Ella Daniels Brings Valuable Experience to Mill City Farmers Market Executive Director Position

Article by Becky Fillinger, photos provided

Mill City Farmers Market (MCFM) has a new Executive Director, Ella Daniels, and she has the experience and enthusiasm to take our local farmers market to new levels of success. We talked to her about opportunities to grow the market’s programs, how technology can assist and new vendors. She taught us that people who shop at farmers markets have 15 to 20 social interactions per visit compared with 1 to 2 social interactions at a grocery store – isn’t that fact alone enough to get you to visit the market? 

Ella DanielsQ:  Congratulations on becoming the Executive Director of the Mill City Farmers Market! Can you share a bit about your background and experience in food resource organizations?

A:  Thanks so much. I’m a proud market shopper and donor of the Mill City Farmers Market, so to me, leading this organization is a privilege. My professional experience is focused on connecting food organizations with the resources and audiences they need to thrive. I grew up in Minnesota, but while living in Washington, D.C. I had the opportunity to work across various levels of the food system: globally at the United Nations World Food Programme, regionally at the Capital Area Food Bank, and nationally at Partnership for a Healthier America. My work experience has given me valuable insights into the policies and factors that shape our modern food system, and its economic, health, social, and environmental inequities. I’m excited to be able to use this platform to highlight the power of eating locally and advocate for a more equitable and sustainable food system.

Q:  What do you see as the main challenges and opportunities for the MCFM in the upcoming year?

A:  Great question. I’ve been asking this and similar questions of staff, Board members, vendors and partners since I started in January. My goal is to be in “listen and learn” mode this year. One takeaway I can share from my “listening tour” thus far is that Mill City Farmers Market is known among vendors as a springboard to success for local businesses. This feedback is helping me recognize a big opportunity to help people understand how farmers markets work, how local businesses benefit, and what makes Mill City Farmers Market unique. Our market has grown so much in recent years, and our experienced staff have great suggestions about what it means to sustain success and what additional role we could play in our community. 

Q:  The MCFM is a well-run operation, but do you have strategies in mind to enhance the efficiency of the market's operations? What role do you see technology playing in the future of the MCFM?

A:  MCFM has a well-deserved reputation as a well-run operation, and that’s a testament to the leadership of Martha Archer, during her 13-year tenure, and a dream team of staff, day staff and vendors. One project we have planned to enhance our operational efficiency is upgrading our point-of-sale system. We soon will need a new credit card reader, so we hope to transition to an integrated hardware and software that can complete payments for SNAP/EBT, merchandise sales and market tokens and inventory them to save staff time on manual reconciliation and bookkeeping. SNAP transactions at our market have tripled in recent years and we see a big opportunity to continue growing the percentage of customers who benefit from Market Bucks, but payment processing takes more staff time. By upgrading this technology, we’ll meet two goals at the same time: happier staff and increased food access in our community.

Q:  Do you foresee new vendors that you will invite to the market?

A:  We had a record-breaking number of applications this year and just finalized a fantastic line-up of vendors for the upcoming summer season. I can’t spill the beans yet, but we will be announcing our new lineup of vendors soon. As with most news, our newsletter subscribers will be the first to know. But you can expect over 100 vendors, with many familiar names and some brand-new faces, too. 

Q:  Are there any changes you foresee in the layout or structure of the market?

A:  Market goers can expect the same layout and structure for 2024. Our indoor market season includes one more market on April 20th from 10am to 1pm inside the Mill City Museum, featuring 30+ vendors. On Saturday May 4th, we officially begin the outdoor market season. Summer market hours are from 8am to 1pm, May to September, then 9am to 1pm in October, before returning to indoor markets on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month from November to April. All summer long we’ll be hosting fun, experiential programming at the market like Mill City Cooks on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month, weekly yoga (June-September), Storytime with the Guthrie Theater, and Mill City Kids and Power of Produce on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month.

Ella and family roll into the MCFM

Q:  What ideas do you have for fostering a sense of community among vendors and customers?

A:  This is my favorite thing about Mill City Farmers Market. I read a statistic from the Farmers Market Coalition that people who shop at farmers markets have 15 to 20 social interactions per visit compared with 1 to 2 social interactions at a grocery store. How cool is that? For me, the ingredients to foster a sense of community are curiosity, respect and good questions. Whether you visit us once a year or each Saturday, you are part of our community and you help us contribute to the growth and sustainability of our local economy. I’m proud of the fact that Mill City Farmers Market is a trusted destination where 175,000 annual customers can buy directly from over 100 small farms, food producers and entrepreneurs located within 50 miles of the Twin Cities.

Q:  Are there any outreach or educational programs you'd like to implement?

A:  Definitely. Through generous support from individuals and businesses in our community, we fund education and outreach for the Mill City Farmers Market through our Charitable Fund. This organizational model allows us to have a greater impact in our community by offering well-established programs to prevent food waste, improve food access, and invest in farmer-led solutions to build a more equitable and sustainable food system. When you donate to the Mill City Farmers Market Charitable Fund you help power our programming and close the gap between program demand and available funding.

Two programs we see an opportunity to grow with incremental funding are: Next Stage Grants and Greens for Good. For example, 32 emerging farmers and food makers applied this year for Next Stage Grants to scale their business operations but we can only fund 40% of these requests at current funding levels. On average, it costs $5,700 to help one emerging farmer unlock financial opportunity for years to come. Another program we’d like to grow is Greens for Good, a weekly food recovery program supported by Augsburg University volunteers and M Health Fairview Health Commons which distributes 10,000 pounds of high-quality surplus produce annually to 40 public housing residents in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood. It would cost $14,500 to increase the program by 50% to meet the community demand for fresh produce. The project costs include farmer compensation at wholesale prices for 10,000 pounds of produce annually, staff support, additional volunteer stipends, additional compostable bags and a translator. 

Q:  How may we stay up to date with MCFM news?

A:  Subscribe to our newsletter! It is a fun read with market news and behind-the-scenes stories every Wednesday. Our communications manager, Maya O’Brien McLeod writes the newsletter and she’s doing something right because we have an above average open rate of 47%. We’re on Instagram and Facebook as well with more regular updates (@millcityfarmersmarket), but the best way to stay up to date with Mill City Farmers Market news is to become a regular shopper. We have one more indoor market inside the Mill City Museum on Saturday, April 20th, and we officially kick off the outdoor market season on Saturday May 4th. Looking forward to seeing you there!