Renovating and promoting small-town farmer’s market with Extension resources
Extension Education
Victoria Xiong
Extension Assistant Prof.
Utah State University
Kanab
Abstract
In September 2021, USU Extension-Kane County took over the management of Kanab Farmer’s Market (KFM), which previously was managed by Kanab City Office, Kane Co. Art Board, and a self-motivated group of residents. Due to the inconsistency of management, vendor counts have been dropping every year since 2019. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the KFM, similar to other low-budget community activities across the region and the nation. During the 2021 market season, KFM's time and locations changed multiple times, which is not great for returning customers. The season was also historically short. These issues are potentially mainly solved with a solid and resourceful organization team led by the USU Extension team. In order to organize and manage a successful 2022 season, the organization team started recruiting vendors at the end of the 2021 season. The team has set simple objectives and scheduled monthly meetings to find out how to achieve the goals and problem-shooting. The first actions were accomplished at the beginning of 2022 by collaborations with the Kane County Tourist Office (KTO) for 1) confirming the location of the KFM at the parking lot of the KTO, with the stage from May 4 to Oct 4, with the set time of 5-7 p.m. every Wednesday. By Jan 20, 2022, KFM will have received a $1500 grant from KTO for public relations. The organizing team has contacted the Kane County Art Board, Kane County Master Gardener, and Kanab school districts for potential collaboration during the 2022 season. The KFM organize team has reached out to local artists and Extension Marketing for designing logos, banners, and other PR materials.
Poster has NOT been presented at any previous NACAA AM/PIC
This poster is being submitted for judging. It will be displayed at the AM/PIC if not selected as a State winner. The abstract will be published in the proceedings.
Click to view Poster
Authors: Victoria Xiong
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Xiong, V. Extension Assistant Prof., USU Extension, Utah, 84741