Farmers' market


A farmers' market is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or outdoors and typically consist of booths, tables or stands where farmers sell their produce, live animals and plants, and sometimes prepared foods and beverages. Farmers' markets exist in many countries worldwide and reflect the local culture and economy. The size of the market may be just a few stalls or it may be as large as several city blocks. Due to their nature, they tend to be less rigidly regulated than retail produce shops.
They are distinguished from public markets, which are generally housed in permanent structures, open year-round, and offer a variety of non-farmer/non-producer vendors, packaged foods and non-food products.

History

The current concept of a farmers' market is similar to past concepts, but different in relation to other forms – as aspects of consumer retailing, overall, continue to shift over time. Similar forms existed before the Industrial Age, but often formed part of broader markets, where suppliers of food and other goods gathered to retail their wares. Trading posts began in 1930s, a shift toward retailers who sold others' products more than their own. General stores and grocery stores continued that specialization trend in retailing, optimizing the consumer experience, while abstracting it further from production and from production's growing complexities.
Modern industrial food production's advantages over prior methods depend largely on modern, cheap, fast transport and limited product variability. But transport costs and delays cannot be eliminated. So where distance strained industrial suppliers' reach, where consumers had strong preference for local variety, farmers' markets remained competitive with other forms of food retail. Starting in the mid-2000s, consumer demand for foods that are fresher and for foods with more variety—has led to growth of farmers' markets as a food-retailing mechanism.

Benefits

To farmers

Farmers' markets can offer farmers increased profit over selling to wholesalers, food processors, or large grocery firms. By selling directly to consumers, produce often needs less transport, less handling, less refrigeration and less time in storage. By selling in an outdoor market, the cost of land, buildings, lighting and air-conditioning is also reduced or eliminated. Farmers may also retain profit on produce not sold to consumers, by selling the excess to canneries and other food-processing firms. At the market, farmers can retain the full premium for part of their produce, instead of only a processor's wholesale price for the entire lot. However, other economists say "there are relatively few benefits in terms of energy efficiency, quality or cost... fun though they are, are not good economic models."
Some farmers prefer the simplicity, immediacy, transparency and independence of selling direct to consumers. One method noted by the special interest group Food Empowerment Project promotes community-supported agriculture programs. In this scheme, consumers pay farms seasonally or monthly to receive weekly or biweekly boxes of produce. Alternatively, they may be required to pay for an entire season's worth of produce in advance of the growing season. In either case, consumers risk losing their money if there is a crop failure.

To communities

Among the benefits often touted for communities with farmers' markets:
  • Farmers' markets help maintain important social ties, linking rural and urban populations and even close neighbors in mutually rewarding exchange.
  • market traffic generates traffic for nearby businesses
  • buying at markets encourages attention to the surrounding area and ongoing activities
  • by providing outlets for 'local' products, farmers' markets help create distinction and uniqueness, which can increase pride and encourage visitors to return.
Reduced transport, storage, and refrigeration can benefit communities too:
  • lower transport & refrigeration energy costs
  • lower transport pollution
  • lower transport infrastructure cost
  • less land dedicated to food storage
Farmers' markets may also contribute to innovative distribution means that strengthen civic engagement by reducing the social distances between urban and rural communities. With fewer intermediaries, the support of independent growers by local community members can enhance local economic opportunities and health & wellness in poor communities.

To consumers

Some consumers may favor farmers' markets for the perceived:
  • reduced overhead: driving, parking, etc.
  • fresher foods
  • seasonal foods
  • healthier foods
  • a better variety of foods, e.g.: organic foods, pasture-raised meats, free-range eggs and poultry, handmade farmstead cheeses, heirloom produce heritage breeds of meat and many less transport-immune cultivars disfavored by large grocers
  • a place to meet neighbors, chat, etc.
  • a place to enjoy an outdoor walk while getting needed groceries
Evidence seems to show that overall prices at a typical farmers' market are lower than prices at a supermarket because the process of production is more concise; there is less distance to travel, and fewer middlemen.

Regional emphasis

China

The traditional public markets in Chinese cities are known as "wet markets" where most vendors are resellers. The Chinese government has attempted to transform these traditional markets to supermarkets in urban renovation projects. It has led to a decline of these markets in some cities such as Shanghai. Yet, in other cities, wet markets persist and dominate the retail of fresh produce and meat. Because of its critical role in ensuring urban food security, wet markets receive various supports from the local government.
After 2010, farmers' markets in China were reborn in some major cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu, amidst the food safety crisis. These farmers' markets provide venues for local small ecological farmers to sell their produce within the city, catering to the urban middle-class's growing demand for high quality food. Many of these market vendors operate community-supported agriculture.

European Union

The EU has formalized efforts to expand farmers' markets to reduce food safety risks and poor nutrition through programs known as "Farm to Fork".
Farm-to-fork was developed with three main goals within the EU:
  • To develop effective forms of execution and evaluation of food safety standards
  • To work internationally with third world countries and organizations that manage food safety concerns
  • To comply with the European Food Safety Authority standards of research and its management of science-based research

    United Kingdom

Since the first farmers' market was established in the UK in 1997, the number has grown to over 550 nationwide. A number of factors led to the rise of farmers' markets in the UK in the late 1990s, including the increasing knowledge of consumers, the struggles of British farmers, anti-French sentiment, and concerns over food safety and quality. Consumers were worried about the farming practices by which food is produced, processed and the health and safety aspects of certain foods. The emergence of books, magazine articles, and cookery and gardening programmes influence consumer concern of food preparation and consumption.

United States

Due in part to the increased interest in healthier foods, a greater desire to preserve local cultivars or livestock and an increased understanding of the importance of maintaining small, sustainable farms on the fringe of urban environments, farmers' markets in the US have grown from 1,755 in 1994 to 4,385 in 2006, to 5,274 in 2009, to 8,144 in 2013. In New York City, there are 107 farmers' markets in operation. In the Los Angeles area, 88 farmers' markets exist, many of which support Hispanic and Asian fare.
In the U.S., all levels of government have provided funding to farmers' markets, for instance, through the federal programs including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, the Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, and the Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program. The programs primarily subsidize purchases at farmers' markets by low-income residents. Examples include Austin's Double Dollar Incentive Program, Boston's Bounty Bucks, Chicago's LINK Up, Columbia Heights Festibucks in Washington, D.C., Fresh Checks in East Palo Alto, Market Match in Los Angeles, Michigan's Double Up Food Bucks, New York City's Health Bucks, Portland Fresh Exchange, and Seattle Fresh Bucks. These programs often rely in part on nonprofit support.

Management

A wide range of organizations initiate, organize, and manage farmers' markets, including farmers' groups, community groups, local governments, etc.
Some markets are strictly managed, with rules for pricing, quality and vendor selection. Others are much more relaxed in their operations and vendor criteria. While the usual emphasis is on locally grown food products, some farmers' markets allow co-ops and purveyors, or allow farmers to purchase some products to resell.
There have been recent reports of fraud and products mislabeled as organic or locally grown when they are not. In some cases, fraudulent farmers' markets sell regular grocery store vegetables, passing them off as organic or locally grown, to which are usually sold to unsuspecting tourists.
Some farmers' markets have wholesale operations, sometimes limited to specific days or hours. One such wholesale farmers' market is the South Carolina State Farmers Market, which is a major supplier of watermelons, cantaloupes, and peaches for produce buyers in the north-eastern US. Farmers' markets also may supply buyers from produce stands, restaurants, and garden stores with fresh fruits and vegetables, plants, seedlings and nursery stock, honey, and other agricultural products. Although this is on the decline, in part due to the growth of chain stores that desire national distribution networks and cheap wholesales prices—prices driven down by the low cost of imported produce.