Find Out If Your Market Belongs Here
Who qualifies for Market Life?
Market Life exists to connect people with independent, community-centered markets—places where people can find good things, meet the people behind them, and participate in the life of their community.
There are two distinct paths for a market to qualify for inclusion in Market Life. You do not have to meet both.
PATH ONE: LOCAL
Your market has public shopping hours where at least 80% of what you offer is made by independent local producers, AND at least 80% of what you offer is intended for take-home use.
A market qualifies through the Local path when at least 80% of the products it offers are grown, made, produced, or sourced locally within the area it serves, AND at least 80% of the products offered are intended for customers to take home rather than primarily consumed on-site. The goal isn’t that every item must come from the same town. Local can include products from independent farms, makers, producers, and businesses within a reasonable regional area.
Markets that may qualify through the Local path include:
• Farm Stands & Farm Markets
Products are primarily grown or produced by the owner’s farm or sourced directly from other local independent growers and producers—not purchased through conventional wholesale channels or simply resold from outside suppliers.
• Farmers Markets
Multiple independent local farmers, growers, producers, makers, or artisans come together to sell directly to the community.
• Multi-Vendor Markets
A permanent or recurring market featuring products from multiple independent local vendors, with the majority of offerings coming from the local area.
• Local Food Markets
Markets centered around locally grown, produced, baked, prepared, or preserved foods from independent local producers.
• Artisan & Maker Markets
Markets where the majority of goods are created by independent local makers, craftspeople, or artisans.
• Local Buying Clubs
Community-based buying groups that make locally produced goods available through a recurring ordering or pickup model. A market can still carry some non-local products and qualify under this path – the 80% standard is based on the overall offerings of the market, not a requirement that every individual item be local or used at home. And this can be an online group as long as there are defined shopping windows and the club is managed locally.
• Specialty Producers
Local producers who make and sell their own goods, such as apothecaries, distilleries, and grain mills, may qualify if they maintain a genuine market with public shopping hours and meet the Path 1 local sourcing and take-home requirements. Photos may be requested to verify that the market offers a substantial shopping experience worthy of a destination.
PATH TWO: COMMUNITY-CENTERED
Your market’s community purpose is the reason it exists.
Not every worthwhile market can meet the 80% local standard. Some markets serve their communities in other meaningful ways.
A market may qualify through the Community-Centered path when it has a clearly established role in strengthening the community through community ownership, refill and reuse, community programming, or another substantial community-centered mission.
Markets that may qualify through the Community-Centered path include:
• Community-Owned Markets
Markets owned by local residents, members, a cooperative, nonprofit, community organization, or another structure that gives the community a meaningful stake in the market.
• Cooperatives & Member Markets
Markets built around member ownership, participation, or shared community benefit.
• Refilleries
Markets centered around refillable, reusable, package-free, low-waste, or alternative ways of purchasing everyday goods.
• Community Connection
Markets that provide a genuinely distinctive, community-centered shopping experience, or that bring people together through a meaningful shared purpose, local connection, or community need.
• Markets with Community Programming
Markets that regularly provide meaningful community programs, or support local producers by partnering to provide education, workshops, events, services, or initiatives beyond simply selling products.
• Mission-Driven Markets
Markets with a clearly established purpose centered on serving the community and creating benefits that extend beyond ordinary retail.
What About Markets That Don’t Fit Neatly Into One Category?
We know independent markets don’t all look the same.
A market may operate seasonally, be primarily farm-based, have a combination of local and non-local offerings, or have an ownership structure that doesn’t fit neatly into a traditional model. Those things don’t automatically disqualify a market.
We look at the market as a whole—what it offers, who operates it, who it serves, and the role it plays in its community.
Markets operated by large corporations, national chains, or outside commercial organizations without a meaningful local or community-centered purpose generally do not fit the Market Life model.
If you’re unsure which path applies to your market, we’d rather have you ask than count yourself out.
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Market Life 364
Building Resilient Communities, One Independent Market At A Time
Independent Markets. Resilient Communities.
Whether you’re building a business, growing your local market, or simply living the Market Life, we’re here to support your journey.
Built On The Rhythm Of Real Life …
Market Life 364 and the Market Life Directory were born from the everyday rhythm of homestead living – gathering eggs before meetings, weeding the garden between strategy calls, and building a business while raising a family. It’s a brand rooted in faith and the steady, grounded work of crating a life from scratch.
That same spirit shapes Market Life today – supporting the independent markets, makers, growers, and community builders who are creating meaningful local economies of their own. We bring together the people who live, work, and build with purpose – and who believe a good life is something worth building from the ground up.