Asheville City Market - Vendor Information

The Asheville City Market is a farmer-led project to create a new producer-only destination farmers’ market in Downtown Asheville.

This market is designed to create an engaging experience for shoppers that will be a destination for locals, tourists, and regional visitors within a 100-mile radius. Our hope is that farmers and other vendors who are able to bring a quality product and sell it effectively will find the market very profitable.

Michael McCreary is Asheville City Market manager. Contact Mike at (828) 348-0430 or send him an email.

Market Highlights for Prospective Vendors

History

Rules and Regulations (In Process)

Vendor Application (MS Word)

Vendor Application (PDF)

Vendor Agreement
(do not send with application)

Friends of the Market

Market Highlights for Farmers and Other Vendors:

How Big? The market aims to be similar in size to other central markets in small cities such as Tacoma, Washington; Carrboro, NC; Madison, WI; and Missoula, MT. These markets have 100 vendors (or more). It may take more than one year to build up to that size in Asheville.
Who Vends? Vendors will be people who made, grew, or raised the products they are selling. Half or more of the market will be farmers selling produce. Other people will be selling products such as cheese, meat, processed farm products, baked goods, and crafts.
When? The market will start on April 19, 2008. It will be held on Saturday mornings from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Who Will Run It? The market employs a paid professional manager who is not a vendor to promote the market, manage vendor recruitment and payment and enforce market rules, maintain positive community and neighbor relations, manage the finances, and coordinate fundraising and volunteers. An oversight committee of 13 vendors and others supports and reviews the manager's decisions and holds certain decision-making powers.
How Much Will It Cost? Fees for vendors are significantly more than fees at most other markets in western North Carolina. Many farmers’ markets in the region are extremely low-cost. This is good because it makes the market easily accessible for many vendors, but it also means that these markets are run using the labor of dedicated vendor volunteer managers who have little time or money to promote the market or settle problems. Vendors at the Asheville City Market will be asked to pay a decent fee to contribute to the cost of high-quality management and promotion of the market. This fee ranges from $20/week to $35/week depending on the type of vendor. See the market rules, linked above, for more information. There will also be an initial fee to join as a participating vendor. Contact the market manager for more details.

TOP

History:

Surveys. 60 market vendors were surveyed in 2003 and 60% were interested or very interested in pursuing a new centralized market with more vendor capacity in Asheville. As a result of this survey, ASAP secured funding for a modest amount of staff time to support a group of farmer/organizers in developing the market concept.
Planning Work. Since 2005, a group of about ten farmers has met consistently to move plans for the market forward. In Spring of 2006, the Downtown Commission tasked City of Asheville government to work with the farmer group to identify a site and provide planning support as needed. At the Asheville City Council's 2006/7 retreat, councilors named the market as a top goal for 2007.

TOP

Friends of the Market:

We Need Friends! Interested in volunteering your time to plan the market, plan events, provide on-site support once the market opens, reach out to farmers in the region, or other needed work? Contact us at (828) 236-1282 or citymarket@asapconnections.org.
Donations Welcomed. Market start-up costs in advance of receiving any revenue will be significant. To help create this boon to Asheville's culture and vital link to Asheville's economy for our region's farmers, donate now at our secure site by clicking here.

TOP

Home

Send comments or suggestions to webmaster@asapconnections.org

©Copyright 2006 Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project Privacy Policy
729 Haywood Rd., Asheville, NC 28806 -Join the ASAP E-mail List serve
Voice: 828-236-1282 or fax: 828-236-1280 email: info@asapconnections.org
Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.