Application Fee of $100
A current Certified Producers Certificate from the Agricultural Commissioners office in your county of origin.
A copy of your Certificate of Liability Insurance with Turlock Certified Farmers Market listed as an additional insured.
Commercial Kitchen Permit (if selling prepared food).
Any other applicable permits or certificates.
Farmers Market Rules
Vendors and Commodities
1. All Vendors must apply and be accepted by the Turlock Certified Farmers Market (TCFM) to attend the market. All vendors must display all required permits, certificates and licenses, in their market stall at each market they attend.
2. Farmer vendors shall sell only those commodities that:
a. Are listed on a valid and current certified producer’s certificate.
b. Have been listed on vendor's application
c. Have been previously approved for sale at TCFM market by the Board of Directors.
d. Have been permitted to be sold only during a part of the market's term, at the discretion of the Market Manager.
3. A Vendor who would like to sell any commodity not listed on the vendor's original application shall first inform the Market Manager and the Board of Directors of TCFM ("Board"), who must approve of the sale of such new commodity before it may be brought to any market. Vendors will be required to remove all unapproved commodities from their market stall.
a. Farmer vendors who visually display or otherwise claim that their produce is “Organically grown” must be registered with the California
State Department of Food & Agriculture and must also carry current certification according to the CDFA Rules and Regulations of October
2003 must be posted.
b. Any organic farmer who also sells conventional products, must clearly specify with a sign the products which are not organically grown.
Failure to display this sign will result in having your non-organic product removed from sale. Non-organic product must be completely
separated from the organic product and placed on a separate table.
4. Non-certified items shall only be sold in a non-certified section of the market.
a. All products sold in the non-certified section must be approved by the Board and comply with all applicable regulations.
5. The Board of TCFM sets limits on the number of vendors selling a particular product or commodity. No vendor will be given any exclusive right to sell a commodity or product and no vendor will be allowed a monopoly on any given product or commodity at any TCFM market. The Board in its sole discretion will determine the number of vendors who may sell the same product or commodity in accordance with seasonal variations and customer demand. No vendor will be allowed to sell any commodity that has not been approved by the Board.
6. No commission salespersons, brokers or middlemen shall be allowed to sell products at a TCFM market.
7. Any vendor cited or fined by the office of the County Agricultural Commissioner for any violation regarding a produce commodity, shall not bring that commodity to TCFM market until commodity is properly listed on certificate or issue has been addressed with county.
8. If any farmer vendor has had a certified producer's certificate suspended, revoked, or rescinded, under his/her name or any other name, his or her attendance at TCFM shall terminate immediately.
Market Conduct and Market Procedures
9. Time of arrival at each Market, due to crowded conditions and safety issues, must be strictly adhered to. Vendors are to arrive no later than 7:15AM - Market Hours 8AM to 1PM - All vehicles must be off the street by 7:45AM. A vendor, who is consistently tardy, may at the discretion of the Market Manager be fined up to $50. The fine must be paid before vendor sets up for market. Vendors must stay for the duration of the market. Vendors are asked NOT to start tearing down their vendor booth until 1 PM.
10. If a vendor is unable to attend a market, they must contact the Market Manager at least 24 hours in advance at 209-595-8527. Any vendor who is absent without such notice will be responsible for the payment of their market stall fees for the missed market.
Sellers are expected to come to the TCFM markets regardless of weather conditions. The TCFM depends on regular attendance of sellers to continue throughout the season. Sickness, lack of product and vehicular breakdown are among the few legitimate excuses for missing a market. Irregular attendance for other reasons, including wet weather and anticipated slow sales, may be grounds for suspension. Other vendors and customers count on sellers regular attendance.
11. The size and location of a vendor's stall space at each market will be determined at the discretion of the Market Manager. TCFM expects all vendors to be flexible about this determination. Vendor's maximum length of displayed products shall not exceed 24 feet from curb; and be in accordance with applicable laws for fire lane access. Location of market stall spaces are not guaranteed to a vendor from year to year. The fee for a 10'x10' stall space is $35.00 per week.
12. Market stall protocol:
All scales must have a current seal by the Department of Weights and Measures.
Vendors shall keep their market stalls as safe and orderly as possible and shall comply with all county health codes, including keeping all food products at least 6 inches above the ground.
Market stall must be swept clean before leaving the market.
Pre-packaged goods sold must display the weight, the contents and the seller’s name and address on the container.
No alcoholic beverages or vendor’s appearing intoxicated, chewing tobacco, smoking, bicycling, skating, skateboarding, or dogs are permitted in or around the market area.
Radios are not allowed to be played during market time.
Vendors shall be appropriately attired during market hours. Shoes and shirts must be worn at all times.
13. All vendors are responsible for the actions of their employees during each market. Each vendor agrees that the Market Manager may eject any vendor’s employee for inappropriate conduct at the market.
14. TCFM permits vendors to offer samples of produce or market products only under the following conditions:
All samples shall be provided in compliance with applicable county health department regulations, which regulations may vary from county to county.
Samples may only be given in a vendors designated stall space.
A vendor shall promptly pay any fine levied by a County Health Department for violation of its regulations on samples.
For health and liability purposes, farmer vendors will not be allowed to cook on an open flame in the certified area of the market. Other then samples, no food preparation will be allowed.
Discipline
15. All vendors shall cooperate with the Market Manager and the Board of TCFM regarding market conduct and the enforcement of these Rules. All vendors and their employees are expected to conduct themselves in a polite, civilized and cooperative manner. In the event of a dispute regarding any action taken as a result of the behavior of a vendor or a vendor’s employees at the market, or as a result of the vendor’s failure to comply with these Rules; the vendor and the Board shall submit the matter to binding arbitration. Vendors acknowledge that the Bylaws of TCFM provide that membership may be revoked by vote of the Board for any member whose behavior is determined to be disruptive or who violates these Rules.
TCFM disciplinary action for violation of these Rules may be given as follows:
First violation: a verbal warning from the Market Manager.
Second violation: a written warning from the Market Manager; and vendor shall appear before the Board TCFM who will decide whether to impose a fine, or suspend the vendor’s right to attend future markets.
Third violation: vendor’s participation in TCFM will be terminated and vendor shall no longer be permitted to sell any product at a TCFM market.
Nothing in the foregoing discipline procedure above shall limit the market manager or the board from having a vendor ejected from a market for inappropriate behavior or violation of these rules.
New Vendors – New Products
16. Each new vendor shall be allowed to sell at the TCFM markets for a probationary period determined by the Board. Probationary periods will be also established for any vendor who wants to sell products not listed on vendor’s original membership application. The length of a probationary period is set at the sole discretion of the Board. Prior to selling at any TCFM market, the new vendor or vendor with new products shall sign a letter indicating vendor’s agreement to the following:
The type of products the vendor is allowed to sell
The market(s) at which the vendor will sell the designated products
The months in which the vendor will be allowed to sell the designated products. Vendors will be required to remove all unapproved products from their market stall.
Annual Application
17. All vendors must be in good standing with TCFM. The application term for TCFM commences January 1st to December 31st of each calendar year. Unless a vendor has been subject to disciplinary action or a vendor's application has been terminated in the term, or a vendor has not completed the probationary period, a vendor will be allowed to renew his or her application with TCFM for the following year. Applications for renewal in TCFM will be sent out to the previous year's members in good standing by March 1st of each year and are due back in the TCFM office no later than April 1st.
18. All non farm vendors, at the boards' discretion, have the option of being a part time vendor. A vendor who chooses to partake in 12 or less markets during the season is considered part time. Any vendor wishing to be part time must specify their desire on the application at the beginning of the season. The board will decide if it is reasonable to allow the vendor to do so. If approved the vendor must indicate which dates they will be available for scheduling purposes. The vendor will also be asked to either pay 50% of their stall fees upfront or they must pre-pay their stall fees on a monthly basis.
Closing Statement:
The Board of Directors of TCFM holds regular Board meetings to discuss all matters of Market business. If a vendor has any grievances, suggestions, safety issues, space issues, commodity additions or any other conflicts, contact the Market Manager, or a board member about having the item of concern placed on the Board meeting agenda. The Board meeting is the proper forum to resolve any conflicts or concerns of vendors, not the market. It is the goal of TCFM to provide a pleasant community atmosphere for our customers’ enjoyment; all vendors are asked to respect this.
