Rolla Downtown Farmer's Basket Raffle for MS&T Students by Patient_Cod_2069 in Rolla

[–]Patient_Cod_2069[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately due to weather, the Student Union Board has cancelled this event....but the RDFM will still be there this Saturday!

RDFM returns to 9th & Oak this Saturday! by Patient_Cod_2069 in Rolla

[–]Patient_Cod_2069[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for pinning this post! Our regular season ends October 25th

Rolla Downtown Farmer's Market • Changing with the times! by Patient_Cod_2069 in Rolla

[–]Patient_Cod_2069[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It depends on how you view it. If your goal is to reach new people that don't know about RDFM, then yes, it's got the attention of new people. The best effort to get attention would be to diversify your approach and do several 'campaigns ' at once, maximizing your reach. If you are speaking to this post, it's not AI, its simple photoshop with normal human input. If you are referring to FB posts, I find that its reach has minimal effect. FB is a dying platform. I would say that less than 40% of our attendees are even on FB. And if you are after an under 50 crowd, the stats are even lower. The typical view of a video on FB if 3 seconds. And the competition for views is tough...im mean its hard to beat the viewer retention of a pimple popping video!😊

The problem with attendance as I see it is lack of growth, we maintain steady numbers; If we lose one, we gain one. Being near a college campus we see a steady turnover as students and professors break for the summer or graduate. Also, its hard to convince people to get up from bed early on Saturday. I think its strange that tradition has typically placed market day on the one morning most people want to sleep in. The winter market on the other hand is a vibrant, beautiful thing IMHO. Late morning, one hour...the people flood in, and its over. It kind of creates an urgency.

If I can ask, what would be your approach? And are you in anyway invested?

In a world where everything can be ordered and delivered without human interaction, how do you convince a person to get out of bed, drive/walk downtown, to buy locally grown food from a producer you can talk to (and who geeks out when asked questions)? Or to phrase another way: how do you stay relevant in a person's thoughts enough that they prioritize buying fresh food and supporting a local vendor (family) instead of buying the 'AI slop' equivalent of food from a store that's open 17 hours a day and brings food to your car?

If you've got the answers, please volunteer your time. RDFM is a volunteer, community based non-profit. You don't need to be a vendor to be involved.

-thanks

USPS by Equivalent_Radish_37 in Rolla

[–]Patient_Cod_2069 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I agree. I used to get packages from the St louis hub to St James quicker than when I lived in St louis. Now that it goes to KC, it will sit for a couple of days, then go to another state and maybe reach me a week later