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Church 'farmers market', need info please

Posted by hengal z5 / IN (My Page) on
Tue, Feb 7, 06 at 9:04

Good morning. I thought this would be (hopefully) a good place to start with my question. This summer starting in July, our church congregation is going to have a "harvest ministry" in the parking lot every other Saturday, where home gardeners and farmers alike bring extra produce to sell to our community. The proceeds are going to our local food bank, (as well as fresh produce that we have left). Since I am the one organizing this I wanted to find out if there are any regulations for this type of selling, even if it is for a not-for-profit organization. Where should I go to get more info on this?
Thanks very much for your help. I'm very excited about this opportunity but want to make sure its done right. :)


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: Church 'farmers market', need info please

Hi Hengal -

I don't know what the rules are for Indiana, but I bet they are pretty much the same around the country. Your state may regulated markets out the Indiana Department of Agriculture or the Department of Health and Safety. You'll have to research to find which it is. Here in Minnesota it is Health not the Agri Department. Here's a link to ATTRA's publication on how to start a farmer's market. Maybe it can help.

Loodean

Here is a link that might be useful: Attra's Publication


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RE: Church 'farmers market', need info please

This sounds like a great idea and I hope it works well.

One question that always comes up with markets is sales tax.

In Indiana, sales tax doesn't apply to raw fruits and vegetables, or, as far as I can tell, to honey or jam or pies, so there's no problem there whether the growers/producers make the sales and donate the money or on the other hand donate the goods and the church makes the sales.

Indiana does tax flowers and bedding plants as best I can tell, so if someone wanted to be a stickler they could insist that producers/growers charge sales tax, etc. But tax wouldn't be an issue if the growers donated those items to the church and the chaurch made the sales -- as long as sales weren't held on more than 29 days in a year.

(In the link below, see "IC 6-2.5-5-26
Exemption; nonprofit entities; sales for less than 30 days each year; sale for educational, cultural, or religious purpose; sale for professional or workforce education improvement purposes")

Here is a link that might be useful: Indiana Statutes


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RE: Church 'farmers market', need info please

Check with your local board of health too, if anyone wants to sell home canned or home baked food, it's probably not allowed unless it is prepared in a certified facility kitchen. I know I couldn't sell my home canned salsa in Delaware County, Indiana, without getting certification by the board of health.
One loophole, if the food is made AT the church, it's probably ok to sell. Church kitchens are generally exempt.


 
 

 

 


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