Cave Junction Farmers Market Guidelines 2025

We acknowledge and honor all the indigenous peoples who made their home since time immemorial throughout the areas where the Cave Junction Farmers Market works and upon whose ancestral homelands we live, including the Modoc, Takelma, Tolowa Dee-ni’, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Cow Creek Umpqua, Dakubetede, Shasta, Athabaskan, Karuk, and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians in the region currently known as southwest Oregon. The Cave Junction Farmers Market acknowledges the care by which indigenous inhabitants have stewarded precious natural resources for millennia and seeks to be of service within this historical framework.

Mission: The mission of the Cave Junction Farmers Market is to support our local community of farmers and families by providing a vibrant marketplace for all to gather around in support of healthy food, meaningful arts, and continuing education.

Equity Statement:The Cave Junction Farmers Market (CJFM) does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for members of our staff, clients, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and customers.

Hours of Operation and Set Up:

The Cave Junction Farmers Market is open Fridays from 4 pm to 7 pm, April 18th through October 24th 2025.
Vendors must arrive at least 30 minutes before Market opening (arrive by 3:30 pm), and no removal of their market set up is allowed prior to closing at 7:00 pm.
Vendors must park in the designated vendor parking areas during Market hours.
The Market Manager assigns spaces to members by prior arrangement or as they arrive at Market. Vendors without a pre-assigned space should check with the Market Manager before setting up.
Note: There are no strolling vendors allowed at the Market. All Vendors MUST be juried in. Children wishing to sell their homemade crafts may do so in the community booth, or in their caregivers booth.
Vendors who are setting up in a space without vehicle parking need to drop off their supplies and move their vehicles to the main parking lot no later than 3:30 pm. Please only remain parked in the market/pedestrian zone long enough to drop off your supplies. At 7:15 pm you can bring your vehicle back into the market/pedestrian area to load your things.
Vendors are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the “Guide to Managing Risks and Liability at California Certified Farmers Market,” as well as the annotated Safety Checklist listed in Appendix A.
Vendors must set up their booths in a safe and secure manner and must securely attach weights to each tent leg sufficient to hold their tents in place during windy conditions. No vendor will be permitted to set up without such weights.

Vendor Guidelines and Classes:
Vendors must be the producers of the product, or an appointed booth manager who is knowledgeable.
Any items purchased for resale are prohibited at the Market.
Produce, bedding, plants, and flowers should be propagated by the vendor from seed, cuttings, bulbs, plugs, or plants.
Members may sell produce or crafts in their booths that are grown/created by other CJFM members in good standing and should be labeled accordingly.
Members may not knowingly sell produce, plants, seeds or food products of any kind at the Farmers Market that are derived from GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms).
There is no underselling of products until after the 7 pm close of the marketplace. Please be considerate of your colleagues.
CJFM is not responsible for stolen, lost, or damaged goods.
Vendors must sign the CJFM Hold Harmless Agreement.
Mushroom Vendors: Vendors wishing to sell mushrooms must be juried in by the CJFM Board. Mushrooms Vendors must provide the CJFM Board with details and proof of cultivation practices. If you would like to sell wild foraged mushrooms, click here for additional guidelines.
The classes of CJFM voting member vendors are as follows:
Agricultural Producer (ex. veggies/meat) (All agricultural products sold at Market must be grown and harvested by a CJFM member or member’s family relative and farmed in Josephine County and/or the counties directly surrounding Josephine County, OR.
To be clear, farms may hire help for working on their farms or running their market booth, but no RESELLING of products from other farms is allowed except as noted above).
Agricultural Product (ex. mustard/tincture/cheese) All agricultural products MUST be labeled in accordance with Oregon Farm Direct laws.
Non-Agricultural Product (ex. crafts) Non-agricultural product vendors may constitute 30% of the vendor body. The non-agricultural product vendor must fabricate a majority of the final product and may be juried in at the sole discretion of the board. Non-agricultural products which have essential ingredients that cannot be locally sourced may be exempt
Prepared Food (ex. dine-in and take home) Food vendors must have an applicable license/permit with the Josephine County Health Department, follow all Health Department guidelines and show proof of their certificate to the Market Manager. Food vendors must have a handwashing station in their booth.
Non-profit (ex. education/bike repair)
Performance (ex. musician/dance)

Accepting Grant Funded Currencies:

Vendors must be aware of the SNAP and WIC food benefit rules. Any breach of those rules will lead to expulsion from the Cave Junction Farmers Market. SNAP and WIC rules for retailers are available at the CJFM Manager’s Booth.
Vendors may only accept Double Up Food Bucks for fresh dried, or frozen fruits, vegetables, herbs, mushrooms, or food bearing plants, and only after they have returned a signed DUFB agreement to the Market Manager, prior to accepting vouchers.
Vendors may only accept Protein Bucks for Dairy, Meat, Eggs and Nuts produced by the farmer.

Licensing and Permits:

Vendors are held responsible for informing themselves about and complying with state and local health regulations and licensing requirements. The CJFM is available to help vendors obtain this information.
Any vendor who incurs a fine for a violation of city, county, state, or federal law must pay the fine him/herself. Any vendor whose violations cause the CJFM to be assessed any penalty/fine MUST pay the fine on behalf of the CJFM before that vendor will be allowed to resume selling in any CJFM market.

Waste Management:

All vendors selling products with food packaging MUST have a receptacle available for customers to discard the food packaging that comes from their booth.
All vendors please be mindful about packaging materials! We would really like to limit the use of plastic packaging, especially straws.
Compostable and biodegradable materials are recommended and appreciated.

Membership and Stall Fees:

The annual fee for Membership into the 501(c)3 non-profit public benefit corporation Cave Junction Farmers’ Market is $35 for all classes of members.
Members have voting rights at the Annual Membership Meeting.
Members may request electronic copies of the bylaws at any time.
The market stall fee is $20 per member and $30 per non-member each week.

Health and Safety:

There is no smoking, vaping, or consumption of alcohol of any kind within the Farmers’ Market pedestrian zone. Smoking and/or vaping is permitted in the designated area only. Please notify the Market Manager, if you notice someone smoking.
Dogs must be on leashes at all times. Misbehaving, and/or off-leash dogs will be removed from the market by the Market Manager, Board Member, or at the request of any vendor. Please also consider the asphalt temperature for your “barefooted” friends when bringing your dog to market.
Bicycles, scooters, and skateboards must be walked or carried inside the Farmers Market pedestrian zone.
Traffic: Please use the Highway 199 entrance when arriving at the market site, and exit using the 6th Street exit.

Additional Guidelines during COVID-19.

The guidelines for COVID safety are subject to change and we will keep everyone updated to the current regulations.

Illness: Please do not attend the market as a vendor or a customer if you are ill!
Masks: Mask wearing requirements shall be based on current state regulations. Masks will be provided free of charge at the community booth, should anyone need one.
Hand Washing: We request that each vendor have a designated person in charge of taking money, and a different person in charge of handling produce if possible. Regular and frequent use of hand washing stations and/or hand sanitizer is strongly recommended, and the CJFM will help provide ways for accomplishing this. Please consult the Market Manager prior to the Market opening if you have any questions. If you are a food vendor, you must have a hand washing station in your booth.
Sampling: Vendors wishing to give samples of their product may do so as long as the samples are prepared before the Market and stored in a sealed container (not in the open air). The vendor must hand the sample directly to the customer. The customer cannot reach into the container to take a sample. For example: keep your premade samples in the smallest sized paper Dixie cups you can find, in a Rubbermaid tote with a fitted lid. Please inform your customers not to touch samples that others will be consuming.

Management and Communication:

The Market Manager has the sole authority to run the Farmers Market during the hours from setup through strike (approximately 12 pm to 9 pm), and is empowered to make any and all decisions regarding the Farmers Market during that time.
To be clear, the Market Manager is the captain of the ship on Fridays, and the Market Manager may choose to seek input or opinions from members of the Board of Trustees during this time.
Outside of the day of the Market on Fridays (Sat - Thurs.), the CJFM Board of Trustees shall be the only and final arbitrator resolving CJFM issues regarding any matter.
Vendors will be notified usually 24 hours in advance if the Market is smoked out by fires, and no later than 9:00 am Friday morning the day of the Market.

In the event of a Membership decline and/or revocation from Cave Junction Farmers' Market, vendors have the right to appeal the decision of the Market Manager (see below).

Vendor shall initiate the appeals process within 10 days of the decline/revocation notice by sending a letter of intent to the CJFM Board President at: P.O. Box 2622 Cave Junction, OR 97523. The vendor will then be contacted to make an appeal in person before the CJFM Board of Directors.
The CJFM Board of Directors will determine the membership status of the vendor, after deliberation among the Board. The CJFM President will notify the vendor of the Board’s decision within 30 days of the appeal.
Vendors who have their vendor status declined can reapply the following year, although it is not a guarantee that their application will be accepted.

*Note: Vendors may request a copy of the CJFM Communications Form at the Community/Managers Booth which they can fill out and return to the Market Manager if they have complaints, feedback, suggestions, or other issues with vendors, customers, or CJFM Staff or volunteers.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE CJFM COMMUNICATION FORM

Criteria for allowing nonprofits or other groups to have occasional no-fee spaces

Nonprofit vendors shall be strictly educational, charitable or community-service based, providing information and support relevant to the mission of the CJFM.
No religious or political groups are permitted.
Nonprofit vendors must actively work in the Illinois Valley.
Nonprofit vendors who are tabling information only do not need to pay any weekly vendor fees.
Nonprofit vendors who are selling products are subject to the $20 weekly booth fee or 10% of their daily sales, whichever is less. CJFM is also a nonprofit organization, and depends on weekly vendor booth fees to pay for operating costs. With limited booth spaces available, and the high number of nonprofit vendors interested in attending the market, we can no longer offer free booth space to all nonprofit booths.

How to consign at the CJFM Community Booth

Vendors, member and non-member alike, can bring items to sell through the CJFM Community Booth. Often farmers bring items to the community booth if they don’t have enough product to fill a booth of their own, or if they are high risk and want to limit interacting with the public.

Here are some things to keep in mind for a successful experience:

Provide a list of what inventory you are dropping off. Please include a description, count of each item, and the price. Keep in mind that we charge a 10% consignment fee of your daily sales.
If your product needs to be weighed, please do so beforehand and bring the items pre-packaged.
Please drop off your items before 4 pm (3:30 is great!) and pick up unsold items and payment at 7 pm.
If you would like to sell eggs in the community booth, you need to be present the whole time selling them to comply with Oregon Dept. of Agriculture’s regulations.
You don’t need to contact us beforehand. You can show up on the day of the Market before 4 pm to drop off your product as long as it is grown, raised or made by you. Produce must also be GMO-free and no-spray.
At 7 pm when you pick up your unsold items, we will reimburse you for your sales (minus the 10% consignment fee).