STALL HOLDER NEWS

April 2024

On-Line Promotions

If you have any farm or food experience days coming up let us know as we might want to offer them as a prize in our monthly competition and we are always happy to share pictures on Instagram of any of your events.

Please keep using the new Facebook Groups pages which we have been pushing they are a free way to promote your business and keep sharing your photos of market journeys HERE

Workers for farms - please get in touch

We have now had around 40 expressions of interest from our FUTURE FARMERS campaign and will be pairing up people with farms for a day's work experience. If you need some extra help please get in touch to be considered. You can choose when they work, pick a busy time at the start of the planting season. If you have a specific requirement or skill need like a driving licence let us know, this trial might not solve all of your staffing problems but it could help. All you need to do is be prepared to collect and drop them off at a station and offer some lunch. Let us know roughly how many people you might be able to accommodate, roughly when you need them and which station you can collect them from. We will pass you their details so that you can speak to them in advance.

There is a new phone system now in place so it may sound a bit different when you call us. In an emergency you should also be able to reach us on 020 7833 5007 at weekends between 7am and 2pm

We are working on some new sites hopefully a Sunday and mid-week market later in the year.

A few fake notes were doing the rounds last month so good time to retrain your staff on how to spot a fake

As always please follow market managers instructions and clean up after your stall, don't set up your stall until you are sure you are in the right place. If you don't have adequate weights for your gazebos then they will need to be taken down

Receipts for payment

You may have noticed that the payment process has changed slightly in recent weeks but we expect you to receive your receipt within 7 days of the payment notification. You still receive the payment notification as normal on the day the payment process starts but the receipt is sent a few days later once the funds actually reach us. We are looking into this with Stripe who manage the payments and will report back. If you think you are still missing a receipt 7 days after the charge was initiated, then please let us know and we can send you a duplicate.

Training

If you are looking to improve aspects of your business check out Better Food Traders, they offer courses and advice on all things food with a steer to organic producers https://betterfoodtraders.org/

Fieldgate Flowers also run social media training have a look here https://fieldgateflowers.kartra.com/page/thegrowthclub

Card reader connectivity

We are looking into ensuring that traders can connect to a reliable internet connection across our sites, specifically at sites that are causing issues with card readers like Queens Park and Blackheath. In general a tip might be to advise staff to turn off Wifi if they are having issues and just rely on data roaming:

• At Queens Park we are currently in the process of gaining permission from the school so that card readers can connect directly to the School's wifi network. we will share that with you ASAP
• At Blackheath if traders are having signal issues then we would recommend connecting to one of the station's wifi signals. Please make your traders aware that some internet devices try to connect to the trains that come in and out of the station throughout the day. If your card reader is experiencing problems then this may be the cause.

Weights

Due to recent reports of traders being penalised for overloading vans, businesses will now be allowed to store weights at specific markets. But you must notify us in advance and priority will be given for stalls attending weekly with heavy bulky stock.

The markets we can provide weight storage for are:

• Queens Park
• Parliament Hill
• Balham
• High Street Kensington
• West Hampstead

Please note that if businesses choose to store weights at markets then LFM holds no responsibility for them and it is up to the traders on the day to make sure they are safely and securely stored. We would recommend that businesses brand their weights in an identifiable way to ensure they do not get lost or get mixed up with another businesses weights.

Power /electricity

Demand is increasing but we cannot allow just any stall to plug in and when we do permit you to use power it must only be for the appliance you have requested to use- not kettles and heaters!!

1. We only permit use of power for essential equipment prioritising scales and refrigeration.
2. We prefer stalls to cook on LPG gas. If you choose to cook on electric power your total load must not exceed 13amps and your appliances must be approved in advance and you must only use a single 16amp commando socket to connect to the market supply
3. We do not charge for power use so will never guarantee a supply will work. We suggest that you have you connections checked by a qualified technician.
4. All your appliances must be PAT tested annually
5. We accept no responsibility for losses or ability to trade due to lack of power. Your market fee will be due with or without a working power supply. THEREFORE we strongly recommend that you use LPG
6. Any stall using unapproved electrical appliances WILL have their permission to use power on site withdrawn
7. Damaged leads or connections must not be used - if you try and use them our managers will turn off the supply and remove them to keep everyone safe
8. You must cover your own leads to prevent trips and falls.

Kitchen inspections

We are catching up on hygiene checks if you cook hot food and we haven't seen your kitchen recently we will be in touch. We will ask for a quick tour and to see basic paperwork such as temperature and date records or pre cooked products

Market News

South Kensington- Works on Bute Street are now complete and the market is confirmed to move back on April 13th.

Marylebone- Please do not lean equipment against buildings or leave equipment on windows , keep your equipment at least 1m away from neighbouring buildings Please be patient on arrival at 8am we will staggering traffic on arrival to ensure there is no congestion on the street which can cause a disturbance to neighbours. We can no longer block the street during set up as access is required at all times please make sure that you unload from a designated parking bay and not the middle of the street.

Queens Park- If the external gates are closed do not block the road tooting you horn or shouting at the manager- park up and see what is going on - the managers close the gates when there are too many vehicles on site - its means go around the block or park outside for 5 minutes. Drivers blocking Salusbury Road will be reported and wont be let on site.

Islington- The building works have finished and we now need to close the market up back to its original layout please let your customers know that some stalls may be moving

Notting Hill- Thank You to all stalls for following the servicing requirement in recent weeks, we need to follow these every week now that they are back in place

Blackheath- Just the usual reminder especially for new stalls to send us your vehicle reg- if you change vehicles last minute you must purchase a ticket to access the car park or you will be fined

Twickenham- A scammer may have been ripping off people parking in the car park - if you see anyone dodgy hanging about the parking machine let the manager know or call 100

Marketing the markets.

We will concentrate our efforts in three areas in 2024.

On-line:

We will be posting regularly on Instagram and are in the process of setting up a Facebook Group for each market to try and build stronger local communities. We will be working with influencers around each market that will help us to reach new customers.

Following a successful test this year we will be running paid advertising campaigns on Facebook which target people who live in a market's area and that fit the demographic of the people who shop there.

2024 is our 25th year of running farmer's markets in London, so it is another Jubilee year. We will run 25 hamper prize draws this year through the on-line channels and there will be a number of other '25' themed promotions and collaborations with local businesses.

Eventbrite and Facebook events have been set up for all markets so when people search for events in their area the local market will pop up.

On street:

The Promo Trailer will be parked up somewhere prominent at each market throughout the year.

Each market has a signage plan and we have permanent banner sites as well as the 'on the day' signage that the mangers put up and take down before and after the market.

We will of course be running leafletting campaigns through letterboxes too. Details of which will be put in Stallholder News at the time so that you know when your market is being promoted.

Direct emails to customer:

Monthly newsletters are sent to 30,000+ people who have signed up to receive them. Newsletters are themed each month with what we hope is engaging content and contain details of how to enter the prize draws as well as market specific information for customers. We are also running small campaigns around sustainable issues so if there is anything you think we should focus on please let us know

How you can help:

Get the most out of these platforms by generating content to post on them.

If you have any news to tell your customers or think there is something we should be highlighting, please tell us. Better still, join the Facebook Groups for your markets and post something simple each week like a picture of your stall at set-up with a caption saying that you are at the market.

Film short videos every now and then and upload them to our Producer Photos page so that we can use them in our promotions. We always want seasonal pictures or pictures taken at market to use in the newsletter so if you take any please upload them to the Producer Photos page too.

Use the Social Media Guides we are producing for each market to help make sure your own social media posts reach the best audience.

Every bit of engagement helps.

Future Farmers - 25 Farmer apprentices.

We would like to facilitate 25 day placements on farms for people from our customer base in 2024. We can directly contact around 90,000 people. The idea is that 1 or 2 customers per market visit a farm and spend a day helping out. Whilst in many cases this would go no further than the day trip there is the chance that some will want to do more and perhaps you may solve some of your labour problems either on the farm or on a stall in London

Clearly to make this work it needs to work for your farm business so ideally we would look to book this in when you needed more help at busy times of the year. Customers could also specify if they want to work with animals or fruit / veg.

We envisage identifying customers who are interested, paying for their travel and the farm picking them up from the station and providing them with lunch. Please tell us if your farm may be interested in this idea and when in the year would work for you.

Market News

Marylebone - now that the works have finished please can all vehicles unload / load from the sides of the street, so do not double park. We need to maintain emergency access through the street. Some stalls may still need to be relocated due to access issues for the new building

South Kensington - We are waiting for an update from the Council, but works are progressing so we are estimating March as a return date. The street is looking a great place to return to.

Market closures: A reminder!

Our last markets for 2023 will be on 24th December – those will all finish 1 hour early (at 13:00)

The following markets are NOT RUNNING:

DECEMBER WEEK 4 - Imperial and Bloomsbury

DECEMBER WEEK 5 – All markets

JANUARY WEEK 1 – Imperial and Bloomsbury

The next month with 5 weeks is March 2024. Please make sure you have checked your week 5 schedules before that.

If you are incorrectly charged for a market that you are not attending on 23rd or 24th December, then please provide all of the details to [email protected] and we will look at it when we are back in the office in January.

We welcome and encourage new products on the markets but do remember that they need to be approved by the LFM office before they go on sale. If you have any idea for new products or dishes, then send the sourcing information to [email protected] and we will get back to you with confirmation ASAP.

DECEMBER 2023

Market opening times over the Festive Season.

All markets will be open on the 23rd and 24th December as usual. Sunday markets on Christmas Eve will close 1 hour early at 1pm.

No markets will run between Christmas and New Year.

Swiss Cottage will reopen on the 3rd January with weekend markets reopening on 6th and 7th January

Imperial and Bloomsbury markets will close a week earlier with their last day being 12th and 14th December respectively. They will reopen on the 9th and 11th of January.

Prices

Everyone MUST display prices on their stall, it's the law. Please make sure that all of your market kits includes prices.

Marylebone

Nearly there with the endless works and we are looking forward to a settled period early in the New Year. In the meantime please bear with us as we continue to adjust and adapt to the challenges posed by the new deveopment.

South Kensington

A quick thank you to stallholders at South Ken. The temporary site is tight and loading and unloading has to be well coordinated and done with consideration which, on the whole, it has been. The works on Bute Street are moving along and it looks like it will be a very nice place for the market when complete.

25th Anniversary

It will be LFM's 25th year next year and as well as some celebrations at the first markets we opened that year we will do a few other '25' themed things. All (printable!) suggestions welcome.

New To Our Markets

A warm welcome to

House of Relish
Food and Forest

Finally

Thank you for selling with us in 2023 and after what we hope will be a very Happy Christmas and New Year for everyone we will come back and do it all again next year!

OCTOBER 2023

Market Promotion

This month we are promoting the markets with a primary focus on all things apple on our web site, in the customer newsletter, and on Instagram. There will be two prize draws running, one to win a hamper which this month will have heritage apples, apple pie, apple juice, apple chutney... you get the idea. The second draw, as the grape harvest is also underway, will be for something wine related which we are working on. The seasonal campaigns have been well received with the most recent campaign all about HONEY! All markets have had a massive leaflet distribution this month with over 130,000 flyers going into local residents letterboxes.

The work the team are doing on Instagram and the prize draws are steadily driving up the numbers of followers we have on the platform with approximately 3000 added in the last three months. Please engage with our Instagram account, people like to see your content. https://www.instagram.com/londonfarmersmarkets/

We are working on getting lamppost banners up in Ealing and will be refreshing the Queens Park lamppost banners and adding a new one near Kensal Rise station. All markets have banners up if you see any that need replacing let us know or if if you see any prime locations for signs pass the message on to us.

Other recent activity has been sponsoring Queens Park Day, putting up extra signage and leafletting the new students at Bloomsbury and Imperial. The trailer will visit all markets through the autumn. If you can think of anywhere good to park it up for the day, please let us know.

We are currently planning Christmas news and promotions so if you have your seasonal products in the pipeline it is never too early to tell us about them.

Market Updates

Marylebone -The end is in sight and works should complete this month, this will mean less congestion for vehicle access. We will be introducing a more managed vehicle entry to reduce congestion on Blandford Street and to make access safer for pedestrians. We will also be testing a quiet buffer zone around neighbours closest to the market which might mean a few changes to stall positions. PLEASE DONT use your horns in the morning it wont make anything happen quicker!

South Kensington- The move has gone smoothly and sales appear to be holding up well, any comments or suggestions please let us know the works are supposed to take around 6 months..

Imperial College- Health and Safety requirements are requiring us to make some changes to the layout so please be patient if we need to move you. Its been a busy start to the new term and if the weather holds it should get busier.

Queens Park- We are expecting a final phase of playground works to start in the next few weeks so we wont be moving stalls anywhere for the time being. Once these works are complete we will try to accommodate most stalls back in the playground, thanks for your patience

Christmas

All markets will be open on the 23rd and 24th December as usual. Sunday markets on Christmas Eve will close 1 hour early at 1pm. If you cannot make any of these markets please let us know as soon as possible in advance. If you would like to attend extra markets this weekend also get in touch. Swiss Cottage will reopen on the 3rd January with weekend markets reopening on 6th and 7th January

Imperial and Bloomsbury markets will close a week earlier with there last day being 12th and 14th December and not reopening until 9th and 11th of January.

Roadworks - A316 Richmond

These roadworks are planned to last 9 months and may cause delays in South West London. To avoid congestion around Richmond at the moment if you normally use the A316 to get into or out of London as part of a round after dropping off at Twickenham we suggest using the A4 or M4 and use the A314 or A312 through Feltham or Whitton to avoid the area especially in the afternoons. To get to / from Wimbledon go from Twickenham to Teddington and Kingston

New To Our Markets

A warm welcome to

The Woodland Pig Company
Fritterly
Matter At Hand Ice Cream
Soapbox Sprits
Graces Secret Garden
Kubabka
Willow Tree Distilling

Scam Alert

There was a scammer at Pimlico Road last weekend. We believe it to be the same man that has targeted our markets in the past. His method is to approach a busy stallholder and pretend, for instance, to be a mechanic who had been told to get money from a stall for repair of a company vehicle which had broken down. He does his research and knows the names of people in the company and when challenged will pretend to have a 'phone conversation with the stallholder's boss. He is very plausible. Please warn your stallholders about him and tell them that if they see him or he attempts to con them they should tell the market manager and other stallholders as soon as they can because if he fails at one stall he doesn't leave, he moves on to another that is out of sight of the first and tries again.

These pictures are a little out of date, he has 3/4 length hair and glasses.

JULY 2023

Publicity UPDATE....

With the changes at head office this year we have begun an overhaul of our marketing strategy. We are continuing with our flyering and signage campaigns as we find these are the most effective way to attract new customers. However, working with an agency, we have reviewed our social media activities and they are helping us to put in place changes that will give our social presence (and yours) and more impact. You may have already noticed some changes. Whatever your views are about social media we cannot ignore the fact the next generation rely on it, and we need farmers markets to be present in an effective way to ensure that younger residents find out about their local markets. The info below is tailored for Stalls but its important for managers to read too.

(IF YOU STILL HAVEN’T GOT AN INSTAGRAM PAGE FOR YOUR BUSINESS and need some guidance please get in touch we would be happy to help). We have attached LINKS to help with your social posts and to explain what is happening and why. Please circulate this information to your team and to the guys on your stalls who can all take pictures and post them online to help your business. We are testing these changes at 4 markets to begin with; High Street Kensington, Ealing, Queens Park and Imperial College a short summary is below of the changes:

• Social media guides for each market- These will help all business to make more of their posts – if you use the right hashtags your posts will reach a much wider audience. Many businesses post great content but do not use the best tags, so their posts do not get seen. You can find the first of these guides using the link HERE
• Facebook Groups- The main LFM Facebook page will remain, but we will gradually be moving across to Facebook Groups for each market rather than having individual market FB pages. You can see why we are making these changes HERE. Market businesses will be able to join the groups and post their own content and so will managers and customers – these will be more engaging than static pages as each market will have its own place to meet up online. There will be rules so please take a look HERE and then you can join using the links below. Don’t worry if you aren’t on FB and don’t intend to be then you can simply upload your photos HERE and we will try and share some for you.FOLLOW THESE LINKS to groups >>>> High Street Kensington, Ealing, Queens Park, Imperial College

• Facebook Events / Eventbrite- Listing markets here along with activities at market will improve their rankings on google searches and increase their profile in social media feeds.
• Instagram and Facebook competitions - We will be looking to work with more like-minded businesses on collaborations, where another business has a large social media following we can reach out to their customer base and vice versa. If your business wants to offer a prize like a baking day or bakery/dairy tour we’d be happy to talk to you to arrange a joined-up promotion.
• Google my Business- These pages are being kept up to date as they link to google maps and are a very effective way for people to find the markets.
• Twitter- We have been advised to focus our energy on 2 channels- Instagram and Facebook and so we will be diverting twitter followers there for updates.
• Customer Newsletters- These will be updated with more specific content and monthly campaigns, a more regular focus on competitions / giveaways.
• Facebook Advertising- This will be tested at some markets as it can be very targeted at a specific demographic to reach out to new customers.
• Monthly campaigns- We will try and steer our message each month with a different theme, for example this month will be all about plastic free and why markets are good places to shop if you want to avoid packaging, we are also planning a wild food month and a BBQ / outdoor eating month- any suggestions you have for a campaign please let us know.
• New products / New Seasons / New Stalls– If you have something new let us know customers really find it interesting and we can attract people to your stall
• Farm to Fork – Kitchen to Kerbside- Your journey to market each week is interesting! Film some short videos as you prepare for market and upload them HERE or to facebook groups and we will post them across our network -20 second clips of each activity MAX. 1. Harvest / making 2. Packing / baking / preparation 3. Drive to market 4. Stall set up.

PLASTIC FREE JULY – It’s our first monthly campaign – we know that plastic cannot be eliminated altogether from markets but customers want us to do more and government regulations are coming in to ban take away food being sold in plastic so its very much in customers minds and we will be letting them know why Farmers Markets are great places to reduce waste already. If you have things you are doing to reduce waste let us know- post pictures – tell your customers.

OTHER MARKET NEWS

FAKE £50’s – Found at Notting Hill last week, if they are professionals they might try and target other markets– if you think someone is trying to use them on a market – shout out for the manager and they will inform other stalls it may also put off any tricksters!

Marylebone- There will be street works in August as they prepare to complete the building, this could mean last minute moves for stalls as we work around builders. The surface in St Vincent Street will be replaced requiring some stalls to move temporarily so please warn your customers that you may need to move positions

South Kensington- Bute Street will be repaved in September, this work was delayed over the summer, we will be moving around the corner from the 2nd September and we expect the work to last no more than 6 months. The work should mean an improved level surface more suited to market trading

• We are pleased to welcome on to the markets:

Wildcroft Dairy Hampton Gay Farm

May 2023

• Coronation celebrations take place in central London on Saturday May 6th, markets are open as usual, we cannot open earlier but no doubt there will be a bigger morning rush. We have a few cancellations so some stalls will be busier than normal covering the gaps. There will be some central London road closures around Victoria and Whitehall so you may need to change your delivery routes that route take a look HERE
• Racist comment / jokes and sexualized comments / harassment: There is no place for this type of behavior at our farmers markets. Markets are a place of work and any reports will be dealt with firmly in line with our rules and the law. We want our markets to be a welcoming place for everyone no matter who they are.
• Leaflet distributions to over 100,000 homes have begun and will be complete the 1st week of May, we will be tracking footfall and email sign ups to see if they are helping markets
• Marketing Agency; now on board and setting up a new plan. We will be contacting you soon with clear information on how to make the most of your social media posts and how we can share this information more effectively across our channels. We will also have a dedicated producer area to upload your photos and videos for us to promote your business. There will be changes to our customer newsletter and Facebook soon, all designed to make them more effective, more news on that next month
• Planning Applications; just a reminder that many markets operate on temporary permissions, this is to ensure that we do not cause a nuisance to our neighbours. It is therefore CRITICAL that your team following the market information we send out especially relating to servicing times. Stalls found to be ignoring these instructions are likely to have their offer of a place at these markets withdrawn, if you see someone flouting the rules please warn them or point it out to the manager. Marylebone planning permission is going through now and looking positive, Notting Hill and Pimlico will be submitted later in the year. So follow the managers instructions at all times please, if in doubt call us.
• New products; don’t forget to let us know about your new products so we can tell customers about them but also so that we can confirm they comply with the rules
• WIFI at markets; we are aware that poor Wifi can impact on your card readers. Blackheath is seen as a particular problem and we are looking into partnering with a local organization to see if we can provide a better option for you to connect to.
• South Kensington move date has been confirmed for end of May / June, this is to enable public realm improvements to the street to take place for a purpose built market space. We can confirm that we will be moving to Queensberry Way just off Harrington Road for a maximum of 6 months. This is about a 2 minute walk from our current location. No move is ideal but we will do our best to promote the move, some stalls may need to reduce their stall area whilst we are at our temporary location. We will hold a meeting at market for stalls soon to explain how the new area will work and details will be emailed to you in the next few weeks. In the meantime we will be changing a few stalls positions to see if they will help attract more footfall into the market
• Marylebone 20th Anniversary in June
• Queens Park works ongoing until the end of the year we expect
• We are pleased to say hello to some great new businesses in April / May:

Loveday Blooms, Bibury Trout, Goodtrees Farm

MARCH 2023

Staffing Stalls

We know this continues to be a problem but if you require local people at a specific market then please do get in touch we can put a note on the market Facebook page or email customers. There are also London staffing agencies you can use for last minute cover, if it means wasted stock then booking last minute staff could be a solution. If you are registered you can post an ad for staff literally an hour before market and you may have someone respond to your ad even at such short notice.

ULEZ - Ultra low emission zone

Clearly not everyone's favourite topic! The area looks set to expand in August but as most of you pay the charge anyway it is unlikely to impact many more of you. The good news is that TFL have announced a scrappage scheme for old vehicles so if you have a business based in London and want to trade in your old van to avoid the charge then have a look at the TFL website. For smaller businesses there are grants available forelectric cargo bikes, so if you are transporting cakes, honey or lightweight goods around London these could be cheaper than a van. There are also cargo bike couriers that have been piloting transporting goods to market, again only for lightweight goods!

Marketing

100,000 leaflets will be distributed this spring to local residents to get new faces to market. London's population is always on the move, so refreshing this every year helps to spread the word

More banners and signs are going up currently to raise awareness in those areas that are hard to reach. Look out for the lamppost banners at various markets they help to give us a permanent shopfront

The A-board trailer is out weekly across all our sites. Its big and bold and cant be missed and gets around council restrictions on signage. If you have any suggestions on where we should leave it then please pass them on.

Market news

West Hampstead

The surface has been repaired after many years of asking the landlord and we hope that it has helped reduce the puddles and means drier feet through the winter. Thank You for your patience.

Marylebone

We are still working to secure permanent use of the street and hope to have news for you soon

South Kensington

The street will be refurbished this year and we will need to move, this will mean some disruption but we will move back to a purpose built market street with power and water and more visibility so a bit of short term pain for long term gain! We don't have exact details or timings yet but will let you know as soon as we do

Twickenham

There have been some scammers trying to con customers out of money at the parking machine if you notice anyone suspicious please report them to the manager or dial 101.

Queens Park

Please ensure there is no activity outside the front of the market on Salusbury Road until 7.30am at the earliest this includes parking outside the gates. No traders should start unloading or deliver to the site until 8am.

Any early arrivals should park legally in the surrounding area with their engines switched off.

A member of the office will be onsite this Sunday to ensure this is being followed.

The school has installed new play equipment so some stalls may need to be moved as we adjust the layout around the building works.

Split month is almost over.

It's the last split month until September. Thank you for remembering to attend on your correct weeks. This weekend it's a week 4 Saturday and week 5 Sunday, so if you attend on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays, you'll be at market this Sunday and again the following Sunday 5th February.

JANUARY 2023

Happy New Year! We hope you enjoyed a nice break and managed to get some rest.

We had to deal with a lot of snow and ice which impacted sites in Decembers big freeze. We have plenty of grit and salt in place, ready for whatever the rest of the winter may have in store for us.

January is normally a busy month. With everyone cutting back, we expect customers to go on holiday less, stay local, eat out less and cook at home more in 2023.

If you have any news to tell your customers or think we should be focusing our attention on something, then please get in touch. If you are finding sales slow or have an exciting new product to promote let us know and we might be able to help.

Signage is being improved for all markets and leaflet distributions are being organised for later in 2023. All markets will see a specific marketing campaign alongside the regular monthly customer newsletters and social media posts.

Split months in 2023 – (Especially for non-weekly stalls)

Split months/weekends often cause confusion.

January 2023 is a split weekend month which means this Saturday the 7th Jan is the first Saturday in the month and Sunday 8th Jan is the second Sunday in the month.

In 2022, we had a lot of stalls not turning up when scheduled or turning up when they weren’t expected on the fifth week in the month.

Please remember, we do not offer any stalls ‘alternate week attendance’. If you are on a schedule, you will have either been offered weeks 1/3/5 or weeks 2/4, please go back and check your original invites for your correct schedule. This is to ensure that we do not duplicate products or overbook markets that are at capacity.

If you attend on weeks 1/3/5, then you will attend consecutive weeks when these months occur.

If you attend on weeks 2/4 then you will have a 2-week gap when these months occur.

Please check your schedules and if need be, inform your team.

In 2023, the following market days have 5 weeks:

In January, September, and October these week fives create split weekends which are marked in red.

Christmas 2023

This year, Christmas day (25th December) falls on a Monday. This means that our December, week 4 markets will all take place as usual on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th. Trading hours will end one hour earlier for these markets.

2023 Catch up, Scheduling and Planning

We will be contacting most stalls for a catch up in early 2023. If you would like additional markets this year then we would be happy to discuss them or any other issues you might like to raise.

Prices!

Everyone MUST display prices on their stall, it's the law. Please make sure that all of your market kits includes prices.

Cash boxes

Sadly we're still getting thefts of cash boxes from markets. You might as well have a neon sign saying free cash here on your stall. PLEASE STOP USING THEM. It brings thieves to the market on a regular basis as they see you as easy pickings.

Building works West Hampstead have finished. They're still ongoing at Queens Park.

We hope you manage to get a good break; it's been another challenging year, but customers continue to greatly appreciate you with many saying that their market shop is the highlight of their week. Happy Christmas and a very happy new year.

November news

New markets

Notting Hill

Thank you for bearing with us. We're glad that we've been able to secure a site for the market and keep it going. We know that the get in is challenging, and we're doing the very best we can to make it as smooth as possible. Apart from a few grumbles about the time change from customers, most have been very complementary and happy that the market has a new home. As a reminder, the time change was put in to keep our close neighbours happy and make it more likely that the market will get planning permission and therefore be able to continue.

Willesden

Please bring weights! Lots of very good feedback and appreciation from local customers. Last week over 50% were still new to the market so the word is getting round. Over 15,000 leaflets were sent door to door, there are 15 banners and 30 corex sign up and lots of social media going out. There will also be more on street leafleting at the underground station.

Imperial returned on 27th September. We had to take a week's break for Freshers Week and return next Tuesday. We've been doing lots of leafleting and the plaza was buzzing yesterday with lots of students and staff delighted to know that the market is back. We've also been doing lots of on street leafleting for Bloomsbury where students returned in force this week.

Bird Flu

And so it goes on....If you're having problems with stocking, we can look at giving you a derogation to source from a free range or organic farm for a fixed period. We'll need the farm name and egg code, and can you please put clear info on your stalls so customers are aware. If you would like to share any info about Christmas poultry with customers please let us know to add it to the customer newsletter.

Ian and Sue

We've just heard the very sad news that Ian's wife Sue has passed away. Many of you have met Ian and may have met Sue too and have been asking after them. We've asked if Ian would like a donation to a cancer charity in Sue's name. When we hear anything we'll let you know. If you'd like to send a card do feel free to send to us and we'll forward.

Enviropack offer eco-friendly food packaging solutions and also specialise in bespoke packaging and custom branding.

Their products are:

• Compostable
• Biodegradable
• Recyclable

www.enviropack.org.uk

They're offering a 5% discount on a first order of £500.00 and above ex VAT. To claim the discount, quote ‘London Farmers Market’ when getting in touch with them.

They can also send samples of their products, by clicking on this link or contact their dedicated sales team for a chat about their products on 020 8428 9184.

What would you like to see in these newsletters? Please let us know!

August 2022

We know it can't be easy coping in this heat; we've seen that scattered showers are predicted on Monday,. Lets hope you get the rain you need. Customers really appreciate the effort you make to continue to farm, harvest, pick, plant, cook and bake in this hot weather. And to come to market.

Markets updates

Imperial will be back 27th September, planning permission is in.

Willesden; opening 10th September.

Notting Hill. As you know if you attend, we've been given notice and are having to make a swift move to a new site at Fox School. Jamie has been in touch with everyone; we're sorry if there's not room for you at the new site, we're very restricted with vehicle movements but we're doing our best to find alternative markets. The move will take place 27th August and market hours will change to 10am-2pm.

We've been asked by our landlords not to use the bins on site so please at the end of the day (or during the market) please don't use them and take your rubbish home with you.

Queens Park

Playground disruption as the school are bringing in new play equipment and tarmacking the main playground, so advance warning that stalls may need to move. We don't have a date yet but it's likely to be sometime over the next few weeks.

Thefts

Sadly, yet more thefts at markets. Thefts whilst setting up stalls; please be aware and don't leave phones/card readers/valuables unattended. Pick pockets have been active at some markets. PLEASE tell everyone working for you. Money has been taken from pockets of jackets so do constant checks on your money belts and not to leave any money in view. Cash boxes are always being stolen. Please don't use them!

If anyone has money taken please report to the police and get the crime reference number or call them yourself. If it's not reported, the police can't log it against any future incidents.

Prices

You MUST post prices on your stall, it's the law. Please don't forget.

Stall position at markets

Managers always do their best to make sure you have the same position each week but sometimes due to out of our hands events such as a parked car or road works they may need to move you. Please be patient.

Heat

We know it's not been easy to work in the heatwave. Thank you for bringing extra icepacks to keep your produce cool. If the heat continues, bring a side sheet for extra shade if you can.

The Promo Trailer is out most weekends; it's currently in High Street Kensington. Extra signs targeting schools are also going out. Recently they've gone out at West Hampstead, Islington, Twickenham and Parliament Hill. The promo bike is also in High Street Kensington and will be moved to Pimlico next.

A recent You Gov survey has revealed that 43% of shoppers now distrust supermarkets, believing the quality of food being sold is declining. They also feared that UK standards will be undermined by changing regulations and trade deals. Some customers are going to be heading your way, trusting in your USP. We may also find that as petrol prices increase, customers may be less inclined to drive to their supermarkets, preferring to walk to their local shops and farmers markets.

There has also been news about consumers reverting back to cash so that they can control their budgets.

The cost-of-living crisis

The current situation is making everyone feel anxious, regardless of their financial stability. Nobody can predict how the next few months will go, so be aware of budgets and provide something for everyone this Christmas if you can.

This year, as people are starting to feel the pinch of the cost-of-living crisis, we are also more likely to see a shift to smaller, affordable luxuries at the Christmas table as opposed to the big, traditional spread.

July

Prices

Prices are continuing to rise and we know that you may have to put up your prices. If you'd like to share your decision with us we'd be happy to inform customers. Please make sure that everyone on your stall can explain why prices have gone up. Not everyone understands the pressures you're under. In May we shared some prices at Waitrose. Here's those prices updated;

PRICING; COSTS RISING

If you get time, pop into other independent retailers to see what they are charging.

Minced Beef £10.63 per kg £4.25 (400g). July same

Sirloin Steak £33 per kg £5.94 per steak. July 30 day dry aged steak £37 kg

Organic pork sausages £11.03 per kg July £11.25kg

Free range pork sausages £8.75 per kg July £6.25 kg

Organic back bacon £24.46 per kg July £27.17 kg

Free range back bacon £19 per kg July £20.50 kg

Organic whole chicken £8.50 per kg July £9.75 kg

Free range whole chicken £6.90 per kg £10.90 average July £7.95 kg free range corn fed £13 average

Large organic eggs 6 £2.80 July £2.90

Onions 0.92 per kg 14p per onion loose July £1 kg

Organic onions £1.87 per kg £1.40 per 750g bag July same price

Carrots 0.60 per kg 8p per carrot loose July 0.70 kg

Organic carrots £1.70 per kg 1.10 for 650g bag July same price

Beetroot £3.60 per kg £1.80 bunch of three July £4 kg, £2 per bunch

Kale £10.67 per kg £1.60 for 150g bag July same price

Organic kale £9.45 per kg £1.70 for 180g bag July same price

Organic rocket bagged £2.15 per kg £1.50 for 70g bag July £1.60 70g

Pak Choi £6.81 per kg £1.60 for 235g bag July same price

Purple Sprouting Broccoli £10.87 per kg £2.50 for 230g tray July £11.30 kg bagged

Rhubarb £8.75 per kg £3.50 for 400g July £6.63 kg £2.65 400g

Organic Apples £6.25 per kg £2.50 per bag minimum of four July same price

Early British Strawberries £13.46 per kg £3.50 punnet July £5 kg £2 per punnet. Speciality strawberries £8.77 kg, £3.20 365g

Cherries July; £7.14 kg, £5 per 700g. £10 kg, £3.50 350g

Courgettes July organic £7.33 kg, £2.20 for 300g

Courgettes July £2.50kg sold loose

Anniversaries

Pimlico has just celebrated its 20th anniversary; hard to believe we know. In September West Hampstead will be ten years old!

This may be of interest; Oxbury Bank – A dedicated bank for farmers

Oxbury Bank opened its (virtual) doors in March 2021 and is the only UK bank 100% dedicated the farmers and food producers that are the core of the rural economy. Oxbury is different to the incumbent banks as it continues to use agriculturally trained relationship managers with all customers having named individuals available locally to their wherever they are in the UK. This, combined with new technology allows Oxbury to deliver quick lending decisions and competitively priced products, with repayment terms structured to meet the needs of farmers and food producers.

Oxbury operates 4 major products at present: Oxbury Farm Credit - an exclusive revolving credit account to fund farm inputs purchased from Oxbury approved suppliers; Oxbury Farm Loans – loans for longer-term requirements. Specifically focused on a range of farming needs from diversification to land purchase, consolidation and climate change; Oxbury Flexi Credit - an additional line of credit you can draw down into your main bank account; and Oxbury Savings Accounts - Any individual, farm or business can open an Oxbury savings account. Every pound saved with Oxbury goes to support the rural economy.

April 2022

COUNTERFIT £20 notes in circulation & pick pockets at markets

Fake £20's were being passed recently. They are plastic and good enough to pass a quick inspection, especially with serving gloves on.

The easiest way to tell is on the serial no. It is not sharp, it's printed on top rather than into and the letters are not continuous.... rather faded. Britannia is not golden but yellow and she is badly defined. No crispness. The overall colour of the notes is a little dark. This is the advice from The Bank of England, please share with your staff.

5 traders took these, all in response to a small purchase. No one has to accept £20 notes if you don't want to, and only want to take card payments.

Sadly pick pockets have been active at some markets. PLEASE tell everyone working for you. Money has been taken from pockets of jackets so do constant checks on your money belts and not to leave any money in view. A cash box was stolen last week. Please don't use them!

If anyone has money taken please report to the police and get the crime reference number or call them yourself. If it's not reported, the police can't log it against any future incidents.

PRICING; COSTS RISING

When was the last time you checked your prices? Clearly it’s an important time to check that your prices are covering costs. To help we thought we’d share some current Waitrose prices below to help with benchmarking, also if you get time, pop into other independent retailers like wholefoods to see what they are charging

Minced Beef £10.63 per kg £4.25 (400g)

Sirloin Steak £33 per kg £5.94 per steak

Organic pork sausages £11.03 per kg

Free range pork sausages £8.75 per kg

Organic back bacon £24.46 per kg

Free range back bacon £19 per kg

Organic whole chicken £8.50 per kg

Free range whole chicken £6.90 per kg £10.90 average

Large organic eggs 6 £2.80

Onions 0.92 per kg 14p per onion loose

Organic onions £1.87 per kg £1.40 per 750g bag

Carrots 0.60 per kg 8p per carrot loose

Organic carrots £1.70 per kg 1.10 for 650g bag

Beetroot £3.60 per kg £1.80 bunch of three

Kale £10.67 per kg £1.60 for 150g bag

Organic kale £9.45 per kg £1.70 for 180g bag

Organic rocket bagged £2.15 per kg £1.50 for 70g bag

Pak Choi £6.81 per kg £1.60 for 235g bag

Purple Sprouting Broccoli £10.87 per kg £2.50 for 230g tray

Rhubarb £8.75 per kg £3.50 for 400g

Organic Apples £6.25 per kg £2.50 per bag minimum of four

Early British Strawberries £13.46 per kg £3.50 punnet

Early Season British Asparagus £17.50 per kg £3.50 bundle of ten spears

STALL AUDITS

Stall fees are still based on sales, even though we don’t expect weekly adjustments now that they are collected by direct debit. So stall audits will continue as before to ensure that our fees are in line with sales and that we can see how markets are performing. Mangers will also be asking you for monthly sales reports from your card readers which will help to avoid full audits.

REFUNDS

If we make a mistake on payments please contact [email protected] We will refund for genuine sickness and problems but not routine cancellations or your own scheduling errors. We require you provide 10 days notice for a cancellation, which is a reasonable time for us to find a replacement, short notice cancellation due to a bit of rain or regular staff problems is chargeable

LEYTONSTONE HOURS

They will remain the same for at least the next 12 months – we have only just received planning permission so need to test a full year

WALTHAMSTOW REBOOT

We know its been a hard few months and so we will be giving it a marketing boost starting from the 8th of May with a few new stalls, door to door leaflet drop and reaching out to new communities.

Ealing and Islington are also having gaps filled with new stalls going in.

Imperial college CONFIRMED FOR September, please let us know if you're interested in attending.

SELLING OUT EARLY

We are encountering stalls selling out an hour early and packing up and leaving, clearly this won’t help your business build sales or help the market to attract more customers. We understand it's sometimes hard to judge but get your staff to report what time they sell out and adjust stock accordingly. As the better weather approaches and we restart our marketing expect the markets to see an increase in sales, if you have a good week put on more stock the following week.

SERVICING AND LOADING TIMES

You should have the information for your drivers for each market, if not contact the office for an update. Please don’t drop off or arrive at sites early, we get complaints from neighbours and local authorities.

SELLING TIMES, MARKET HOURS

All of our markets have strict start and end times, on our market licences. Please can you remind everyone on your stall only to sell during the market hours. If in doubt they can check with the market manager. In addition to our market licences, having a set time means you know when you need to be ready to sell so you have time to get your display ready (and get some breakfast!) and put out prices. Customers know when the market opens and closes so there is no confusion.

WILLESDEN OPENING DATE

TBC LATE MAY

POLITICS

Plenty of it around at the moment and there is a time and a place for everyone’s views but we don’t allow campaigning on our sites for any cause no matter how worthy, this saves arguments and is fair to everyone- so no signs and banners please.

NEW PRODUCTS

Let us know in advance if you are planning or have a new product line – we will add it to your record and may ask to see evidence that it complies with the rules. We can then promote it and it saves any confusion or delays in restricting its sale

March 2022

OUR DEDICATED FARMER PRODUCER LINE IS 020 7833 5007 MON- FRI 9-5 [email protected]

ALL PLANNED CHANGES TO SCHEDULES AND CANCELLATIONS MUST BE SENT IN WRITING TO THE EMAIL ABOVE TO AVOID BEING CHARGED

Markets and Imperial news

We're giving Walthamstow a boost with 5-6 new stalls & a leaflet drop 8th May

T&Cs on direct debits

Please see the revised document HERE which covers all points on direct debits.

Remember that payment is not collected on the day you receive the notification from us, it is collected 3 days later. We still require 10 days notice for a change to your schedule.

Jubilee Weekend in June

The markets will be open as usual. Please let us know ASAP if you're not planning to attend.

Christmas 2022

Markets will trade as normal on Saturday 24th December with some extra markets will take place on Thursday 22nd for closed Sundays; - Marylebone, Blackheath, Queens Park, Leytonstone, High Street Ken and Islington.

Evening Markets

They were fun but a lot of work and they reached a peak during lockdowns and then never really recovered. We currently don't have enough interest from stalls to run 'Lates' this year and will focus our attention on boosting weekend markets with what could be a tough trading period ahead.

Walthamstow

We are are working on more stalls for the spring season and it will receive a good publicity boost in the spring with more signs and leafleting. We realise that the extra competition in the area is making trading harder.

Windy weather requirements

A gazebo blew away at Leytonstone recently, please advise your team to be extra careful when you're setting up and breaking down gazebos, at the point when weights are removed and your canopies are vulnerable. Minimum requirements for weights are in the revised handbook HERE on page 8. If you don't bring enough weights you might be asked to take your canopy down.

Vouchers

No vouchers are being issued by us any longer and not accepted by LFM going forward

Your news

Customer news is being sent out monthly on average. If you have any news you'd like shared with customers, please try to give us at least two weeks notice rather than telling us late on a Friday afternoon.

Manager contacts; latest updated list please see here

For all correspondence on markets issues please use [email protected]. Ian's personal email is not in use. Jamie will be pleased to help with all of your queries on scheduling / payments and any other queries.

Jan 2022

PARKING CHANGES NOTTING HILL and BLACKHEATH THIS WEEK

The car park operators at both sites have moved to ANPR ( automatic number plate recognition ) This means if you have been parking without paying or in unpermitted places you will now be charged. We have little control over how these fees / charges will be implemented.

Blackheath

NEW JAN UPDATE. All traders accessing the car park for any reason MUST submit their licence plate to LFM to avoid being charged. If you change vehicles and do not inform us of the new registration in time we cannot guarantee you wont be charged. Please send your vehicle registration plate ASAP to [email protected] so that we can organise your exemption.

For all stalls wanting to park all day YOU MUST now pay for parking to cover the duration of your stay. You may be fined if you don't purchase a ticket, this is a permanent change- follow the instruction in the car park - this includes vehicles behind stalls and all other locations in the car park

We are also continuing to remind customers and stallholder that since weekend charges were introduced, parking on the streets outside the car park is free.

Notting Hill

No one is permitted to park in the service road at the back of the shops or under the building – if you do you may receive a fine as cameras are now installed. These parking restriction have always been in place but have been largely ignored by most businesses. This may also include parking behind stalls too. Loading times are now strictly 6.30 - 9.15 and 12.45- 2.30pm if you park or block the service road outside of these times you may receive a PCN

IF YOU ARRIVE LATE TO AVOID CHARGES UNLOAD FROM NEWCOMBE STREET BY THE CHURCH

There is metered parking Uxbridge Street and other street or a pay and display car park on Bayswater Road or at Kensington Town Hall.

SCAM ALERT

Please watch out for this man at markets. The picture is from 2016 but he was recognised at one of our markets last weekend where he employed a scam that he has successfully used to con stall holders in the past, he generally wears a tracksuit and can have a small beard and glasses. He pretended to be a mechanic who had been told to get money from a stall for repair of a company vehicle which had broken down. He does his research and knows the names of people in the company and when challenged will pretend to have a 'phone conversation with the stallholder's boss. He is very plausible. Please warn your stallholders about him, and tell them that if they see him or he attempts to con them they should tell the market manager and other stallholders as soon as they can because if he fails at one stall he doesn't leave, he moves on to another that is out of sight of the first and tries again.

RBKC are consulting on plans for the permanent pedestrianisation of Bute Street.
This might include resurfacing and providing some trees and seating. We have been involved in early discussions with the Council to try and ensure that the proposed changes help the market as well or are at least neutral.

The link for the consultation document  is HERE.

We unfortunately have major concerns with the proposals.

RBKC have not offered us a cast iron guarantee to protect the farmers market and we therefore will be objecting to the proposals for the following reasons:

• Reduction in stall space leading to smaller stalls and a reduction in stall numbers on the market meaning less choice for customers and potentially lower sales for stalls, undermining the viability and stability of the market.
• A possible 6 month building programme with no information on how this might be managed or if the market is required to move and no temporary location for the market. No guarantee that the farmers market won’t need to close for at least 6 months
• Less flexible space for restaurant seating and servicing.
• Less space to service the market and shops making servicing access more difficult especially from Old Brompton Road

The proposals could easily include more answers / solutions to the above concerns, but they do not. For the sake of some benches and trees the Council are putting the future of the farmers market at risk which is worrying for us, and we are sure it will be for you too. There is an option to allow stalls to spill out on to Harrington Road that isn’t mentioned in the consultation document and currently we have no guarantees this will happen if the project goes ahead.

We urge you to respond to the consultation, objecting to them in their current form and requesting they are revised to include the following:

The addition of 4 market stall spaces on Harrington Road to ensure stall numbers are not reduced.
A guaranteed temporary place for the market to move to if the works go ahead.
A more flexible space for stalls and for restaurant seating and easier access for vehicle servicing from Old Brompton
Road.
Fewer planters and fewer cycle racks to continue to ensure that the market can operate with the same number of stalls.

If the Council cannot provide these simple guarantees then we would prefer the street to remain as it is which works perfectly fine for retailers and the market.

The place to send your views is to [email protected]

Farming Investment Fund

The Government are offering grants for investing in new technology see here

There is a £27 million pot to invest in productivity boosting equipment. Farmers are being urged to apply for grants to buy new equipment and infrastructure to help improve efficiency and build greener.

Ultra Low Emission Zone is in operation – operating 24 hours, seven days a week (except Christmas Day) and covering all areas within the North and South Circular roads. TfL is urging drivers to use its online vehicle checker to make sure they don’t get caught out.

You can see the full release HERE

Food Safety Training from The Safer Food Group

They've been in touch to offer the following;

If purchased directly from their website (https://bit.ly/3CtdZVZ), courses are priced as below:

Level 2 Food Hygiene: £12 + VAT

Level 2 Allergy Awareness (inc. Natasha’s Law): £12 + VAT

Level 2 Health & Safety: £12 + VAT

Level 2 HACCP: £12 + VAT

Level 3 Food Hygiene: £89 + VAT

If purchased by NMTF members through their website, Level 2 courses are available at £10 + VAT, and Level 3 at £75 + VAT.

Marketing

Leaflet drops were delivered in September at Islington, Queens Park, Balham, Pimlico, High St Kensington, South Kensington, Walthamstow and Wimbledon.

Allergens labelling came into force 1st October. Please be ready if you're bringing packaged foods. See HERE.

Looking for staff?

Try Roots for Work. It's a platform to find people who are looking for sustainable food jobs in the UK and if you need quick agency staff to fill in try SYFT

Aug 2021

Fake £20 alert; a well dressed man, with a red wallet full of cash all £20, came to Blackheath when it was really busy. Please be aware they're circulating.

Face coverings

The legal requirement to wear a face covering has ended. Government guidance says it "expects and recommends" the continued wearing of masks in crowded areas. Continue to wear one if it makes you feel comfortable.

Save the date!

The news this week is that 19th July marks the end of COVID restrictions. Whilst the Government says they're 'very confident' that lockdown restrictions will be lifted then who knows if this will be the case!

We all still need to be cautious so please; continue to wear face coverings and keep your distance. Outdoors is safer and customers know that. We will still keep an eye on queues especially for hot food and maintain layouts that spread out as much as possible. Some councils will be slow to relax their requirements so expect some differences across markets. We have to follow each local authorities advice across London and there are variations. Where cafes have offered the use of toilets again we have removed portable toilets as real loos are far more sanitary then temporary ones.

Plastic bag charges; a reminder that there is a new law in place which means you must charge 10p per bag; there are some caveats in place where you don't need to charge so please read.

There are 5 Saturdays and 4 Sundays this month! Please be aware especially if you're still in an attending every other week mindset because you may be turned away from your market if you turn up on the wrong week.

July the 31st is the 5th Saturday and August the first is the 1st Sunday so if you are not a weekly stall your delivery schedule may need adjusting through August. Please plan for this and if in doubt please call us!

Notting Hill; Thank you for your patience whilst we deal with fly tipping issues at Notting Hill. We’d like to remind all farmers and producers that market waste should be taken away after market rather than adding to the existing problem.

Acceptable behaviour. This time last year we had to include a link to our rules about acceptable behaviour at markets. Sadly we've got to do so again.

Please refer to rule 20 that you agreed to when you accepted our offer to trade at the markets. Such behaviour or threats in any work place or public place will not be tolerated in relation to anyone at the markets including other stallholders, our staff, market managers and customers. We will take swift action against anyone / any business engaging or ignoring this sort of behaviour to ensure it does not take place on the markets.

Direct Debit Project Update; Our Islington and Twickenham markets are having fees collected by Direct Debit now. This means no more payments at market, just turn up, trade and go. No carrying cash or cheques to pay the fees and no counting money out at market.

South Kensington fees will be collected by Direct Debit from the 3rd of July with High Street Kensington, Queens Park and West Hampstead markets planned for August. In September we will be busy with the launch of the new markets and re-opening of Imperial & Bloomsbury (see below) so roll-out will then pause until October.

Gated sites; often our managers are waiting a long time for drivers to turn up to pick up your kit. Please can you ask your staff to take their kit outside the market and not leave on site. This only applies to gated sites.

New markets; we're hoping to open new markets in September and reopen Imperial and Bloomsbury. Please talk to Ian if you're interested in attending.

Consumers are turning to local products and 'clean' labels. The latest survey shows that people are keener than ever on local produce, but they're also getting better at reading labels and paying attention to what's on them.

On the 1st October 2021 new legislation will be introduced to ensure that foods pre-packed for direct sales will have a full list of ingredients and allergins displayed clearly on the packaging. If you're not already doing this please make sure that you get your labelling up to date in time for the change in law.

June 2021

With the relaxation many customers will have no doubt left the capital to see family and friends or to go on holiday, this has impacted on sales and this half term holiday could be quiet too. However on the bright side a lot of staycations are planned this summer as air travel still looks very risky, this should mean a busier July and August, keep us posted on how its going through the summer. To help with this lull we are carrying out leaflet distributions across all markets to help give the markets a push and attract new customers.

Leaflet drops in June at Blackheath, Ealing, Marylebone, Parliament Hill, Twickenham, West Hampstead.

AA signs applied for in Balham, South Kensington and Pimlico.

Lamp post banners going up at Swiss Cottage and applied for in Walthamstow and Parliament Hill.

Leaflet drops in September at Islington, Notting Hill, Queens Park, Balham, Notting Hill/High St Kensington, Wimbledon.

Direct Debit Payments have started at Islington farmers market. The introduction has gone very smoothly so far and Twickenham farmers market will follow from June with all the other markets gradually moving away from cash on the day payments over the next 12 months. We still have a few issues to sort out with the reports managers submit to us but that won't impact on your payments. The move away from cash has been dramatic in the last year and this is the best solution all round, it means a fairly automated process each week which ensures you no longer have to deal with lots of receipt stubs each week and you also do not need to remember to pay lots of weekly invoices. Less paperwork all round which has to be a good thing. If you have comments about these changes please get in touch. Please make sure you report to us in advance if you plan to miss a market or you will be charged.

Weekday markets at Bloomsbury and Imperial are pencilled in for September- If the students are there we want to be there too. A new market for September is on the cards for Saturdays in Willesden, information will be sent out soon. We are working on some other ideas for September too.

Plastic bag charges; new law in place which means you must charge 10p per bag; there are some caveats so please read.

May 2021

Sampling on stalls

Sampling can resume from this weekend but the following rules must be observed by stallholders. These rules are permanent and will apply to sampling after covid recedes.

1 - Individual samples only, provided from the stall direct to a customer- no communal bowls or plates with samples on out front for people to touch.

2 - No cocktail sticks or plastic sampling cups are permitted, they create too much waste which is dropped on the ground and difficult to clear up after market. Chip forks or wooden coffee stirrers may be used instead of a cocktail stick

3 - Customers must be handed their sample on a napkin or in a paper condiment cup for drinks.

Drink sample cups can be found here:

https://www.cater4you.co.uk/acatalog/1fl.oz-Paper-Sauce-Pot-GEPAPPW5000A_.html?gclid=CjwKCAjw-e2EBhAhEiwAJI5jg1SLmzdyX_5WFCXe22FgIeW1PzjCxY2wTsymJ5aLU4uxDJlnTzxIBRoCDTsQAvD_BwE

Cooking

Stalls will be allowed to serve hot food open for consumption on the market again from Saturday 22nd May. You must continue to ensure that your cooking arrangements remain covid secure:

1 - Staff must wear masks

2 - No communal condiments out front. You must ask customers if they want ketchup / relish and serve it for them. Again, this is a permanent change to the way we work.

3 - Queens Park. Stalls serving to the outside of the market at Queens Park must continue to do so.

Plastic bag charges; new law in place please read.

Plastics and packaging

The latest research shows that consumers are still very passionate about saving the planet see HERE.

They want to be able to buy produce in earth friendly packaging, or to be able to use their own bags and containers which we very much encourage. More info on packaging in the March news below.

March 2021

Favourite stall

All banners are out. If you've not received yours yet please let us know. If you've not sent us a photo of your winning banner please do.

Face coverings

Thank you for wearing a face covering at market; it makes customers feel more secure shopping at your stall. We know it's not the law but there's been lots of discussions about it including comments on The Today Programme from The Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty. If you're selling hot food you must wear one.

Card readers

If you don't have one on your stalls please make sure you get one! We recommend Square.

Sneeze guards

Please don't forget yours if you're bringing ready to eat foods, breads, quiches, cakes etc. You can use plastic film or a barrier, whichever is easiest for you but you MUST do it at every market you attend.

Vouchers

A new batch of vouchers are in circulation to customers who won the favourite stall competition at your market. If you receive one in payment can you please send a photo of them together with your bank details and which market, so that we can make payment to you.

On the ground?

If you're selling at a market where customers are bringing dogs in please don't put crates on produce at ground level unless you want bread/fruit/veg to be peed on! Please put produce at least 3 crates above ground level.

Music at markets

It's a sensitive issue which is why we only have live music at certain markets and none at others. We've not had music during the COVID crisis because we want customers to leave, not linger. Please check with the market manager before playing loud music on speakers or phones.

Packaging

Flowers; if you're still using plastic film that can't be recycled can you consider this?

Kampac Eco Disposables.

If you're looking for a new packaging supplier, Kampac have got in touch with us. They supply eco-friendly compostable and sustainable food packaging. www.kampac.co.uk

[email protected] or call them on 0203 795 8217

If you're packaging products can you please make it clear whether the packaging can be recycled?

Social Media

Some of you have dedicated staff who do your posts and social media for you. Please can you share their contact details with Cheryl so that she can contact them directly?

Mission Kitchen, a new commercial kitchen and flexible workspace for food entrepreneurs is opening this spring by New Covent Garden Market in Vauxhall. They're the place for small businesses, growing brands and professional food makers of every kind in need of proper kitchen space to upgrade their prep, production or product development. They also want to make food fairer, actively supporting business owners and learners from under-represented groups, providing bursaries to people who otherwise might not be able to pay for membership, and providing training and mentorship to help people develop the skills they need to start a business.

To celebrate their launch, they are inviting a limited number of founding members to join them for an exclusive two month soft launch period, joining a hand-picked group of food entrepreneurs with early access to the site, half-price membership, exclusive offers and the chance to shape what Mission Kitchen becomes. Head over to their page or website at missionkitchen.org

Your news

We're sending emails to customers weekly and it would be great to have your news to share with them. Did last weeks storms affect you? Whether it's what you're planting, what's happening on your farms and fishing boats, cuts of meat you want to promote, a new product, something coming into season please let us know.

Jan 2021

Happy New Year!

The good news is that markets remain open during this current period of lockdown. We must however increase our focus on the markets being a safe environment for customers and stallholders.

For hot food stalls this means food must be served in closed containers and customers told that they must not eat it on site. Managers will stop hot food stalls from cooking if their queue is long and interferes with customer flow or if customers are staying on the market to eat so please ensure the message is clear to customers that they must take their food away and manage your queues. If you are preparing hot food to eat you must now wear a face covering

We ask that all stallholders wear face coverings during market hours and, while we understand that they are not mandatory, we would strongly recommend wearing them. Customers feel safer when people are wearing them and we have good evidence that customers are beginning to avoid stalls where staff are not wearing a face covering so this is will affect your business.

22nd December Tier 4

Markets remain open as an essential service as they did during Lockdown, the dates below and above are still accurate. Temporary toilets will be reinstated ASAP in January at markets where they are required. We would urge you to consider additional screens and masks for your staff in the NEW YEAR. A 'nearly' normal service will resume with all markets open as usual on the 2nd and 3rd January 2020. Further updates about any changes will be posted here on the 5th January 2021

17th December 

A huge thank you to all of you for selling under extreme conditions this year. It's not been easy for any of us.

There have been some huge positives too High Street Ken has got off to a great start and its been really good to see Balham and Blackheath doing so well.

We've received so many compliments from customers, delighted to see you, happy to be able to buy fresh, seasonal produce, to chat with you at markets. For many it's been their only outing of the week, and their lifeline. Lots of people have discovered your produce for the first time and we hope that it's a habit they continue to follow next year.

If you've not been able to get to markets this year, we hope that you are well and able to return next year.

Customer have been asking whether the markets are going ahead under Tier 3 and of course, they are. Food markets remain vital resources. The last market of the year for most markets will be 23rd December. For Blackheath and Queens Park it will be 27th December. We return as normal on the 2nd and 3rd January 2021. If you can't attend early January markets please can you let Ian know.

If you have any concerns or challenges about 2021 drop us a line when you have 5 minutes to think about the year ahead

We wish you a very happy Christmas, and a very happy New Year. Hope you get time to relax with your families.

Payment Changes 2020

This year has advanced the demise of cash payments by customers on the markets and the knock on effect will mean that we need to change the way you pay the fees and means finding a new solution for everyone. A survey we carried out at one market said that customers had changed their habits in the last few months and 50% of customers now ONLY use card (they don't carry cash anymore). The current cash arrangements will not be sustainable in the long term as fewer and fewer stalls will have cash to pay the fees on the day and having a situation where some stalls pay by cash, some by bank payment and some by credit card is not manageable in the long term. The simplest solution for all concerned when it comes to regular payments is a direct debit solution. This will mean working out your average payment at a market over the last few months to a year or from an audit and then setting this up as a fixed weekly payment, you will be emailed a VAT invoice. We are working with a provider at the moment and expect to test the first market in early 2021. Most stalls pay very similar fees throughout the year with only a little variation week to week so an average fee will just even out payments across the year. Your new fixed average fees will be kept at the right level by audits very similar to what we do now.

On a related point: if you don't have a card reader at every market yet use the Christmas break to get them ready for 2021- you are losing sales if 50% of customers cannot shop with you!

Farm Visits / Production Visits

This will start again in 2021 ( a small number of outside visits have been completed in 2020). We are keen to get out to see what you are growing and what's new. Clearly social distancing outside on visits is easier than inside, but if you want us to wear a mask or whatever you need us to do to keep the visits safe please let us know.

Bird Flu back again

If bird flu has affected you in any way please let us know. If it's similar to last time, with eggs that have to be sold as free range instead of organic, we can write a piece explaining why to customers.

Extra Christmas markets- Reminder

We have added High Street Kensington to the list of markets we will run on the 23rd December and we will open at Queens Park and Blackheath on the 27th December. Let Ian know if you would like to attend any of these additional markets or any of those already announced (see below) as there are a few spaces left.

Extra Christmas market dates Wednesday 23rd December

10am-1pm Parliament Hill, West Hampstead, Swiss Cottage, Islington, Blackheath, Marylebone, Queens Park

9am-12pm Balham, Wimbledon, Pimlico, South Ken and Notting Hill.   

Twickenham, Ealing and High Street Kensington will be for collections only on the 23rd.with no manager as we won't get permission to use the space; we will reserve some space for stalls wanting to attend to distribute orders from vans.

AUDITS

Stall audits are continuing; auditors have been given COVID guidance and a risk assessment has been carried out. Our team must wear a mask if in / on your stall. As usual it is easier to carry out an audit if your staff cooperate which means sharing sales info and speaking loudly or writing down the sales transaction which will mean our team can keep their distance. We are happy for businesses to share sales data / transaction history with us from their card machines which may reduce the need for regular audits at the stall in the future. If you’d prefer this method of audit then please let us know.

We are specifically looking at businesses who never vary their payments to us especially at busier times of the year. We are disappointed at the number of recent audits already showing routine underpayments. Businesses who demonstrate a clear lack of interest in reporting accurate sales from week to week will be charged a fixed minimum fee going forward and this is likely to be higher than the rate we find on an audit, especially when there is a wide margin of error. We have worked very hard to keep the markets open this year with huge additional staffing costs, it is simply not fair for a majority of businesses to pay the correct fee according to sales and others to try and get away with paying less. Thank you  in advance for your cooperation.

A couple of reminders about the current rules:

Hot Food

We're trying to ensure that customers are not eating hot food within the market. All hot food must be sold closed and ready to take off-site to avoid lingering and overcrowding

Sampling

No samples of any kind are allowed to be offered.- please don't use cocktail sticks at all the make a real mess and schools in particular hate them.

6 Nov 2020

The second lockdown is here but all our markets are going ahead this weekend. There will be no changes to the way we currently operate but we will keep hot food and drink sales under review and if we find they are encouraging people to linger at markets we may have to suspend them as we did during the last lockdown.

Portable toilets have been distributed to all markets where they are needed with the exception of South Kensington where there was an issue with delivery. There is a public toilet available outside South Kensington tube station but you will need a 20p to use it!

We may be putting down chalk marks to help guide your queues in busy markets or congested areas. Please encourage your staff to wear masks if they are working in close proximity to customers.

8 Oct 2020

September brought queues back to many markets where we're limiting numbers. We're moving people through as fast as we can by encouraging customers to shop alone, not to hang around for long and to take hot food out of the market, we expect to keep entrance queues shorter to help your sales but please serve quickly and encourage customers to move on it will help everyone's sales.

Please continue to stay safe; keep your distance from customers as much as you can. Wash your hands with soap and water as much as possible or use hand sanitiser especially after using the loo. Avoid touching surfaces and do not touch your face. Do not socialise with neighbouring stalls.

Make sure you have hand sanitizer on your stalls. If you're sick, stay home! 

Use a selfie stick for card readers, tape them to your gazebo legs or place at the front of your stall. If you're still only taking cash please do consider accepting card payments. It's become the most commonly asked question from customers. 

Important - Invoicing for stall fees

We had been invoicing for a few stall fees that could not be paid on the day because of a lack of cash. We are no longer doing this because we still need to focus our staff resources on keeping the markets open and not chasing unpaid invoice payments or payments made in error. It is simpler to pay on the day for everyone;  stalls expect to get paid on the day and for the time being so do we. We are working on an electronic payment solution so fees can be paid without CASH but it will take sometime to put in place, one system, so something that will suit everyone.

We now require stall fees to be paid at market with cash or a cheque. Stallholders that have struggled to pay with cash have found using cheques works well. Please make arrangements to have cash to pay fees or to get a cheque book from your bank for the purpose.

Face Coverings 

We encourage all our customers and stallholders to wear a mask at our markets.

The legal position however, as far as we understand, is that masks are not mandatory. The Cabinet Office issued the following clarification to the trade association NABMA earlier this week:

“The new measures will extend the requirement to wear a face covering to staff where it already exists for customers in retail environments. This would therefore apply to all indoor market settings (where it currently applies to customers) but not outdoor market settings (where it currently does not).”

Market opening times

Markets are opening early if all stalls are set up and vehicles removed and it's safe to do so. Managers are being asked to ring the market bell to mark the opening time so it's clear to everyone when the market is open. 

Track and Trace                                                                                                                                       

All closed sites are being given Track and Trace signs that customers can opt to scan and check in. 

Hot Food Lines                                                                                                                                   

We're ensuring that customers are not eating hot food within the market. All hot food must be sold closed and ready to takeaway off-site. This is to help move numbers through the market, especially on gated sites with queues. Please make sure that your HACCP is up to date including COVID secure measures.  You will need to continue with COVID measures including not putting out cutlery or condiments, sealing containers and making it clear to customers that the food is to take away and not eat on site. You will also need handwashing and exceptional personal hygiene on your stalls. If your queues are unmanageable or the market is too congested with people eating we will stop hot food sales again.

Sampling

No samples at all please. We realise that this is different from previous advice but it's been confusing for some stall holders and our managers keep finding cocktail sticks on the ground so it's easier to say no to all sampling.

Keep your distance

Please do not socialise in groups with other stallholders or customers and keep 2m from each other. Don’t get too close to your neighbouring stall, bring a side sheet to help. Come to market to sell and then leave. It is very easy to be complacent and to forget that there is a pandemic and you are vulnerable. 

Scammer

'Our' scammer is back at markets; he was spotted at Islington two weeks ago and sadly, fooled a stall holder into handing over cash. It's the same old story; he approaches a stall holder, usually a woman on their own and says he's come from the boss with a request to collect cash to pay for something (vehicle parts etc). He'll pretend to call to confirm. DO NOT HAND OVER ANY CASH. We've been sharing this same message for years but because it doesn't trickle down, your stall holders are continuing to get scammed. Please let all of your stall holders know. Share the link to this news with everyone who works for/with you. Managers should have leaflets with his image to hand out if requested and two images of him are below.

If this happens to you, call the police and alert the market manager. If you can call whilst he's at the market it's a 999 call. 

Away from markets?

If you have spent an extended time away from markets because of personal issues or shielding we will do our best to find you a space on our markets but we cannot guarantee to offer you a space immediately when you want to return, or to give you the same schedule or markets you were at before you took time out, any concerns please get in touch.

Customers continue to say thank you, every week that our markets have remained open and thanks should be shared with the managers and stewards who have put themselves on the front line with you through this difficult time.

MARKET NEWS

High Street Kensington: opened two weeks ago. It could replace Notting Hill once building works begin there but for the moment it's a sister market every Sunday, a lovely tree lined road which we get to close to traffic for 4 hours which the local residents are really enjoying.

Queens Park Lates: On FRIDAYS, has paused weekly from this week until the Spring. But we have some exciting seasonal special dates for Halloween- 30th October and pre Christmas -27th Nov and 4th and 11th Dec. If you want to attend with Christmas goodies let us know.

Parliament Hill Sundays: It's still early days, we do need a few more stalls to attend and remember if it rains on Saturdays through the winter customers won't always queue but they will come out on a Sunday if you are there.

Imperial: We hope to reopen soon discussions with the college are advanced we are waiting for a date. 

Bloomsbury: Unfortunately has been put back until 2021, we are targeting a date of 1st April 2021.  We have been discussing options with the colleges and finding out when students will be back. We may open with a smaller number of stalls and rotate stalls to test demand. News on the hospital markets is still limited; we will update you as soon as we can.

Christmas

We know that a few of you are already advertising Christmas poultry orders. Please let us know if you have any information you want shared with customers. If you won't be attending Christmas markets and doing drop offs please let us know. We reported earlier this year about consumer research that said many people were planning to splurge on a good Christmas instead of taking an expensive holiday this year so we hope that all your orders will be healthy.

Extra Christmas market dates Wednesday 23rd December - YES all on one day!

10am-1pm Parliament Hill, West Hampstead, Swiss Cottage, Islington, Blackheath, Queens Park

9am-12pm Balham, Wimbledon and Notting Hill.  

Subject to council permission;

9am -noon Pimlico and South Ken

10am – 1pm Marylebone and Walthamstow 

Twickenham, and Ealing will be for collections only on the 23rd.with no manager as we won't get permission to use the space; we will reserve some space for stalls wanting to attend to distribute orders from vans.

MARKETS CLOSED 26th DEC

Please let Ian know by 16th October if you'd like to attend, even if it's not your usual market. Can you also please let him know if you'll be doing orders and dropping off outside of market hours so we can inform customers. 

Markets will then reopen on the 2nd and 3rd January. If you're not going to attend PLEASE let Ian know.

Lard

Still getting requests for lard from high high welfare pigs. Is anyone making it?

That's all from us for now. Any feedback you'd like to share?

Kind regards

All of us at LFM

23/07/2020

MARKET NEWS

As the school holidays start we have seen the usual exodus from London, more so in some cases as people have been allowed to travel for the first time in 3 months. Customers will be back, but  there will be a few slow weeks to come.

To start on a serious note we have received a complaint about sexualised comments and harassment across more than one market and involving more than one business. Please do not assume that this relates to your business but we wanted everyone to know. We consider the matter serious enough that we should write to everyone to remind every business that this is not acceptable behaviour at our markets. 

Please refer to rule 20 that you agreed to when you accepted our offer to trade at the markets. Such behaviour in any work place or public place will not be tolerated in relation to anyone at the markets including other stallholders, our staff and customers. We will take swift action against anyone / any business engaging or ignoring this sort of behaviour to ensure it does not take place on the markets.

For the avoidance of doubt sexual harassment includes but is not limited to:

-Intrusive sexually explicit questions

-Rating a person’s sexual attractiveness

-Unwelcome patting, hugging or touching of a person’s body, hair or clothing

-Offensive or suggestive sexual comments 

-Disparaging remarks to a person about her/his gender, body or gender identity

-Making sexual gestures with hands or through body movements

-Jokes about sex or gender stereotypes

It is everyone’s responsibility to act with mutual respect. Our markets should be a comfortable working environment for everybody. Harassment of any sort is not something anyone should have to put up with. If you see or hear anything you are concerned about please email the office or mention it to a manager. London Farmers Markets encourage everyone to report any concerns or complaints about sexual harassment to us or to the relevant authorities and we will take appropriate action.

COVID UPDATES

It's now time to change the message we are giving out to customers. We will be focusing on the positives our markets offer, the main one being that we are outdoors which we hope will encourage even more customers to try the markets in September.

You are now allowed to socially distance at 'one metre plus', but the advice is still to stick to two metres where you can, to protect yourself from catching coronavirus. Masks or face coverings are not required outdoors but you can wear them if you think your circumstance require them.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE HAND SANITIZER ON ALL YOUR STALLS.

Please do not socialise in groups with other stallholders or customers and keep 2m from each other. Don’t get too close to your neighbouring stall,  bring a side sheet to help. Come to market to sell and then leave. It is very easy to be complacent and to forget that there is a pandemic and that you are vulnerable. 

To minimise the risk of transmission via surface contact, you should:

Regularly wash your hands using soap and water or use hand sanitiser especially after using the loo. Avoid touching surfaces and do not touch your face.

Current measures at markets with gates will stay in place until September when we will review them in relation to government advice, but more customers will be let in from August and you shouldn't see any queues outside the market for the time being. We have increased numbers of customers onto gated sites in line with social distancing updates. There are now shorter queues outside and more shoppers in the market and we will continue to improve on this where possible. The stewards will stay for the time being to prevent congestion on sites and to help managers with problems but less chalk and more common sense! Temporary toilets are being removed where there are more hygienic cafes and alternatives nearby. 

We hope to reopen South Ken & Bloomsbury mid-week markets in October. We have been discussing options with the colleges and finding out when students will be back. We may open with a smaller number of stalls and rotate stalls to test demand. News on the hospital markets is limited; we will update you as soon as we can.

If you have spent an extended time away from markets because of personal issues or shielding we will do our best to find you a space on our markets but we cannot guarantee to offer you a space immediately when you want to return, or to give you the same schedule or markets you were at before you took time out, any concerns please get in touch.

New Markets

We have launched Queens Park Lates on Fridays which has gone well and Parliament Hill on Sundays which has been a bit slow to start. Customer surveys shows that less than 50% of customers shop at these markets weekly on their existing days of operation. We will therefore give them more options to shop on a different day and to try at the same time to reduce the length of queues outside now before winter. We will get your feedback and review their performance in September. It’s likely that Queens Park Lates will take a seasonal break when the school returns in September and will mainly feature hot food.

Cooking

We've introduced hot cooked food back into markets.

If you aren’t cooking yet please get ready. Please make sure that your HACCP is up to date including COVID secure measures.

You will need to continue with COVID measures including not putting out cutlery or condiments, sealing containers and making it clear to customers that the food is to take away and not eat on site. You will also need handwashing on the stall and exceptional personal hygiene on your stalls. 

Notting Hill

The secretary of state has granted permission for the development. There are a few more legal hurdles for them to get through but it now looks like the development is going ahead. We will keep you updated on time frames and alternative locations as soon as we have more information. We may have a new site ready to go and we are likely to trial this on Sundays rather than Saturdays with a September opening date.

NEW PROMO TRAILER HITS THE STREETS

Some of our markets take place in areas where local authorities limit or ban signs for markets and refuse planning permission for them. We think this is unfair and gives an advantage to big chains and shops over markets. Rather than moan about this we have designed and built a trailer which can take interchangeable signage panels and will be left in high profile locations to help boost our more hidden markets. Hopefully you will see it about.

Any feedback for us? It's the start of school holidays; whether we'll see the traditional downturn in sales at some markets remains to be seen; some markets were quiet last weekend but fewer people are expected to go overseas this summer.

Research shows consumers are planning a big Christmas instead of holidays abroad. ‘Treating’ is a key trend, with loyalty shifting to local shops and we hope, farmers markets!

Thank you to those of you who have managed to attend during COVID; we know it's not been easy. To those of you who are shielding, we miss you and hope to see you back at markets soon. If you have any news or updates please let us know.

Customers continue to share their gratitude every week that our markets have remained open and thanks should be shared with the managers and stewards who have put themselves on the front line with you through this difficult time.

If there is any news or info you'd like to share with customers, please let us know we have 1000's of customers on email who would love to hear about your products. We’d particularly like to hear from you if you sell meat/poultry/eggs/fish/dairy/game. It’s easier to promote seasonal fruit and vegetables and we’d like to be able to talk about your products too. We would also really appreciate it if you could share some up to date farm shots/portraits. It's been pointed out that some of the images we're using are (ahem) a few years old but if we don't have anything up to date, you'll keep your eternal youthfulness....

03/07/2020

It is hard to predict what effect the relaxation of the social distancing rules and the re-opening of shops will have on the markets this weekend. We remain bound by the local authorities interpretations of the distancing rules for markets so you will see little or no discernable changes in layouts yet although we hope to get more customers through the markets in the coming weeks.

At present we have increased costs and less stall space on the markets so it is vitally important to us to keep the markets as full as possible. With lockdown eased and the holiday season coming up we will now, where we don't recieve 10 days notice by email to [email protected], be charging no show fees automatically.

Please ensure you have, at the very least, hand sanitiser for your staff on all your stalls from this weekend.

27/06/2020

Last weekend was a bit quieter with shops now open and fathers day reducing queues outside. We are now letting more customers back into the market sites, space permitting and will continue to keep this under review to try and reduce queuing times further for customers

Hot food will now see a  slow phased return back on to markets where there is space to queue, our priority is still for customers to do their shopping and we cannot afford to have people lingering in the market eating. We will contact you individually when this is permitted, it may still take sometime on gated markets. To ensure you are are ready you should update your HACCP and send it to us to demonstrate you have considered the issues around COVID. In addition to your own measure we will require the following:

NO SHARED CONDIMENTS / NAPKINS or CUTLERY

SEALED FOOD BOXES - and tell customers to eat outside of the market area- put the order on a table rather than risking direct contact with the customer

HAND SANITIZER FOR CUSTOMERS

REGULAR CLEANING OF SURFACES

NO EXTRA SPACE FOR COOKING use your existing stall area

QUEUE MANAGEMENT- simple menu and serve quickly - if you cause congestion we will stop you cooking.

12/06/2020

Stall COVID Healthcheck

Have you updated your HACCP and risk assessments for your stalls?- now is the time to keep your staff and food safe - use this helpful guide https://www.nmtf.co.uk/info/bounceback/

Invoice payments

We are not accepting invoice payments from any new businesses that have not already been issued with an invoice.  We still urge everyone to send cash or cheques to markets to avoid making payments by invoice. We will be introducing an additional charge to pay by invoice so bringing cash or cheque will be the cheaper option. Invoices that are issued must be paid immediately or you will be prevented from trading at the following weeks markets.

Hot Food

We will continue with the ban on hot food sales inside the markets for the time being, for 2 main reasons; We want customers to shop quickly and leave so that we make space for more customers in the market as we have limited customer capacity due to social distancing. Eating in the market will increase the time customers spend in the market reducing the numbers we can let in. Queuing for Hot Food reduces space for social distancing in the market, so it will just cause more congestion. Where we can we will try and set up food hatches on some markets perimeters so that some stalls can serve hot food to customers outside of the market. We experimented with this last week at Queens Park and it was quite successful but it highlighted the above in that we do not need an additional queue of 10 people for hot food inside the market at the moment. We will consider requests for freshly baked products like pies in the market if they are boxed / bagged and sealed for take away. Grilled meats / BBQ's will not be permitted at the moment.

Wimbledon - protecting the tarmac surface from vehicle damage

We have come up with a plan to reduce the number of vehicles accessing the site and to reduce the number of vehicles turning on the surface. Most vehicles will now not be permitted to drive on to the playground at all - you will need to trolley your goods around from the car park. Any vehicles entering the playground will be given clear instructions on how to drive on. Most will be required to reverse on and to drive off in a straight line to avoid any turning. You will not be able to park behind your stall anymore unless we have given you clear permission

We have been getting reports of high prices for hand sanitiser from cash and carries and usual suppliers. Try this https://www.hivis.net/16297/covid-19-products/alcohol-free-hand-sanitizer/5ltr/  Large containers but just buy a pump and some smaller containers and make up your own small bottles for stalls or this one but its more expensive

https://britishhoney.co.uk/collections/alcohol-sanitiser/products/drip-drop-alcohol-sanitiser-5l

A cheap way to improve customer confidence

Stalls with ready to eat foods are seeing higher sales when they put a barrier on the front of the stall. If you are selling ready to eat products and don't want to wrap your stall in clingfilm each week as a barrier, we saw this excellent solution at the weekend which is a clear vinyl table cloth if you buy some sticky velcro so that it sticks to the roof of your gazebo you have a great barrier for your staff and for your stall. The tablecloths are 3 m x 1.4 m so are a perfect size for the front of your stall. They are £5 each on amazon.

You can set up some empty crates at the side of your stall and take payment there

22.5.20

We are looking forward to the bank holiday weekend. The weather will continue to be kind if a little breezy here and there.

Lockdown rules have been relaxed but social distancing rules have not. We are continuing with the current market layouts with a few tweaks and controlling customer numbers to maintain space on the markets. Please bring side sheets for your gazebos if you have them so that we can place stalls next to each other with an effective screen between the people working on the stalls.

We must continue to take hygiene very seriously so please ensure you have hand washing/sanitising equipment on your stall and that it is laid out such that your seller can maintain distance between themselves and your customers.

There are still some stalls that are not taking sufficient cash to pay their fee and asking to be invoiced after the market. We cannot sustain the administartive burden of doing this. Please bring sufficient cash or a cheque to market to pay your fees on the day.

The latest government guidance on re-opening and/or adapting food businesses during the COVID - 19 outbreak can be found here: https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/reopening-and-adapting-your-food-business-during-covid-19

A note on the ULEZ and Congestion charge which is now being charged again so make sure you pay before you drive into central London at the weekends: https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/congestion-charge/congestion-charge-zone

Congestion Charge/ULEZ zone - Transport for London

Congestion Charge: No charge 18:00-07:00 on weekdays or on weekends, public holidays or any days between Christmas Day (25 Dec) and New Year's Day (1 Jan) ULEZ: Operate midnight to midnight, every day of the year, except Christmas Day (25 Dec) LEZ: Operates midnight to midnight, every day of the year. Find out more about paying the Congestion ...

tfl.gov.uk

We have also been informed that the congestion charge will be payable at weekends in addition to ULEZ payments in the central area from 1st June which will directly impact all businesses attending the Marylebone market and others who drive though the centre. Pimlico Road Farmers Market is outside the zone just so you can avoid the congestion charge but the ULEZ payments will apply to all markets.

In addition we expect traffic wardens to return to work this week and enforcement of single yellow lines to start again so if you have been chancing it you may now get a ticket especially at Pimlico – follow the advice to the free parking areas or pay by phone to park on a metre.

1.5.20

We continue to tweek market layouts to allow as many of you able to trade as possible. If you are at a market your stall is close to the stall next to you please bring side sheets for your gazebo if you have them, this will provide a barrier between you and the stallholder on the next stall.

Payments at market

We must re-iterate our request from last week that you bring CASH to market to pay your market fees. Alternatively some businesses have issued their staff with cheques made out to London Farmars Markets to be filled in with the fee amount at market which works well.

24.4.20

Last weekend was encouraging, customer numbers held up once again at all markets. We improved the market layout at Parliament Hill, Marylebone, Wimbledon to give everyone even more space. Due to allowing space for queues we have had to reduce stall numbers at most markets, some stalls have been requeuested to attend fortnightly to ensure that we can accomodate as many businesses as possible and we may have to look at less essential stalls attending less frequently at some markets. Layouts will keep changing as we try to improve queueing so do not expect to stay in the same location on each market.

Earls Court and Ladbroke Grove

Both markets have been performing poorly for sometime, we had decided to close Earls Court before the virus took hold and with the reduced footfall on portobello road at the moment there is no point continuing with just 3 stalls at Ladbroke Grove. Ladbroke Grove will close this weekend until further notice we may try and reopen. Earls Court will close Sunday 3rd May, there is some talk of a local group taking it on but we have heard nothing from the school to confirm this. With some of our staff away or isolating, like everyone we are working with a smaller pool of staff and we need to keep staff available to ensure the better performing markets can continue to remian open.

Testing food workers

Government roles out testing for key workers this includes those in food production and food retail so incudes you. It is now more important than ever that you and your staff  do not come to markets if you feel ill or have any symptoms, now you and your families can get tested if you have any concerns to see if you are safe to travel.

Payments at market

Despite testing an invoice system in recent weeks we are unfortunatley not in a postion to continue with this at the moment and must request that you bring CASH to market to pay your market fees. We are currently spending thousands just to keep the markets open with extra staff and management on all markets and the head office team fully engagaed weekly at the markets helping with social distanicng, there just arent the office resources available to be managing a new invoicing system and checking who has paid and who hasn't. If you are currently just using card payments at market please send enough cash with your staff to pay the market fees at the end of the market on the day, most stalls pay a very similar amount each week so it should be possible to plan ahead.

17/4/2020

With Easter behind us markets will be closer to capacity this week and our first priority remains ensuring that we maintain social distancing, keeping you and your customers safe.

• Check your staff are healthy before sending them to Markets- tell them not to come if they have a fever or cough
  
• There will be changes to the layout of some markets this weekend in order to achieve better queue management and your stall may be moved - please do not argue or question the manager as they implement the change.
  
• Customer numbers will be slowed down coming into the market to avoid queuing
• We have hired in toilets in areas where local toilets have shut - these will be cleaned and serviced weekly and locked only for stallholders to use. 
  
• Stewards may be firmer with your queues and ask customers to get into other queues if they are too long
• Queues are being regulated with chalk marks on the ground - make sure your customers stick to them
• Move your queues up and along your stall front. Shout at your queue to move them along.
  
• DO MORE to keep customers 2m from your staff to protect them and keep them well. Tape your card reader to your gazebo leg or use a selfie stick. Put a table between yourselves and your customers.

OUR DEDICATED FARMER PRODUCER LINE IS 020 7833 5007 MON- FRI 9-5 

Please don't call for updates, use the line for emergencies and to report attendance or to request more markets. Information about whether markets are open will be left here or emailed to you directly.

10/04/2020

HAPPY EASTER. some stalls are having a weekend off so there will be more space so please use it. Please try and leave at least 1m gaps each side of your stall between your neighbours. Toilets have now been sorted at all markets - At Ealing the managers will have a pass to get you in to Sainsburys, at Pimlico we have arrangements in place with local shops, please ask the manger for details when you arrive, at Marylebone La Fromagerie is continuing to offer their facilities.

Marylebone will now be gated to ensure customer numbers can be controlled and that your staff and customers are fully protected. Entrance for customers will be in Moxon Street, stewards will control numbers entering.

Still keep thinking of new ways to keep your staff away from customers as much as possible

We are asking customers to come alone, your staff can do the same to reduce the number of visitors in the market

3/04/2020

Our first priority is to ensure that we maintain social distancing, keeping you and your customers safe.

• Your stall may be moved to help spread out queues- do not argue or question the manager.
  
• Customer numbers will be slowed down coming into the market to avoid queuing
• We have hired in toilets in areas where local toilets have shut - these will be cleaned and serviced weekly and locked only for stallholders to use.
  
• Stewards may be firmer with your queues and ask customers to get into other queues if they are too long
• Queues will be regulated with chalk marks on the ground - make sure your customers stick to them
• Move your queues up and along your stall front. Shout at your queue to move them along.
  
• DO MORE to keep customers 2m from your staff to protect them and keep them well. Tape your card reader to your gazebo leg or use a selfie stick.
• PAYMENTS - IF YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH CASH TO PAY DUE TO TAKING MORE CARD PAYMENTS WE WILL COLLECT PAYMENT BY PHONE ON MONDAY OR TUESDAY AFTER MARKETS- PLEASE CALL US IF WE DON'T GET THROUGH
  
• REFRESH YOURSELF BY READING THE PREVIOUS NEWS BELOW ON THIS PAGE

29/03/2020

Dear Farmers and Producers,

We hope you had a reasonable weekend in what is currently a challenging trading environment. The government this week made it clear that it wants food retailers and food markets to keep going through the crisis and to continue to offer the essential service that they provide so thank you for making such a great effort to continue attending the markets at this difficult time.  We realise that in coming weeks you may need to take time out to self isolate or due to staff sickness but rest assured we will aim to keep the markets going whilst you are away. If you do need to take a break from your regular schedule please consider trying to offer a reduced service where you can even to just make guest appearances, we can let customers know that you are coming. We are doing more at markets to protect you and your staff and your customers, this has mostly been achieved by limiting customer numbers on site, reviewing stall layouts and spreading out queues. You are an essential service, do not let anyone tell you differently and working on the frontline like other workers during this crisis should be applauded too. If you have any queries or concerns please give us a call during the week or if you require additional markets drop us a line.

Our social distancing measures were stepped up a notch at the weekend and worked without a hitch:

At Pimlico and West Hampstead the sites were fenced and customers queued patiently, we limited customer numbers to around 50 at one time, the police and council officials inspected the sites and gave them a thumbs up. Notting Hill was also gated with a changed stall layout which gave a massive amount of space to customers. We managed to purchase the fencing just before everything shut.

Over 20 stewards were recruited across all markets to help manage the queues and to get them to spread out.

On all gated sites customer capacity was limited to comfortable numbers to protect everyone and adhere to the governments social distancing measures.

We have had 100’s of positive comments from customers about the measures we have taken and that the markets are staying open for them at this time of need.

Chalk boxes were drawn on the ground to help customers to queue correctly.

The Police visited Blackheath Farmers Market, but only to buy some eggs, so nothing to see here, except the acres of social distancing on offer. We may need to move a few stalls around to ensure police vans that park there can exit safely now that we are using a lot more of the car park.

We will update you with any changes before next weekend. We may need to change market stall layouts to increase social distancing at some markets. We ask you not set up until the manager arrives, please follow these requests or you may need to move your stalls when they do.

Please keep looking at new innovations for keeping your distance from customers, this weekend we saw card readers on phone sticks and rope across the front of stalls and extra tables out front as measures to keep distance from your customers.

Thanks You for keeping London customers supplied over the last few weeks, see you next week.

Best Wishes

All at London Farmers Markets

27/03/2020. All our markets will be open this weekend.

There will be further changes to how markets operate this weekend. Please plan how you can manage your stall to improve social distancing. 

All sales of hot food and drink will cease immediately (more info below)

REMEMBER DEDICATED FARMER PRODUCER LINE IS 020 7833 5007 MON- FRI 9-5 

( Only call for emergencies and to report attendance or to request more markets. Information  about whether markets are open will be left here or emailed to you directly so please don't phone for updates )

You can find the governments list of permitted businesses HERE which includes food markets

We will all need to do more this week to ensure that we comply with the 2 metre distancing rules.

KEEP YOUR STAFF AWAY FROM THE PUBLIC- tie string across the front of your gazebo to stop them leaning in too far

PRE BAG / BUNCH AND WRAP MORE PRODUCTS TO SPEED UP SERVICE

SELLING HOT FOOD AND HOT DRINKS HAS BEEN STOPPED UNTIL 11th APRIL AS THIS CREATES QUEUES -THIS MAY MEAN THAT YOU CANNOT ATTEND- ALL FOOD MUST BE TAKEN HOME TO EAT. DRINKS INCLUDING JUICE AND ALCOHOL MUST NOT BE SOLD OPEN.

HELP OUR MANAGERS AND STEWARDS BY TELLING YOUR CUSTOMERS AND QUEUES TO SPREAD OUT BE FIRM BUT POLITE- 2 M IS THE REQUIRED SPACE

NOTTING HILL, WEST HAMPSTEAD and PIMLICO MARKETS WILL BE GATED WITH BARRIERS TO CONTROL QUEUEING AND CUSTOMER NUMBERS

WHERE POSSIBLE WE WILL OPEN MARKETS HALF AN HOUR EARLY AND TRY TO PRIORITISE OLDER PEOPLE IN THAT TIME.

THERE WILL BE LAYOUT CHANGES THIS WEEK AS WE TRY AND CREATE SPACE FOR SOCIAL DISTANCING SO ARRIVE A LITTLE EARLY IF YOU CAN AND BE PREPARED TO BE OUT OF YOUR USUAL PLACE ON THE MARKET.

THERE WILL BE FAR LESS OPPORTUNITY TO USE THE TOILET AT MOST MARKETS NOW THAT CAFES AND OTHER BUSINESSES ARE CLOSED. AT PARLIAMENT HILL THE TOILET IN THE SCHOOL WILL BE OPEN TO US.

IF YOU ARE SELLING PLANTS AND FLOWERS PLEASE ALSO CONSIDER GROWING HERBS AND VEGETABLE PLANTS THIS SEASON IN CASE RESTRICTIONS ARE TIGHTENED FURTHER

20/03/2020 PREVIOUS UPDATE

We have been emailing and phoning you for your thoughts ( hopefully all of you by next week) about the current issues impact the markets and your business. From this weekend, in addition to the measures we have already asked you to put in place, we require that you implement the following:

Social distancing - keep as much distance between yourself, neighbouring stalls, friends and the public. Work behind a table if you do not already KEEP YOU AND YOUR STAFF HEALTHY

• Manage your queues ask them to MAKE THE GAP at least 1m

Stall displays - reduce the amount on display and serve from stock at the back of your stall.

Hot food - wrap hot food for taking away and consuming off site. We will not be setting out seating at markets to discourage people from lingering on site.

Samples - do not leave samples out for customers to pick up. If you offer them you must keep them at the back of your stall and hand them individually to customers.

We would also encourage you to follow the lead of some stalls last weekend who were trying gently to dissuade customers from buying too much. Reassure them that we will be here next week.

Where possible this weekend we will open markets half an hour earlier and prioritise older people in that time. Where we can we will spread stalls out a little so your stall position may change.

If you require more sales outlets in coming weeks please get in touch, we will have temporary spaces to cover through staff sickness or production and we may open up some additional loctions if there is demand.

THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED FREQUENTLY WHEN WE HAVE NEWS

Keep up to date with news of our markets here and follow @Londonfarmers on Instagram and Twitter and the markets' pages on Facebook.

Very best wishes from all of us at LFM.

A reminder from last week:

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING HYGIENE ON ALL STALLS

• If you have a fever don’t come to market, get tested! Tell all your staff this message
• Hand washing on ALL stalls so traders can wash hands regularly- hot water flask and bowl. More regular hand washing, for at least 20 seconds for all traders; wash your hands before you start selling and handling food, this includes veg and fruit stalls and those selling pre packed items. If you don’t have a hand wash station the manager may ask you if you have washed your hands since arriving don’t be offended just do it. Antibacterial wipes and gels for hands if you can get hold of any- especially if you aren’t planning or able to use bowls, soap and water on your stalls for hand washing.
• Don’t put out condiments, cheese, pickles etc. Ask what customers want and do it yourself. Give out cutlery, don’t leave it out for customers to help themselves.
  
• Cover the nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing with a tissue or flexed elbow.
• Use paper tissues only once and dispose of them carefully, then clean hands with soap and water or alcohol based disinfectant gel.
  
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Hands touch many surfaces and can pick up viruses. Once contaminated, hands can transfer the virus to your eyes, nose or mouth. From there, the virus can enter your body and can make you sick
• Ask your regular customers if they have any concerns or suggestions regarding changes that might please them.Make sure your staff are aware of how the public may perceive them and their own personal hygiene
• consider using gloves- buy them now in case you want to use them later on or are requested to by a change in government advice.
• Potentially keep bagged or ready to eat products away from customers so they cannot be handled other than by staff on the stall – Veg and fruit should or will be washed or cooked anyway- but you still might opt not to let customers handle produce as this might be visibly concerning for some customers- THIS WILL BE DIFFICULT FOR SOME STALLS BUT IT MIGHT HELP GET THROUGH THE NEXT FEW WEEKS AND MONTHS AS A TEMPORARY MEASURE
• SNEEZE SCREENS OR A SIMPLE WOODEN BOARD TO DETER CUSTOMERS FROM TOUCHING THE FOOD – Limited protection but a visible barrier may give customers reassurance
• Take card payments and keep your card machines clean – customer may prefer to use cards rather than handling cash. Wash hands after cash transactions or just have one person taking cash

keep you stalls looking clean – clean surfaces and clean clothes at markets – clean surfaces with bleach or detergent when you pack down and set up.