Florence Farmers Market Names First-Ever Market Director for 2026 Season

Linea, who spent the 2025 season running day-to-day operations at the Florence Farmers Market as its Market Manager, has been promoted to a newly created position: the organization's first-ever Market Director. The market announced the promotion on March 19, 2026, through its official website and a distributed news release.

The title is new, but Linea's face is not. Florence shoppers may recognize her from a market vendor booth she ran a couple of years ago, and she co-owns Friends and Family Farm in Veneta. Her experience spans the full arc of the local food economy: she has worked as a farmer, a market vendor, and a farmers market board member. "Linea has years of experience from all the sides of farming and farmers markets," the market wrote in its introduction of her for the 2025 season.

The Market Director promotion follows a structural shift the Florence Farmers Market began building into its operations last year. The market's website noted that expanding the management team had been "a long time discussion," with leadership acknowledging that running the physical market required more than one person to handle effectively. For 2025, the market moved to a two-person team by bringing in Roanne as Assistant Market Manager alongside Linea.

Roanne's background reaches well beyond logistics. The market describes her as a professional whole food chef, musician, singer/songwriter, and poet who has supported the Florence Farmers Market in multiple capacities over the years. Regular attendees may recognize her from performing music at the market or from a solar dehydrator demonstration she led at the kids table, where she engaged children with sun-dried snacks.

The market's sponsor list reflects broad community investment in the operation, including PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center, Western Lane Community Foundation, Northwest Farm Credit Services, and Nosh Eatery in Old Town Florence, among others. The market also maintains programming tied to SNAP benefits and offers a community table, vendor resources, and a pre-order service through its website.

With Linea stepping into the director role ahead of the 2026 season, the market's management structure is more formalized than at any point in its history.