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The Vegetarian Food Fair Manual Project Hosted by Follow these links to learn more about VUNA and IVU:
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Vegetarian Food Fair Manual Draft Part II Section 14: Planning your group's visibility and participation A vegetarian food fair offers a unique opportunity for your group or organization to gain visibility and make your activities and mission known to the general public. You should think carefully about how you want to participate as an organization at the food fair you're organizing. Certainly you'll want to think about promoting activities and campaigns and recruiting new members for your organization (see Section 22). You'll also want to display materials and information that reflect your mission, describe the causes you're pursuing, and provide details about why these causes deserve the attention of the public. You may also be thinking in terms of raising some money through the sale of merchandise. Brainstorming The food fair is your chance to get center stage for your ideals and your mission. So be sure not to neglect planning for your own participation in the scurry to get vendors, exhibitors, and other participants booked. Take inventory of your merchandise, literature, and displays (including posters and signs) early and determine and obtain what you need to create an effective display. You might find it worthwhile to purchase special brochure and literature holders to organize materials and keep them in place. One option is to assign your group a booth in which you can set up a literature display, show a video, sell merchandise, or be available for one-on-one outreach. You might also want to feature free samples or other food items that are not featured by the vendors or other participants at the fair. Your involvement will likely be primarily informational unless your purpose is primarily to raise funds for your organization (see Section 28), in which case you may need space for a silent auction, for example, or other fundraising events. A large banner or sign making your booth prominent will help members of the public find you and ensure that they don't miss stopping by your booth. TOP Setting up As mentioned in Section 9, you want to choose a place that is slightly removed from high-activity areas of the event such as vendors, bands, and speakers. You'll want a place that is quieter so that interaction with the public can take place and so that people feel comfortable standing there for a while. Create a relaxing space rather than one in which people feel like they're "in the way." Be sure to provide plenty of free literature that is easy for the public to reach. Also provide a variety of merchandise in several sizes and styles. A variety of books is also a good idea. Make your space open and inviting so that people feel free to ask questions and perhaps stand nearby for a while browsing or interacting. Keep the fundraising area separated from the literature area a bit, and be sure to have volunteers staffing both areas separately so that there is always someone available to answer questions. You don't want to have one or two volunteers responsible for replenishing literature, making change, answering questions, and selling merchandise. TOP Checklist for setting up your organization's booth ___ Provide plenty of literature and keep it replenished throughout the fair. |
