Santa Cruz Farmers’ Markets » Vendor Application

Vendor Application

Downtown Santa Cruz Farmers' Market

THE MISSION OF THE SANTA CRUZ COMMUNITY FARMERS MARKET IS TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY BY PROVIDING DIRECT ACCESS TO SUSTAINABLE SOURCES OF FRESH PRODUCE AND OTHER UNIQUE FOODS; AND PROVIDING EDUCATION ABOUT FOOD ISSUES, BOTH LOCAL AND BEYOND.

Prospective Vendors

Thank you for your interest in joining the Santa Cruz Community Farmers’ Market. Please review the requirement overview that applies to you.

The process involves three steps:

1. Submit an SCCFM Interest Form to the SCCFM Operations Manager after checking the Market Opening status below. The interest form is not an application for membership or guarantee for participation.

2. If SCCFM accepts your interest form submission, you will receive notice and an application for membership will be mailed to you. If your interest form submission is not accepted, you will also receive notice. If you send an interest form for a “closed market”, you will not receive any notice. Please make sure you review the Market Openings section below.

3. You will be notified of the date when the application will be reviewed by the SCCFM Operations Manager.

Please be patient, the entire process can take many months or longer to complete. We know you are excited to participate and would like to start right away. However, because of the large amount of interest in our markets, our review process can be slow.

Interest Form…

If you qualify and there are vendor openings at the markets you are interested in, please download the pdf, complete and mail the SCCFM Prospective Vendor interest form to us. The interest form allows us to obtain important information about your operation so we can determine if the products you would like to sell are what we are looking for or produced/farmed in a manner that fits our mission. If you are having problems downloading the form, contact us by email and we will send you one.

Please Read…

Before applying, please review the table below. Although we do not want to discourage prospective vendors from applying, we would like applicants to have a realistic understanding of the availability of space at SCCFM’s markets. Many of our markets are currently full and with the ones that are open, we are very selective about the products that are allowed to be sold. A good percentage of the growers and artisan/prepared food vendors that you see in the market have been waiting for years to get a spot.

If you have a unique product that does not fall within these categories, but that does fit within our rules and regulations, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you need any assistance. The market openings chart is updated on an ongoing basis.

______________________________________________________________________

Prospective Vendor Information:

SCCFM’s policy is to give preference to producers and vendors whose practices support our mission.

Farmers/Ranchers/Agricultural Vendors

For agricultural producers, all products must be grown in California, and if applicable we give preference to those who farm within Santa Cruz County and are certified organic.

Requirements for Membership:

Current California Producers Certificate
Product and General Liability Insurance with policy limits set to 1,000,000 products and 2,000,000 general aggregate. Insurance policies must name SCCFM as an additional insured.
If applicable, please include any/all of the following:

State Organic Registration Certificate
3^rd party Organic Certification Agency (CCOF, QAI, MOCA, etc.)
Nursery Stock License (if applicable)
Health Department Permit (for any processed/value added foods)
Vintners need Bonded Type 2 License (for wine sales at Market)
Apiary (beekeeper) License
A copy of Farm Maps (County parcel map is best)

4. Photos of your stall space if you participate at other farmers markets

Download Farmer/Rancher/Egg Producer interest form

Artisan Food/Prepared Food Vendors

Artisan Foods are any product that is processed/made by the vendor and is sold, not consumed in the market. For artisan food vendors, we prefer those who use organic, regionally grown produce, ideally from farmers participating our markets.

Prepared foods are any item that is cooked, prepared or served to eat at the market. All food items, both prepackaged/artisan food and food for on site consumption, must be produced by the vendor. Preference is given to those who have at least two years’ experience in the restaurant/prepared food business. All food items sold at the market must be processed/served in accordance with Santa Cruz County Environmental Health Department’s and the State of California’s rules and regulations. We do not provide applications for food related businesses that are not fully operational. Additionally, we do give out applications from unregistered businesses. All prepared food is subject to a blind tasting to assure product quality and appeal.

Requirements for Membership:

Current Santa Cruz County Health Permit. If you are currently participating in farmers markets that are not in Santa Cruz County, you may submit your current county farmers market health permit for the application process. However, if you are approved to sell, you will be required to have a current Santa Cruz County Health Permit.
Product and General Liability Insurance with policy limits set to 1,000,000 for each occurrence and 2,000,000 for general aggregate. Insurance policies must name SCCFM as an “additional insured”.
For certified organic food producers, current organic registration documentation.
A copy of the certified kitchen lease you are currently using.
A copy of business registration/license or CA. sellers permit. Call State Board of Equalization 800-400-7115 for more information
Photos of your stall space if you participate at other farmers markets.

Download Food Vendor/Prepared Foods interest form

Link to The City of Santa Cruz policies on Mobile Food Vending

Arts & Crafts

SCCFM is operating a pilot program for the 2010 season at the Santa Cruz Farmers Market which operates on Wednesday from 2:30pm to 6:30pm in downtown Santa Cruz. The program will operate from April 21st to Dec 31st. If you are interested in becoming a vendor please email the SCCFM Art and Craft Fair manager at sccfm.art@gmail.com.

_________________________________________________________________________

Massage Therapist

Massage Therapist interest in participating in our markets should make inquires at manager@santacruzfarmersmarket.org. We require all massage therapist to be certified/licensed and have current general liability insurance with a minimum $1,000,000 incident/$2,000,000 general aggregate policy. Interested parties will need to submit all required paperwork before they will be scheduled in any market. At this time, we only allow massage therapist to participate. We will contact you about scheduling after we have received the above mentioned paperwork.

SCCFM

C/O Massage

P.O. Box 8189

Santa Cruz, CA 95061

_________________________________________________________________________

MARKET OPENINGS (Updated July 2010)

**At this time, we are posting general opening information for the markets. In the near future, we will post specific commodity openings to better assist you in your application process.

Felton Farmers Market (Tuesday 2:30 to 6:30pm/May to November)