Vendor Requirements

If you’re interested in becoming a vendor at the Oakmont Farmers Market, please answer the questions below to see if you qualify.

How to become a Vendor at Oakmont Farmers Market
Thank you for your interest in our market! The Oakmont Farmers Market is bound by the same laws, rules and regulations as all other businesses in Haverford Township and the State of Pennsylvania – and so are our member Vendors. Each Vendor is a registered, tax-paying company according to the laws of Pennsylvania or New Jersey, and in the case of food sellers, each must be certified and approved by the Haverford Township Health Department as upholding all state and local food safety regulations. Each food producer is required to abide by all local, state and federal food safety rules and regulations, and each must be a registered business with standard business liability insurance in order to be considered by the Oakmont Farmers Market for inclusion.

We cannot accept Vendor applications from people who do not have a registered business or do not carry insurance in the name of that business. In other words, as much as we’d love to be able to include the produce of backyard gardeners we are unable to do so because of the food safety laws of the State and Municipality. Each and every one of our food sellers is a registered business that has been fully inspected and approved by the Health Department of Delaware County as well as the Health Department of the county in which their business is located.

Potential Vendors also need to know that the Oakmont Farmers Market is operated by a not-for-profit corporation (the Haverford Township Farmers Market Association). Because of differing operational needs and structures of the two entities (the Market and the HTFMA) certain types of business activities are controlled solely by the current Vendors acting in a cooperative association. For instance, Vendor inclusion occurs if – and only if – the current Vendors and the Board agree that the potential Vendor will fit the perceived needs of the Market, the HTFMA Mission Statement, Oakmont Farmers Market Rules and Regulations and adherence to Township and State regulations. Individual Board Members and the employees of the HTFMA (the General Manager and Onsite Managers) have no power to allow a potential Vendor to join the Oakmont Farmers Market. Consequently, becoming a Vendor at the OFM is a multi-stage process that can take some time. If you are a potential Vendor please keep this in mind when you petition for an application.

In addition, the Oakmont Farmers Market is a “Producer-Only” market, which means that no reselling of products is allowed. All Vendors must grow, make or produce the product they sell. The only products allowed to be sold that are not made directly by the Vendor are items with the Vendor’s logo (t-shirts, mugs, bags and other promotional items) or items sold with the produced item that are essential to the product package (baskets, glass jars, bags, soap dishes, etc.). No Vendors who resell products made by other people (including franchised items) will be permitted at Oakmont Farmers Market.

And finally, all Vendors at the Oakmont Farmers Market must have their business operations located within a 100 mile radius of the Market; we take “Buy Local” seriously!

Below is a flow chart that will help you determine if you might be a candidate Vendor for the market. In the event that you answer all of the questions and have received the answer “Yes, please ask for an application” please email oakmontfarmersmarket@gmail.com to have the application sent to you.

In order to see if your business is appropriate for the Oakmont Farmers Market, here is a flow chart with questions:

1. Is your business located within 100 miles of Haverford Township? A no to this question is the end; we cannot accommodate you at the OFM.

2. Do you have a farm?
If the answer is YES proceed to Question #3.
If the answer is No proceed to Question #5.

3. Does a current Farmer or Vendor at the OFM already provide your product(s)?
If the answer is YES proceed to Question #4.
If the answer is NO: Please ask for an application

4. If a Farmer or Vendor already provides that product to the Oakmont Farmers Market you may still be eligible for inclusion in the market; it depends on how many already provide the items and if market demand is met. Please contact the Oakmont Farmers Market (gmail account given above) for more information.

Please note that per the wishes of the Haverford Township Health Department raw milk will not be sold at the Oakmont Farmers Market.

5. If you don’t have a farm, is what you sell included in this list of ineligible products?

a. Ready-made solid food for eating at market (ready to eat take-out type food)
b. Anything made by someone other than the potential Vendor (no reselling allowed)
c. Personal services of any kind (counseling, consulting or subscription services such as delivery services – including food-related meal plans, etc.)
d. live plants (houseplants and/or garden six-packs or larger plants)

If your product is one of those we regret that we are unable to consider you for the Oakmont Farmers Market.

6. Is your product a food item?

If the answer is Yes: proceed to Question #7
If the answer is No: The Oakmont Farmers Market has limited space available for non-food items. But if you have a product not already available at the market please contact oakmontfarmersmarket@gmail.com to discuss the possibility of inclusion with the Vendor Relations committee.

7. Are you the direct producer of the food item or do you do provide significant and defining value-added to the food product?

If the answer is Yes: Proceed to Question #8.
If the answer is No: we regret that we are unable to consider you for the Oakmont Farmers Market.

8. Does this food product already exist at the OFM? Would there by significant overlap with other products?

If the answer is No, proceed to Question #9.
If the answer is Yes, please know that the HTFMA/OFM tries to balance customer desires and market demand while simultaneously protecting the livelihoods of current OFM Vendors. If your value-added product is one that may pose significant competition for already-established vendors, you might not be considered for the market.

For instance, as of July 2017 we have four producers of baked goods and the Oakmont Farmers Market already provides breads, cakes, pies, cookies, brownies, shortcakes, pizza, quiches, pot pies and other similar baked products. The likelihood that any more baked goods would be included in the market in the near future is very small.

9. Is your food product cooked/made/baked in a registered and USDA inspected professional kitchen?

If the answer is Yes: proceed to Question #10.
If the answer is No: we regret that we are unable to consider you for the Oakmont Farmers Market.

10. Is your product made by a registered and official company, with a United States tax ID number that is capable of purchasing insurance and paying tax in the name of the company?

If the answer is Yes: proceed to Question #11.
If the answer is No: we regret that we are unable to consider you for the Oakmont Farmers Market.

11. Does your product compete directly with a Havertown business located within ¼ mile of the Oakmont Farmers Market?

If the answer is No: proceed to Question #12.
If the answer is Yes: we regret that we are unable to consider you for the Oakmont Farmers Market.

12. Are you prepared to provide enough product to meet customer demand, to commit to attending the Oakmont Farmers Market either weekly, every-other-week, or once a month, capable of passing an at-market Health Department inspection and able to provide all necessary paperwork (Insurance COI, USDA registration, etc.)?

If the answer is Yes: proceed to Question #13.
If the answer is No: we regret that we are unable to consider you for the Oakmont Farmers Market.

13. Are you prepared to commit – when compatible with availability and seasonality – to the use of the farm products of current Oakmont Farmers Market Vendors and other locally sourced farm products in the making of your product(s)?

If the answer is Yes: Please ask for an application.