The Kindness Club at Oakdale held their first Farmers Market on May 4th, 2024. The sale gave a chance for small businesses to earn a profit.
This market involved a lot of planning, such as the clubs gathering supplies.
“Everybody would just discuss when it’s going to happen, bringing in tables, chairs, and extra supplies just in case we need it,” explained Senior Mackenzie Weiler. “I was the main leader of the farmer’s market, along with Georgia Good. I contacted a lot of the businesses and coordinated where we’re gonna be set up, and what’s going to happen.”
Members of the Kindness Club found local shops on social media and emailed them asking if they were interested in participating. Students also found participants through teachers, who often owned a business or knew friends or family who did.
The sale was held near the stadium, where vendors would be selling items under canopies. There were a number of different goods being sold, from fresh produce to baked goods and even bracelets.
“I prepared by making 50 cupcakes and individually packaged some of them. I also gathered my business cards to give them out at the event,” describes Senior Nazia Rangwala-Vohra.
The Farmers Market benefitted both the vendors and the Kindness Club itself. Local businesses got money from the sale, with a percent of the sales taken by the club. It also exposed people to establishments they might not see too often and promoted local businesses.
The biggest roadblock for the sale was the rain. Due to the event being planned a long time in advance, there wasn’t an extra day in the event of poor weather: “The rain was unexpected, I had a handful of businesses [cancel],” mentioned Weiler.
Despite the rain, the sale was still a big success. Many people still showed up, and the sales were enough for the businesses to have a decent profit.
“I actually don’t think the rain affected the event all that much. We still had a pretty great turnout even with the rain and setting up was fine because there were canopies to cover,” Rangwala-Vohra expressed.
The sale was a massive success, making $1311.50 dollars for the kindness club. The kindness club is planning to hold another farmers market next year, using the problems from the previous one to improve the next. Hopefully, with the learned experience from this year, next year’s farmers market can be even greater than the first.
