GCSP research stipend | Spring 2022

Optimizing Vendor Mix at the Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market

Farmers markets (FMs) serve an important role in local food economies. FMs are multi-scalar operations that involve a number of decision-makers: farmers, market managers, and local residents. FMs provide economic benefits to individual farmers, as they serve as a marketplace where local and regional growers and producers can sell products to customers, yet, unlike traditional retailers who have devoted merchandising managers, FMs are constrained by a lack of operational efficiencies that would allow FMs to effectively mimic this marketing strategy to increase profitability. The purpose of this study is to assess how FM managers can optimize sales revenue at their markets and expand market reach to increase traffic to their markets. We assemble a revenue history from market vendors for the years 2016-2019 and perform a portfolio optimization problem.