier to comply than those of the HD. Check to see who runs the markets in your area.

2)Do your markets have restaurants in them? Ours do, so they won't allow food sales of real food. You can sell bread, ice cream, and sweet things like cotton candy, but no real food. I wanted to do a wood fired oven and make pizzas, but they said NO! because it would compete with their snack bar.

3) I do seasonal holiday sales of shoulders, but that is all they'll allow.

The Dept of Ag requires all of our Farmer's Market meat sales to be frozen, and held in approved mechanical freezers. We use a 12' freezer truck.

Our St. Paul Farmer's Market requires all products sold to be locally grown and produced by the seller. Our farm has been inspected and audited by the market manager.

We sell pork, chicken, eggs, BBQ (frozen), and pet treats (smoked pigs ears and bones).

We sell our ham and sausage to the restaurant that is located within our market.

However, the Minneapolis Market sells brokered pineapple, bananas, and etc. like a flea market.

Good luck!