A way to boost community, help farmers — and eat well
Is it time to rethink the farmers market?
The extraordinary, decadesin-the-making nationwide success of traditional farmers markets attests to the huge benefits many obtain from them. They are one of life’s great pleasures, offering access to the highestquality food. They also ask both producers and consumers to slow down, show up, and meet one another — and are thus powerful engines for building social capital and civic trust.
Yes, it’s wonderful to talk to the person who grows the broccoli, but does that person also need to take your cash and bag your groceries? And do customers really need to check out five times in one shopping trip?
This deep participation is deeply costly. Farmers markets,
CSAS, and farm stands tend to require large investments of time and money from producers. They stand in the cold and rain for one or two days a week, six months out of twelve, spending time loading and unloading boxes, tents, and tables — time that could be used on the farm. And often, markets restrict the number of similar producers who can participate, excluding many.
But there’s a better way, and it’s deeply rooted in American history and culture. We can strengthen the traditional business model for farmers markets by augmenting their operations with what we’ve learned from a century of shopping at supermarkets: Put a roof on the farmer’s market. Make life easier for farmers. Be open seven days a week. Have a centralized, computerized checkout. Offer deliveries.
That’s what we began in the shadow of COVID -19, when we launched a virtual farmers market with the purpose of giving local farmers a safe way to get their goods to market and customers a safe way to support local farms — while enjoying abundant, delicious food.
The next step was to expand into a brick-and-mortar, sevenday operation in New Lebanon, where local farmers set their own prices and realize 88 percent of the sales. The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded us a three-year, $500,000
grant to attempt this dramatic expansion.
We still support a seasonal outdoor market, but now the community doesn’t have to wait for the weekend for fresh, locally grown carrots. We also stock quality groceries and a diverse range of packaged and locally produced prepared food. Carrying bananas and cereal makes life easier for busy families and helps people include more locally grown kale in their diets.
We’re also partnering with three local farms to host a cooperative CSA this summer. Each farm is growing crops that play to its strengths, and we’ll manage the weekly pickups. That means our neighbors get to pick up their eggs, bread, and other grocery items as well as their veggies in one convenient trip to the market. We get a small cut of the revenue, so everyone wins.
Our customers know that what they see in our store comes from a box truck on the interstate only when those items aren’t available locally. What we carry is generally farmed, picked, cooked, baked, prepared, or raised not by strangers, but by neighbors, friends, and family.
Our upstate region is still home to a farming community that has helped generations stay well fed, healthy, and connected to their neighbors. But it’s a two-way street — farmers and producers sustain communities, but communities must also sustain farmers.
Let’s see more towns welcome what we’re doing — and more state and federal support for innovative models like this. If New Lebanon is any indication, consumers are ready and eager to invest in their local farmers by supporting and enjoying food that’s nutritious, environmentally friendly, ethically sound, and accessible for everyone.