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

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

Background

Industrialization, consolidation, and vertical integration of agriculture and the food industry have transformed a local food system into one that is primarily global (Bonnano et al. 1994; Goldschmidt 1947; Grey 2000; McMichael 1994). As a result, there has been a gradual increase in monoculture crop specialization and a reliance on transportation and other technologies designed to maximize profit with the movement of farm products (Barlett 1993; Doyal 1985; Grey 2000). Some have argued that this shift has been made at the expense of the taste of food, the integrity of the environment, and the health of farmers, farmworkers, and consumers (Andreatta 1997,1998; Grey 2000; Schlosser 2001).

Faced with these trends, small farmers increasingly encounter challenges and obstacles as they look for alternative growing and marketing strategies to sustain their livelihood. Many small farmers find themselves faced with limited capital, time, labor, and resources. They often produce in limited quantities, so traditional wholesale market outlets are not a viable option. Hence, small-farm operators are being squeezed out of the current agricultural system. And consumers are increasingly removed from the source of their food, which on average has traveled 1,300 miles before it reached their plate (Schlosser 2001). As Eric Schlosser (2001) points out in Fast Food Nation, a vast number of eaters are relying on convenience foods for their daily food intake, food which is often grown many miles away from where it is prepared and consumed.

Dissatisfaction with the global and vertical nature of the current agricultural and food system has led to increasing support for local agro-food systems. Local agro-food systems comprise all the individuals and processes involved in getting food from local farms to tables. Increased support for small, diverse, multicrop farmers can help mitigate the challenges of the industrial food system with its reliance on large-scale monoculture and long-distance distribution. Increasing reliance on local farm products begins to move communities toward sustainable agriculture and food systems. Farmers markets are a critical part of any system that brings local food to local tables.

Farmers markets provide an opportunity for growers to sell directly to consumers, chefs, food purveyors, and food designers. They are a place of business as well as a location for building community, allowing consumers and farmers to become more closely connected. Many small farmers3 rely on farmers markets as a valuable part of their total farm operation. For consumers, these markets are an ideal place to purchase fresh, locally grown food and to interact with and learn from the people that grew it.

In contrast to the consolidation of the agro-food system, farmers markets allow farmers to sell local food directly to consumers. Different markets have their own character, depending on whether they are state-, city- or town-supported, on the type of farmers who use them and the products they sell, and on their location, their years of operation, and the clientele they serve. Some are in open fields where farmers pull down the tailgate of their pick-up trucks, while others are in shelters or enclosed buildings. At most, the space available for farmers is limited, and at popular markets during the summer months space is at premium. High demand for vending space has led many markets to establish space-priority rules, reservations, point and credit systems for tracking sellers' attendance, and waiting lists for future vacancies.