Ensuring the Success of a Community Farmers Market: Assessing Oklahoma City Urban Farmers Needs and Willingness to Participate in a Farmers Market
ISSN 2158-9429
Volume 15, Issue 2 - December 2022
Editor: Linda Chalker-Scott
Abstract
Assessing clientele needs is a critical first step for Extension educators’ as they work to provide programs relevant to the needs of the communities they serve. This article summarizes a targeted needs assessment developed by Oklahoma County OSU Extension staff and a community partner agency, the Lynn Institute for Healthcare Research. The purpose of this assessment was to prepare for the development of a new northeast Oklahoma City Farmers Market to improve community food access and provide a local marketplace for urban northeast Oklahoma City producers to sell their products. A small three-zip-code section of Oklahoma City was identified as the primary focus for the assessment. The producers identified for the study predominately operate within these three zip-codes or within close proximity to this identified area. The goal of this project was not to conduct an assessment of all Oklahoma City food producers, but rather to identify the specific needs of producers near the target area to inform Extension educational programming and foster participation in the new farmers’ market.
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