Today we’d like to introduce you to Haille Van Patten.
Hi Haille, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Farmers Market Ogden has been a staple of the downtown for many years. The summer season has since grown to span three full blocks of Downtown Ogden’s Historic 25th Street, running (on average) 17 weeks between May and September. Farmers Market Ogden also has since expanded as a series to include three seasons: Winter, Summer, and Fall.
The Winter and Fall seasons run (on average) six weeks. With more than 300 vendors annually, Farmers Market Ogden offers something for everyone: Fresh seasonal produce, baked goods, prepared items, handmade artisan wears, live music by local artists, community yoga, activity booths run by local organizations, and more.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
All great things have their challenges! The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic is the most recent struggle Farmers Market Ogden has faced. In 2020, we had to adapt our summer market season to be, essentially, an outdoor grocery store.
This was in order to meet the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food’s guidelines for farmers’ markets which were deemed “essential” in light of the shutdowns. This meant one block instead of three and the absence of our artisan vendors, local performers, and many more precautions.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Farmers Market Ogden is managed and operated by the Ogden Downtown Alliance.
The Farmers Market Ogden Series strives to provide awareness of, and access to, local agriculture while utilizing vendors, musicians, artists, and community partners to create an inclusionary culture of urban arts and community engagement. The Farmers Market Ogden series acts as a community drawing board for urban development and reflects a large economic impact annually.
In addition to local vendors, musicians, and artists, the market showcases community partners through interactive elements that rotate on a weekly basis.
Farmers Market Ogden is an authorized SNAP/EBT and Double Up Food Bucks retailer. SNAP users can bring their horizon cards to the information booth and exchange money for tokens to then spend like cash at participating vendors. This is an important piece of our local economy with more than $16,000 spent in SNAP/EBT funds at our 2021 summer market.
On average, the summer season of Farmers Market Ogden sees 12,000 weekly visitors.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
The first step in finding a mentor or networking would be to identify your personal ‘why’. Why do YOU do what you DO? Why are you passionate about what you love? This will help you better identify like-minded people to idea share with and seek advice from.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@farmersmarketogden.com
- Website: https://farmersmarketogden.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/farmersmarketogden/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/farmersmarketogden
Image Credits
Farmers Market Ogden and Ogden Downtown Alliance
