Author: JenniferHelsel

Here is a list of modifications to our market we have in place:

• To protect others, stay home if you are sick. Vendors may not come to market if ill.
• Taos county is “Turquoise level” which means we can operate with no capacity limits since we are an essential business operating in an outdoor space
• No customer handling of products. Customers should not touch anything on the Vendor’s table, the Vendor will be the only person touching your food until you bring it home and wash it as you should always do with fresh produce.
• Do not place your personal shopping bags on vendors tables.
• All vendors must have hand sanitizer for their personal use, the market has provided every vendor a bottle of locally crafted hand sanitizer for this very purpose.
• All Vendor Booths are spaced out 6 feet in all directions for ample room for vendors and shoppers.
• NM Governor says as of 5/16/20:
  “Masks will be required of everyone in public places, with exceptions for eating, drinking and exercising and medical requirements.” (see: https://www.governor.state.nm.us/2020/05/13/state-to-further-modify-public-health-emergency-order/) 

“March 3, 2021

Our office has recently reconsidered the restrictions for farmers’ markets. I am happy to provide some new guidance. Farmers markets are categorized as an essential businesses that is a “retail space” in the Public Health Order. Farmers’ markets are part of this category because they are businesses that generate more than one-third of their revenue from the sale of consumable food and beverages. If a farmers’ market generates more than one-third of their revenue from food and beverage goods, non-food vendors may participate within the same market. However, farmers’ markets are subject to the occupancy limits for essential businesses identified as retail spaces for the county they operate in.  Farmers’ markets must also comply with the applicable COVID Safe Practices.

Sincerely,
Maria S. Dudley
Associate General Counsel
Office of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham”

We serve the farmers who rely on direct market sales for their livelihood, providing our community with the freshest, healthiest food available, while considering the safety and health of everyone involved. The short supply chain of local food is now more important now than ever and we will continue to strive to bring those products in the safest and most effective way possible.

Apply by sending your resume & cover letter to info@taosfarmersmarket.org

We’re looking for a responsible, community-minded individual to join us at market this summer! Starting rate $12/hour 7am-2pm every Saturday

Retail Manager
(Job Description)
Requirements:
Employee needs to be at the Market site at 7:00 am to set-up and must stay until the Market is completely cleaned up and closed-down, no later than 2:00 pm. Employee needs to be able to lift at least 30 lbs.
Term:
Job begins on the third Saturday in May and continues every Saturday through the third Saturday in November for a total of 28 regular markets. Salary is paid semi-monthly during the season. Salary is $12 per hour, not to exceed 10 hours per week, for the season (28 markets).
Summary of Tasks:
Retail Manager is responsible for the following:
Info Booth Set-up:

● Unloading and setting up all Info Booth items needed for each market day
● Pop up tent, tables, table cloth, merchandise, till, EBT machine and tokens, flyers, signs, etc…
● Assisting vendors and Site Manager as needed

During Market:

● Managing the Farmers’ Market Booth:

o Selling merchandise and providing information about the Market and local food/agriculture (including volunteer opportunities and vendor information)
o Managing the EBT/DUFB program (redeeming points with wireless terminal, collecting
tokens from vendors, taking responsibility for a sizeable cash bank balance, and balancing the bank at the close of each market)
o Filling out Daily Accounting sheet to be given to Business Manager at the end of each market
o Making sure all EBT/DUFB & WIC information is compiled and delivered to the Business Manager for filing reports to the proper agencies

● Coordinating and overseeing volunteers as needed
● Assisting Assistant Retail Manager as needed and when able
● Assisting Site Manager with the enforcement of all Market rules and regulations
● Fielding questions from the public
● Collecting all completed applications from new vendors and delivering to Business Manager
● Helping with the registering of farmers with WIC contracts, delivering this information to Business Manager
● Answering questions and dealing with vendor problems, relaying all concerns to Site Manager
After the Market:
● Packing all Info Booth equipment and supplies into appropriate boxes then into trailer and assisting Site Manager with overall market clean up/pack up
● Checking Plaza for garbage, etc.
● Picking up signs and banners
● Maintaining adequate copies of all necessary forms for the upcoming market, communicating to Business Manager when more forms need to be printed out:

o Daily Accounting forms
o WIC applications
o Copies of Rules and Regulations
o Farmer/Grower Vendor applications
o EBT Token Exchange Slips
o Flyers, etc.

If the Retail Manager is unable to fulfill his/her duties for a particular Saturday during the Season, they are responsible for finding their own replacement so that the duties of this job are covered.

Join us back on the Plaza May 15, 2021 for our Opening Day Celebration! Many of our farmers have been hard at work and are ready to hit the ground running this season with fresh, local, naturally-grown produce and plant starts. Come get some plant starts or even fruit trees to start the garden of your dreams this year, no yard is too small any patch of soil given attention and care can produce food. Get to know your farmers and you get to know the land you live on, we promise you’ll taste the difference.

May 15 also happens to be Dia de San Isidro Labrador patron saint of farmers – to celebrate this Saint who many of our farmers pay homage to we are partnering with the Alianza Agri-Cultura de Taos, Taos Valley Acequia Association, Taos Land Trust, & the Taos Country Economic Development Center to bring Auntie Nannie’s Seed Exchange station to the market. Come learn about farming and planting and all that goes into local food production from groups who know the ins & outs of farming and food production in Taos!

They have a whole week of activities planned see their promotional flyer on our Facebook or Instagram pages & join in on the fun!

Please follow all current state/local health orders when visiting market thank you!

Returning Vendors will receive a blank 2021 copy by mail this week, to be mailed out 3/1/21.

New Vendors can go to our Vendors page to download a 2021 application now.

Reminder that Non-Farmer Vendors must get their completed application back to us by 4/1/21.

Get all your Thanksgiving fixing and TURKEY locally at market! We will be holding market for the first 3 Saturdays in November:
11/7,
11/14,
11/21
from 9am-12pm outside on the Plaza.

Our farmers will have fall vegetables and we have a poultry vendor, Pollo Real from Socorro, NM who will be selling heritage breed turkey, order ahead or pick up your turkey 11/21

ALL of our original extra safety measures will be continuously followed through the end of the season 2020 – see here

We have worked hard in tandem with the Town to fulfill the public health requests of the Town/Governor and we feel more than ready to open to the public! The market will be a place where we can shop safety while buying the freshest, most nutrient-dense food in Taos. Since we will have a person limit at 25% capacity, once you get through the entrance gate please get what you need and move out of the market, see map below.   There will likely be a line of people waiting to enter the market area so the faster you shop the more people who will have access to our vendors’ goods. Please follow the chalk arrows on the ground for market flow and wait in line on the chalk waiting lines in front of each booth, 2 people waiting per booth. If we all keep it chill and respectful while following these guidelines we can continue to hold market so please help us!!! The better we can all follow these directives the better our chances of staying open to provide fresh, local food to our community!

Our EBT/DUFB program will be open to market shoppers.

See the map below in the Taos News this Thursday so you can make a game plan for your market visit!

We will have 30 CSA style produce bags for drive thru pick up starting at 9am see map, cost per bag will be $35 credit or cash, unfortunately we can’t do EBT for these bags but we can for shopping in the market. It will be first come first serve for the drive thru bags, please leave this service to the elderly and vulnerable. If you can shop for yourself do!

We would like to provide our customers and community with an update on the Taos Farmers Market changes put in place that provide a safer and healthier environment to shop during this time of heightened anxiety. We want you to know that we take the safety and health of our customers and vendors very seriously.

Our farmers are working hard every day to provide our community with the freshest food available in Taos. Our farmers market is safer than shopping in a conventional grocery store so please remember that fact and let it allow you to feel safe and confident while shopping. Farmers’ markets are formally deemed as an “essential business” by the state govt so they are not considered gatherings. Our farmers provide the freshest most nutrient rich foods with shortest distribution line (literally from the farmer’s hands to you!). Again we operate completely outside and with our strong mountain sunshine we are so blessed to live in such a safe and healthy environment.

Here is a list of modifications to our market we have in place:

• To protect others, stay home if you are sick. Vendors may not come to market if ill.
• Everyone must wear a face mask while at market
• We will have 4 hand-washing stations located around the Plaza for public and vendor use.
• There will be no sampling during this time.
• No customer handling of products. Customers should not touch anything on the Vendor’s table, the Vendor will be the only person touching your food until you bring it home and wash it as you should always do with fresh produce.
• No reusable produce bags for the vendor to fill at this time, but personal shopping bags are encouraged.
• Do not place your personal shopping bags on vendors tables.
• All vendors must have hand sanitizer for their personal use, the market has provided every vendor a bottle of locally crafted hand sanitizer for this very purpose.
• The prepared food vendors will sell to-go items only.
• All Vendor Booths are spaced out 8 to 10 feet apart for ample room for vendors and shoppers.
• Follow the chalk arrows on the ground to direct you around the market’s flow for customers
• Please notice and use the chalk lines on the ground in front of vendor booths for how to stand in line, 2 people allowed to wait in line at one time per vendor
• Since we will be counting people in and out of the market area we ask that you come to pick up your produce and leave, please do not hang out in the Plaza, at this point we need to operate solely as a place to buy food.  There will likely be a line at all times of people waiting to get into market to shop so please be quick so that everyone has a chance to shop
• We will be sanitizing EBT/DUFB tokens each week between market days & we have safety procedures in place for the EBT terminal during market
• NM Governor says as of 5/16/20:
  “Masks will be required of everyone in public places, with exceptions for eating, drinking and exercising and medical requirements.” (see: https://www.governor.state.nm.us/2020/05/13/state-to-further-modify-public-health-emergency-order/) 
  

We serve the farmers who rely on direct market sales for their livelihood, providing our community with the freshest, healthiest food available, while considering the safety and health of everyone involved. The short supply chain of local food is now more important now than ever and we will continue to strive to bring those products in the safest and most effective way possible.  We have also added an extra half hour to market for the whole season, our new hours for 2020 are 8am-1pm.

We have the sad news to announce that we will not be able to hold market tomorrow in the normal way.  Due to the Govenor’s most recent health orders that the Town is responsible for enforcing, the Town doesn’t feel confident that we can control the number of people in the Plaza at any one time so for tomorrow only we will offer a DRIVE THRU style produce bag you can drive through and buy right from your vehicle.  I’m not sure how many we will have but if you are committed to local food please try to join us, by safely staying in your car.  We will have a produce bag with whats in season grown by our vendors for sale for a fixed price, simply drive up and pay by card or cash and drive away with your produce.  We will post price and contents of the bags once we know in the morning on our Facebook and Instagram. Unfortunately we will not be able to accept EBT for these bags, we will of course accept EBT once market is open in a more traditional way 5/23. Again sorry for the late notice…if we had it our way we would be holding market with all the extra safety precautions but not as a drive thru.  But we would love to offer this service through the season so that our elderly and most vulnerable customers can just ‘drive thru’!

Thank you for your commitment to local food and for your flexibility with us through this difficult time.  We are strong and we are part of one of the greatest communities! Thank you!

We would like to provide our customers and community with an update on the Taos Farmers Market changes put in place that provide a safer and healthier environment to shop during this time of heightened anxiety. We want you to know that we take the safety and health of our customers and vendors very seriously.

Our farmers are working hard every day to provide our community with the freshest food available in Taos. Our farmers market is safer than shopping in a conventional grocery store so please remember that fact and let it allow you to feel safe and confident while shopping. Farmers’ markets are formally deemed as an “essential business” by the state govt so they are not considered gatherings. Our farmers provide the freshest most nutrient rich foods with shortest distribution line (literally from the farmer’s hands to you!). Again we operate completely outside and with our strong mountain sunshine we are so blessed to live in such a safe and healthy environment.

Here is a list of modifications to our market we have in place:

• To protect others, stay home if you are sick. Vendors may not come to market if ill.
• Everyone must wear a face mask while at market.
• We will have 4 hand-washing stations located around the Plaza for public and vendor use.
• There will be no sampling during this time.
• No customer handling of products. Customers should not touch anything on the Vendor’s table, the Vendor will be the only person touching your food until you bring it home and wash it as you should always do with fresh produce.
• No reusable produce bags for the vendor to fill at this time, but personal shopping bags are encouraged.
• Do not place your personal shopping bags on vendors tables.
• All vendors must have hand sanitizer for their personal use, the market has provided every vendor a bottle of locally crafted hand sanitizer for this very purpose.
• The prepared food vendors will sell to-go items only.
• All Vendor Booths are spaced out 8 to 10 feet apart for ample room for vendors and shoppers.
• Follow the chalk arrows on the ground to direct you around the market’s flow for customers
• Please notice and use the chalk lines on the ground in front of vendor booths for how to stand in line, 2 people allowed to wait in line at one time per vendor
• Since we will be counting people in and out of the market area we ask that you come to pick up your produce and leave, please do not hang out in the Plaza, at this point we need to operate solely as a place to buy food.  There will likely be a line at all times of people waiting to get into market to shop so please be quick so everyone has a chance to shop.
• We will be sanitizing EBT/DUFB tokens each week between market days & we have safety procedures in place for the EBT terminal during market
• NM Governor says as of 5/16/20:
  “Masks will be required of everyone in public places, with exceptions for eating, drinking and exercising and medical requirements.” (see: https://www.governor.state.nm.us/2020/05/13/state-to-further-modify-public-health-emergency-order/) 

We serve the farmers who rely on direct market sales for their livelihood, providing the community with the freshest, healthiest food available, while considering the safety and health of everyone involved. The short supply chain of local food is now more important now than ever and we will continue to strive to bring those products in the safest and most effective way possible.  We have also added an extra half hour to market for the whole season, our new hours for 2020 are 8am-1pm.

Food from Farmers Market is the shortest supply chain available in Taos (aside from your own garden)!

Our Current Public Health/Safety Initiatives:

We would like to provide our customers and community with an update on the Taos Farmers Market changes put in place that provide a safer and healthier environment to shop during this time of heightened anxiety. We want you to know that we take the safety and health of our customers and vendors very seriously.

Farmers’ markets are now formally deemed as an “essential business” by the state govt so they are not considered gatherings. There is no per-person limit, also since we operate in a totally outside setting we will allow shoppers to use their own common sense when it comes to being around others.

Our farmers are working hard every day to provide our community with the freshest food available in Taos. Our farmers market is safer than shopping in a conventional grocery store so please remember that fact and let it allow you to feel safe and confident while shopping. Our farmers provide the freshest most nutrient rich foods with shortest distribution line (literally from the farmer’s hands to you!). Again we operate completely outside and with our strong mountain sunshine we are so blessed to live in such a safe and healthy environment.

Here is a list of modifications to our market we have in place:

• To protect others, stay home if you are sick. Vendors may not come to market if ill.
• If you are uncomfortable being around others wear whatever protective gear you see fit.
• We will have 4 hand-washing stations located around the Plaza for public and vendor use.
• There will be no sampling during this time.
• No customer handling of products. Customers should not touch anything on the Vendor’s table, the Vendor will be the only person touching your food until you bring it home and wash it as you should always do with fresh produce.
• No reusable produce bags for the vendor to fill at this time, but personal shopping bags are encouraged.
• Do not place your personal shopping bags on vendors tables.
• All vendors must have hand sanitizer for their personal use, the market has provided every vendor a bottle of locally crafted hand sanitizer for this very purpose.
• The prepared food vendors will sell to-go items only.
• Our Info Booth merch sales are closed at this time.
• All Vendor Booths are spaced out 8 to 10 feet apart for ample room for vendors and shoppers.

We serve the farmers who rely on direct market sales for their livelihood, providing the community with the freshest, healthiest food available, while considering the safety and health of everyone involved. The short supply chain of local food is now more important now than ever and we will continue to strive to bring those products in the safest and most effective way possible.  We have also added an extra half hour to market for the whole season, our new hours for 2020 are 8am-1pm.

Whew! A lot has happened! Does anyone else feel like you’re a seed that’s just been planted?  Drowning in the dark and cracking open, almost forced to grow?  I am there with you in this collective rebirth we are experiencing, but all of a sudden I’m no longer an uncomfortable seed but a strong little sprout ready for whats coming, ready to bask in the sun and soak up the rain.  In this time of introspection and grand revelations I believe many have had a hard look at many of the practices our society has allowed that may in fact contribute to our detriment.  A big piece of that exploration is our country’s food system and how unstable we become when we rely solely or heavily on the global food system.  This is why farmers markets continue to fight to exist along side the national and global dominators: Wallyworld and the like… We are reminded that when one power system or entity holds too many keys to our survival we can find ourselves locked out wondering how we ever allowed it.  Farmers markets run on a decentralized model, a collective of independent producers who like you (because they are part of your community) want the best for our local economy but even more so want the best for our local families, for each other.  They aren’t sitting in board rooms with spreadsheeting trying to squeeze out every penny…our producers look you in the eye and give you a fair price, they can shake your hand, your kids may even go to school together.  Thats why our producers continue to do things ‘the old way’ ‘the hard way’ and ‘by hand’ to deliver to market the most nutrient dense, natural, best for the soil/water/ecology food available in our town.  Like many of you may be experiencing for the first time, sowing seeds and hatching chicks, growing food at our altitude is no easy feat: with that sun so hot and the ground so hard and those temperature swings so extreme.  Farming here takes courage and the prospect of an unexpected act of nature that can send us to ruin is ever present, it is something our producers face every season.  But hey that’s something we all face as humans, we’ve just become less aware of the chaos of the natural world, of the natural cycles.  Plants in fertile soil will grow strong and blossom, may these parallels to our own lives continue as we move forward out of this uncomfortable feeling of having little to no control.  We all have the most impact right here in the community around us, what will be your impact here and now as you emerge with a new view, a new reality?  We commit to our community’s food security, it has and always will be the Taos Farmers Market’s top priority.  We will do this by upholding the traditions of farming in this valley/region and by bringing fresh food to market weekly. 

with love,
Jennifer – TFM Market Manager