Mission & Vision

The Monroe Community is a vibrant rural community welcoming opportunity for individuals, families, and local businesses to celebrate our agrarian heritage, neighborly culture, and natural environment. The Monroe Farmers Market fosters our welcoming spirit by supporting local agriculture and artisans by offering local produce and handmade goods made by the community for the community.

Booth Fees

1. A non-refundable annual membership fee for all vendors ($60)    

2. Vendors may register by sending PDF files of their complete application to market97456@gmail.com
Or you can contact Melissa Meyer for drop off (310-408-5025).

3. Incomplete application and information may delay vendor’s ability to participate in the market. Vendors are responsible for keeping their application information current.

Market Rules & Regulations

1. Vendors must bring their own tables, canopies, and weights. All canopies or other booth covers are required to have weights (12 to 15 pounds) sufficient to keep the coverings in place during windy conditions, even if it is not windy during set-up. This is for the safety of ourselves & our customers.                                                                                                                                                       

2. Vendors arriving late may lose their regular space for that day. And be placed in available spaces.                

3. To minimize congestion before and after markets, unloading vendors should unload and move vehicles before focusing on set-up. Likewise, breakdown should be accomplished before vehicles return. All vehicles must be in place or removed from the market site 10 minutes before the start of market.                                   

4. Vendors must pack out all trash.                                                                                                                        

5. Vendor smoking is prohibited at the market.                                                                                                       

6. Vendor pets may be allowed at the market with the pre-approval of the MFM Director. They must be on a  leash.
7. Vendors may not sublet their space. Shared presentations will be approved with application based on product information. All vending parties must fill out separate vendor applications and provide contact info and pay the appropriate fees. In shared spaces, both vendors must pay the $60 yearly application fee.                             

8. Vendors must maintain a high level of decorum and conduct while at the market. This is a family friendly event.

Product Classifications and Guidelines                                                                                           

All products sold at MFM will primarily consist of locally grown agricultural products and hand-made artisan crafts. This may consist of products grown or raised by vendors, or grown and processed by vendors. All food products must be grown or raised by the vendor, with the exception of prepared and ready to eat foods that have been processed by local vendors with proper licensure and approved by consensus by the Monroe Farmers Market Committee. Food vendors must be located within a 50-mile radius of the market site to vend at MFM. Non-food Value added farm products and artisan goods are eligible to be sold if they have been made within a 30-mile radius of Monroe.                                                                                                                              

A vendor outside these radiuses with a product not currently represented at the market may apply and be approved by the Committee with the understanding that if the product becomes available at equal quality within the 50-mile radius, they will be able to finish the season but may not be approved for the next year. All vendors must be reviewed in the annual re-application process and approved by the committee, even those in good standing from previous seasons.

Vendors are responsible for obtaining all necessary licenses, permits, certifications and insurance, of which a copy will need to be provided with application.

Vendors are encouraged to obtain general liability insurance and are required to do so if potentially hazardous foods, as defined in OAR 603- 25-010(22), are sold. Eggs are included in this definition. All processed food vendors are required to carry such insurance. A

ll products offered for sale at VDFM sites will comply with state and federal standards governing weight, packaging, and display and labeling. Vendors shall learn and follow Farmers’ Market Guidelines issued by the food safety division of the Oregon Department of Agriculture. The Oregon Department of Agriculture has developed Farmers’ Market food safety guidelines to assist in the sanitary operation of the state’s markets. These include information on processed product facilities licensing, hazardous food processed product facilities licensing, hazardous food handling & safe sampling information.

To obtain a copy, go to https://www.oregon.gov/oda/programs/marketaccess/pages/aboutmac.aspx

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Agricultural products intended as food may come from any location within 50 miles of the Market Site. A vendor with a product not currently represented at the market may apply and be approved by the committee with the understanding that if the product becomes available at equal quality within the 50-mile radius, they will be able to finish the season but may not be approved for the next year. This includes produce, cut flowers, and bedding plants. They must be of quality and honestly represented. Agricultural food vendors are eligible to sell non-food value-added products as long as they do not constitute more than 20% of market display. Herbaceous and woody plants may be grown by the vendor from seed or vegetative material (cuttings, divisions, etc.). The vendor should tend any plant not started by the vendor for at least two months prior to sale at market and have a nursery license. **Only need the license if plant sales are over $250 per fiscal year.                                                                                                                                                  

Vendors should include lists of all items you intend to sell at market and the location where it is grown when submitting your application. The market reserves the right to refuse approval for additional product categories after the original application is approved. This does not negate product categories approved for the vendor in the original application.

Wildcrafting and Foraging

Wild/collected plants may be sold, if collected legally by the Vendor. All applicable permits (ex: for collecting wild mushrooms on public lands) must be presented with application materials.

Eggs

Eggs may be sold at market without a license but only by the farm that produces the eggs. Eggs are required to be in a clean dated container showing vendor’s name. Egg vendors are required to include a tracking date on the container. 1 Egg display is allowed; Egg Inventories should be in a cooler with a thermometer. https://extension.oregonstate.edu/pub/em-9350

Meat and Poultry

Products must be 100% from animals raised for 50% or more of the animal’s life under direct supervision of the vendor on property owned or leased by the vendor. Poultry may be processed on farm for direct retail (producer to consumer) only in instances when a farm processes less than 1,000 chickens and sells them whole. All other meats must be processed in a USDA inspected facility in constant compliance with FSIS. Processing must comply

with all state and federal regulations (https://www.oregon.gov/ODA/programs/FoodSafety/FSLicensing/Pages/Meat.aspx ), and the farmer must supply documentation of compliance to the MFM Coordinator.

Processed Foods

A processed item is one that is transformed from its natural state. Typical examples of processed foods include jams, jellies, baked goods, dried fruit, cider, sauces, pickles and salsa.                                           

All foods not covered under the Farm Direct Marketing Producer Processed (https://www.oregon.gov/oda/shared/Documents/Publications/FoodSafety/FarmDirectMarketingProcessedProducers.pdf)
exemptions, including all baked goods, must be made in a certified kitchen.

All foods not covered under the Farm Direct Marketing Producer Processed exemptions and the Home Baking Bill must be made in a certified kitchen. Vendors are obligated to provide documentation to prove use of a certified kitchen with original application materials or during the review process to add a product category midseason.

Grown and Processed by Vendor

This category refers to processed foods made primarily from products grown or raised by the vendor within Benton County, or with a Monroe address. To be included in this category, milk must be from the farmer’s own herd. The farmer must make cheese and other dairy products in a certified facility with proper permitting. 
https://www.oregon.gov/oda/programs/foodsafety/fslicensing/pages/dairy.aspx

Processed by Local Vendors

Processed food made from scratch by vendors but not grown or raised by the vendor are subject to review by the Monroe Farmers’ Market. And need to meet all applicable rules and regulations as required under local, state and federal law.

This section is not meant to cover samples provided by vendors to demonstrate its characteristics. Baked goods should be wrapped or presented in a covered container. Acceptable methods to remove food from covered bulk containers include clean tongs or other utensils, single-use gloves, and wax paper sheets.

Products with CBD Oil
All products with CBD oil in them must have a lab report available, for review by the MFM Committee and/or the public, in the vendor booth at all times.

Non-food, Value-added Farm Products
Vendors may sell non-food, value-added farm products alongside farm products if the ratio of farm to food products is 75% local farm food products to 25% non-farm food products. All items in this category need to meet all applicable rules and regulations as required under local, state and federal law. These items need to be included in the initial vendor application with notation on which are grown by the vendor and which are not.

Vendor Duplication Policy

In order to provide a diverse and engaging market atmosphere, the MFM Committee reserves the right to refuse market membership to prepared food vendors that are too similar to existing vendors in good standing. This ensures that the markets will offer many different experiences to market customers and will showcase the variety of products available in our area.
                                                                  
Selection Process: All vendor applications are reviewed by the Monroe Farmers Market Committee. Based on the merits of the products and the local benefit of the business, the committee will vote to approve vendors with a simple majority. Vendors will be informed by the MFM Coordinator or committee member of their approval or denial within 7 business days of their application submission. All vendors must be approved every year, to ensure the quality of the market and make sure that the market has the most up to date information on the business and products of the vendor.

Disputes: The MFM Committee has all onsite authority. If there is a problem, identified by the MFM Director, or brought to their attention through a complaint, management will issue a verbal warning, followed by a written warning and at that point if there is an unresolved complaint a report will be made to the MFM Committee and a committee vote will decide the matter. The MFM Director and the Monroe Farmers Market Committee have the right to remove a vendor from participation in the market due to disruptive conduct or failure to abide by the rules and regulations laid out in this document.                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                                               

MFM has the right to modify these guidelines at any time to clarify issues or circumstances that may not have been addressed directly in these guidelines.
The MFM Committee acts as managers of the general operations of the market and takes no responsibility for the actions of vendors. The MFM and the City of Monroe will not be responsible for any loss incurred by the vendor.