Raise the Barn

The New Glasgow Farmers Market is home to more than 130 small businesses and entrepreneurs. These are farmers, food producers, artisans and youth vendors. Many of these businesses rely on the Market as a significant part of their livelihood.

We offer a low cost, low-risk venue for start-ups to test their products. Among other benefits, vendors can enjoy immediate consumer feedback and connect with the community providing a valuable organic experience for those who are getting started.

We need more room to bloom! Currently, we have to rotate vendors or turn vendors down in addition to limiting or all together eliminating customer eating areas in the winter months. This provides financial and logistical barriers to some vendors and inconvenience to our patrons.

Where there is a vibrant community and strong local economic growth is a good place for a business to operate. The New Glasgow Farmers Market attracts over 60,000 visitors each year and those people are passionate about supporting local. Dollars spent with our vendors go right back into our community. 

Why We Need a New Building

• the lifespan of the dome will come to an end and will need replacing, we need to be proactive rather than reactive
• we need more room to comfortably accommodate vendors who wish to attend all year round
• more space will allow us the opportunity to provide increased access to local food & goods to our community
• COVID-19 has meant a decrease in vendors and an increased need for space
• Additional space is needed to accommodate the new online system without impacting the in-person market
• continue to provide a comfortable space for the community to gather all-year round
• encourage farmers and food producers to invest in year-round production
• increased positive impact on community food security, healthy living including mental and physical health through social gathering during winter months
• increased community economic impact

MARKET ATTENDANCE

• Each day of operation, customer counts are taken throughout the day
• These counts show that the average attendance at the NGFM is estimated to be more than 1800 visitors every Saturday during the peak season
• Since our first expansion in 2015, we have seen more than a 60% increase in traffic

MARKET SALES

• Each day the Market is in operation, the vendors are asked to submit their sales totals from the previous week
• This data is collected anonymously but felt to be accurate
•  It is estimated that average monthly sales at the NGFM were roughly

$40,000 in 2019 with annual sales estimated at approximately half a million dollars

THE MULTIPLIER EFFECT

• Customers at the New Glasgow Farmers Market spent an average of $46 per customer in 2019
• This gives an estimate of the economic impact of the market to be more than $3,000,000 annually

INDIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACTS

• Many of the customers who come to New Glasgow on Saturday to shop at the NGFM also take advantage of the opportunity to shop at businesses in the surrounding areas
• In addition to visitors from our local community, we also welcome guests from around the globe who also visit other businesses and attractions in the area
• A 2013 survey of 21 farmers markets in Nova Scotia by FMNS, estimated that shoppers spend an average of $15.37 at other businesses. By 2019, that number skyrocketed to $41. In that time, we expanded once and have seen a 62% increase in spending at area businesses and attractions
• Using the $41.00 number from 2019 and multiplying this by the number of average visitors in 2019, gives indirect spending of $2.7M at surrounding businesses

IMPACT OF THE NEW MARKET

• Adding this to the direct impact found above gives us a Total Economic Impact of = $3,000,000 + $2,700,000 = $5,700,000
• With a new facility this number will only grow
• The proposed new Market Building will house an approved kitchen, increased space for vendors, community programming and a small “general store” retail area to help increase access to local food and help reduce food waste
• We will be able to improve our waste management program by using reusable dishes in a dedicated space
• The Farmers’ Market will increase in size and will be heated. This will allow increased access for local small businesses. In addition, it will allow us to not only keep our 60 vendor spaces, but increase them over the winter months
• The new Market building will allow more of our vendors to participate year-round, leading to better personal financial stability

ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

• The New Glasgow Farmers Market has always been a starting point for small businesses.
• Some have remained small and still use the Market as their main selling venue.
• Others have used the Market as a stepping-stone towards creating businesses which are no longer small and now sell their products outside the Market area.
• For these businesses, the Market has played an important role as a small business incubator.

THE COMMUNITY REACH

Since it’s humble beginnings, the New Glasgow Farmer’s Market has become a vital part of community life. It is a Saturday morning ritual for many, offering people a chance to meet with friends, neighbors and colleagues while supporting local agriculture, artisans and food vendors.

A new market building will also allow us to provide the following benefits to our community:

• Food vendors will have greater access to running water and sinks at their spaces, making it easier to comply with food regulations as set out by Nova Scotia Environment – Food Safety.
• Having a year-round market space will encourage more farmers in the area to start year-round production, making New Glasgow more food resilient and making a positive impact on our community food security.
• With more spaces available, we will be able to offer more local entrepreneurs a chance to launch their businesses.
• There is a trend towards farms being smaller than in the past and relying more on direct sales. The Farmers’ Market expansion will allow small farms to become viable and prosper.
• The new building will be a bigger and warmer space to conduct a market. It will be a market for the community to be proud of and will continue to attract more and more visitors, allowing the market and the community to grow together.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

Shopping locally and getting involved in your local community has certainly been in the spotlight in recent years as environmental issues have come to the fore. The connection between buying local and going green is easy to see – by connecting with the things nearby to us, we’re supporting our local environment rather than looking farther afield for our needs.

Did you know that in Nova Scotia, the food that you eat travels an average of more than 4,000 kilometers to reach your plate?!  In contrast, when you buy at the New Glasgow Farmers Market, your food travels an average of just 25km to your plate.

By eating food that is grown closer to home, we are cutting down thousands of food kilometers and thereby helping to “Take A Bite Out of Climate Change.” The distance that food travels from where it is grown and processed to where we buy it has an impact on our environment largely because of the greenhouse gas emissions involved in the transportation. The more distance which food must travel, the less fresh it will be, and the more CO2 emissions will be generated.

 Because farmers’ markets work on the premise of local foods, a new Market building will continue to help promote lower our community’s carbon footprint and help guarantee fresher food. Farmers Markets and sustainable agriculture are the ultimate green sector of the economy. A new Market Building will allow us to continue to reduce our impact on the environment at a community level.

How Can I Donate?

We need $400,000 to reach our goal and every little bit helps!

1) Print and fill out the donation form below and mail Your donation to us

2) Credit Card via PayPal

3) Contact us at raisethebarn@ngfarmmarket.com to send payment electronically

4) Come into the Market any Saturday to donate via cash, cheque or debit!