How do you scale a community legacy into a three-season powerhouse while restoring the trust of the local farmers who fuel it?
Scaling an Award-Winning Marketplace: Human Capital as an Economic Engine
The Brief
Spanning three seasons (Winter, Summer, and Fall) across 26 weeks, the market serves as a vital economic incubator for local producers and a critical food access point for the community. My mission was to scale this legacy event while restoring trust with our 300+ vendors and building the social capital necessary to sustain long-term growth.
The Strategy
As the Farmers Market & Events Manager for the Ogden Downtown Alliance, my role focused on:
- Relational Management: Cultivating and maintaining 600+ unique vendor relationships over my tenure.
- Operational Leadership: Managing a 160-person volunteer program and a cross-functional staff to execute events across Historic 25th Street and Union Station.
- Economic Stewardship: Advising start-ups and small businesses for strategic support and long-term sustainability.
For our vendors to invest in our growth, they needed to feel heard.
Restoring the Foundation of Trust
Growth only happens at the speed of trust. I prioritized a “behind the curtain” approach—inviting our vendors into the process through shared interviews and transparent, action-oriented updates. By actively resolving festering issues and demonstrating that feedback directly informed our operational pivots, we stabilized the market’s human infrastructure.
This commitment to radical transparency was mirrored in our digital engagement; by sharing these authentic farmer stories and systemic updates, our weekly newsletter achieved a 63.2% average open rate, turning a routine communication tool into a high-trust platform.
The Process
Field Research & Advocacy
Conducted 1-on-1 on-site interviews with 40+ local farmers throughout Utah. Investigated their specific niche challenges to identify and implement the precise structural improvements needed for them to feel successful within our market.
Diversifying the User Experience
Introduced new programming “on-ramps” like the free bike valet, community yoga, and the inaugural Dogden Festival to drive foot traffic to the surrounding business district.
Volunteer Infrastructure
Developed and scaled a volunteer program that grew from 120 participants in 2024 to 160 in 2025—a 33.3% year-over-year increase—resulting in over 2,400 hours of dedicated community service to support market operations.
Agile Data Infrastructure
Architected a real-time reporting system for staff and volunteers to capture high-resolution data on vendor attendance and feedback. This feedback loop allowed us to analyze trends and implement essential operational pivots week-over-week.
Strategic Visual Commerce
Designed a comprehensive suite of marketing assets and merchandise that translated our “local-first” philosophy into a tangible brand story.
- Bridged community advocacy and commercial opportunity.
- Catalyzed record-breaking year for merchandise sales.
- Established secondary revenue to support market expansion.
The Outcomes
Top-Tier Recognition
Named the #1 Farmers Market in Utah by American Farmland Trust for the fourth consecutive year (2025).
Economic Impact
Generated an estimated $12.4M in local economic impact, with a 7.5% increase in summer attendance and record growth across all three seasons.
Local Food Security
Distributed over $112,000 in total produce incentives and SNAP benefits across the 2024–2025 seasons to support underserved communities.
Operational Excellence
Contributed to the strategic operations that led to the Ogden Downtown Alliance being named a finalist for Nonprofit of the Year by the Ogden Chamber of Commerce in 2024.