Managing farmer and consumer expectations: A study of a North Carolina farmers market

Human Organization, Summer 2002 by Andreatta, Susan, Wickliffe, William II

Making fresh produce available seven days a week at the PTFM is very difficult for small farmers with limited resources. As a result, the manager has been forced to rely on larger farmers and vendors to supply the market, putting small farmers at a disadvantage. Small farmers are able to produce quality products; their limitations are in time, capital, sufficient labor for production or marketing, and production of limited quantities.

Like other farmers markets in a similar stage of development, the PTFM must resolve an internal conflict, that of market identity (Lloyd, Nelson, and Tilley 1987). PTFM's current policies are not supportive of small farmers, and many are going elsewhere to market their products. The market could devise policies that would support small, local farmers, and this would be a valuable goal, both economically and culturally. Certainly, it would mirror the priorities that consumers seem to have in mind when they shop at the market.

In this study, we have identified some of the factors that attract consumers and farmers to farmers markets. On the consumers' part, these include an interest in fresh, locally grown produce, a desire to support local farmers and the local farm economy, an interest in cooking with seasonally available foods, and enjoyment of the market atmosphere. The possibility of buying food more cheaply than at a supermarket was not an important factor, even though Lloyd, Nelson, and Tilley (1987:2) list this first among the reasons they give for consumers attending a farmers market. On the farmers' part, attractive factors include access to a space to sell their products, the proximity of the market to their farm, and the number of potential customers.

Our study has shown that the farmers market itself plays an important role in structuring the relationships between farmers and consumers and in determining whether the experiences of selling and buying at the market are satisfying. The market is more than just a physical space for commercial transactions; rather, the market, and the policies and regulations that govern its operation, is an active contributor to the cultural dynamic within which those transactions take place. Our findings emphasize the importance of understanding the market as a context within which farmers and consumers make their marketing and buying decisions. They also point out the need for market managers to understand how their decisions may affect the success of the market by establishing a context that satisfies consumers' and farmers' expectations.

Notes

1Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is a production and distribution system that is supported by prepaying members (known as shareholders or subscribers) who purchase a share of the annual seasonal harvest from a farmer, which is then distributed on a weekly basis at predetermined pick-up locations (Andreatta 2000; DeLind 1999; Groh and McFadden 1997; Kane 1998; Ostrom 1997). CSA subsribers share in the benefits and risks associated with crop production, including both bountiful and scarce harvests. Participating in a CSA enables consumers to take responsibility for the food system that nourishes them, creating a social responsibility toward the people involved and an ecological