MarketReady Buyer Tours

What is a Buyer Tour?

The MarketReady Buyer Tours were created to help connect local food producers with local food buyers. Attendees can ask questions and make connections with potential buyers in the grocery/retail, restaurant, farm-to-school, and other similar marketplaces. The goal of this event is for producers to learn about new market opportunities and how buyers work with local food producers to bring local food products into their markets.

The Buyer Tours began in 2022 and were so well received that we have three Buyer Tours planned for 2023! The Buyer Tours for this year will take place in Bowling Green on May 25th, Lexington on August 3rd, and Lousiville on August 10th.

You can register for the upcoming Buyer Tours on our Upcoming Events page. View some of the highlights from our Bowling Green tour below!

Check out highlights from our 2023 Bowling Green, Kentucky Tour below!

Tour group with Dalla Emerson at Bowling Green High School

Farm to School

Our first stop on the Buyer Tour was Farm to School. The tour group visited Bowling Green High School and met with Dalla Emerson (pictured above in purple) who is the Food Service Director for Bowling Green Independent Schools. Participants learned about how Dalla works with local farmers and producers to source local products for her schools' lunches.

Agritourism

The middle stop on our tour was Chaney's Dairy Barn. Tour attendees were able to hear from Carl Chaney (pictured above in black) about the process behind their agritourism operation. Attendees loved seeing the operation from behind-the-scenes!

Tour group at Howard's Harvest Market in Bowling Green, Kentucky

Local Grocery/Retail Buyer

The last stop on our tour was Howard's Harvest Market. Tour attendees learned how Derek Howard (pictured above in gray) works with local growers and producers to source local products for his store. Some of our attendees even connected with Derek to sell product to him in the future!

Why is buying local important? Hear it from the buyer's perspective!

Dalla Emerson -- FSD @ Bowling Green Independent Schools

Dalla Emerson is a Food Service Director and loves buying local food for her students. Hear what she has to say about local purchasing in the video above!

Derek Howard -- Owner of Howard's Harvest Market

Derek loves working with local food producers and bringing local products to his market! Check out the video to hear why.