A guide to
Count ingredients, packaging, labor, and selling costs before choosing a price.
Start here
Home bakers routinely leave their own labor and the market fee out of the price. This is the cost-based method extension economists teach, worked through on a hypothetical batch of cookies so you can see every number move.
· 12 min read
Plain sourdough sits on almost every state's allowed list, which is the easy part. The hard parts are the bake-day schedule, an oven that caps your revenue, an ingredient statement that has to name the starter, and a bag that softens the crust before the market opens.
· 10 min read
A shopper who cannot find a price often walks instead of asking. What the three signs every booth needs should say, how big the letters have to be, what survives weather, and the point-of-sale placards some states require by law.
· 7 min read
From the first read of your state's rules to your first market Saturday, in eight steps: choosing products that qualify, registration and training, labels, pricing, sales channels, bookkeeping, and a realistic plan for the first 90 days.
· 13 min read
Cash, card readers, payment apps, sales tax, and SNAP tokens each move money into your business by a different route. Here is how each one works, what it cost when we checked in September 2026, and what to set up before opening day.
· 10 min read
You can probably make twenty things well. A market needs three or four you can make every week, that hold up on a folding table, that your state allows, and that nobody else in the tent row is already selling. Here is a set of filters for getting from twenty to four.
· 11 min read
Set up a manageable online menu, clear pickup windows, and reliable order records. A practical guide to getting started with Local Cottage Foods, the platform United Farmers Market recommends.
· 5 min read
