Campus Farmers’ Market

In the context of the University hosting its first ever farmer’s market last fall, what are the benefits of the farmer’s market, how can it support local and sustainable food consumption, and how can the University promote attendance at future farmer’s markets?

Introduction

The Michigan Student Assembly hosted its first MFarmers’ Market on September 15, 2011 in the courtyard of the Michigan Union. The market offered local produce and plants for purchase, as well as live demonstrations and instructions for food preparation. MSA’s goal for the market was to raise awareness about locally grown food. A number of campus divisions collaborated on the project, including representatives from MHealthy, University Housing, the Student Sustainability Initiative, Planet Blue, University Catering, University Arts and Programs, University Health Services and the Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute. The overall goal was to encourage learning among students about the benefits and availability of local food. Market organizers helped encourage communication between farmers and students by displaying information on local food, including instructions on how to make easy meals at home. Students who visited the market really enjoyed the access to local food, but there were some criticisms of the organization of the market. Many students expressed the opinion that the market could benefit from a change of location. Not many students knew where the Union patio was, and it is not a highly frequented area.

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Benefits of Farmers' Markets

There are many benefits involved with purchasing food at a Farmer’s market. The consumer, who purchases fresh and healthy food, is the one with perhaps the most obvious gains. Most of the time the produce for sale at a farmer’s market is sold at a lower price and is of equal or greater quality than a similar product purchased at a supermarket. (Trobe 183) Another quality of a farmer’s market that appeals to certain customers is the fact that they can ask questions to the farmers about how their products were raised or cultivated. This aspect helps to offer not only a more social and enjoyable shopping experience, but also addresses the potential moral concerns a customer might have. According to this article, by offering locally grown food, consumers can rest assure that their food is not being produced by labor that may have been exploited in abroad. (Trobe 184)

Other benefits of a farmer’s market are those gained by the actual farmer’s and producers. When there is no middleman individual farmers are able to keep more of the profit. This can amount to up to three times more than prices earned via wholesale methods. (Trobe 184) Locally grown food travels far lesser distances from point of production to point of consumption. This decrease in travel cost cuts down on global environmental pollution as well as decreasing the “assembly and distribution” cost, which can amount to 80% of the selling price in supermarkets. (Trobe 181, 183)

Benefits of Local

Eating local promotes a better nourished world because farmers often produce for export which can leave themselves and their communities malnourished and underserved. Eating local also supports the local economy and community by creating jobs, raising incomes, supporting farmers, and strengthening community ties. (pg 7)

Location and Timing

Attendance at farmers’ markets usually suffers from the limited hours of operation, due to the inability of farmers to take more than two or three days off to transport goods to market (Tong et al. 2012). The limited window for operation can be complicated by poor location, and this discourages consumers from visiting farmers’ markets. Consumers are then faced with limited choices regarding where and when they can purchase such products. It is important that future research concerning farmers’ markets should incorporate people’s daily activities and travel patterns into the understanding of food access (Tong et al. 2012). These travel characteristics can be used in the planning of campus farmers’ markets. Farmer’s markets should be located in high-traffic, convenient areas where students are most likely to frequent during a regular day. Most students do not have the ability, or the time, to make a special trip off campus to purchase food. Locating farmers’ markets on or near campus, within walking distance for students, in highly frequented areas could greatly promote future attendance. Campus farmers’ markets should plan their hours of operation around students’ schedules. This may be hard, considering the variation in schedules for college students, but overall afternoon and evening markets would be best for the average student. Classes would be ending by this time, and students could pick up their produce on their trip back from class. Weekends might also be a good time for campus markets because students would be available all day to visit the market, and would not be too busy with classes.

Create a market where social learning and farmer-customer interaction takes a primary role.

Customers and farmers learn from and adapt to one another as a result of interactions at farmers’ markets. The learning that takes place at farmers’ markets can help encourage further sustainable choices by consumers, and help build resilience in the local food system. Helping local farmers communicate with consumers at the farmers’ markets helps encourage further attendance and also encourage consumers to make sustainable food choices. This could include pamphlets and flyers about sustainable food choices, and about where the food that is being purchased comes from. The farmer-customer interaction plays a paramount role in the education, integration, and enticement of new and existing customers. Social learning and business increases with an engaged, returning customer base.

Increase advertising and ease of availability to increase customer base and exposure.

A study of farmers markets in low income communities suggests the existence of the markets draws a base of customers, but with increased advertising and convenience, the market can draw a large base of returning customers even in communities where one third of all customers were on some sort of governmental food assistance.

Let the backing student groups and university organizations innovate and take responsibility of the social learning, marketing, and physical location and structure to enhance the capacity of the market.

Increase regularity of the market to once monthly or weekly in order to build a resilient customer base and promote a regular community.

Farmer’s Markets have increasingly become a social experience, and the naturally arising networking, marketing, and entrepreneurial activities at successful existing markets can also be utilized to facilitate community and success around less developed markets. Social learning and innovation can also take place but can be restricted by the actual vendors’ desires. “Municipalities, farmers’ market organizers, and community supporters, such as ‘‘Friends of the Market’’ groups, can plan, design, and reorganize farmers’ markets to create physical spaces and social climates where opportunities for mutually valued social learning are encouraged” (55). The University Farmer’s Market is primed to take advantage of these facts because of the large number of student and university groups involved in the planning. The groups responsible for facilitating this market can take responsibility of the social learning, community building, marketing, and structure to take the pressure off the farmers and give them an extra incentive to come regularly.

Sources

  1. Freedman, D. A., Bell, B. A., & Collins, L. V. (2011). The Veggie Project: A case study of a multi-component farmers’ market intervention. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 32(3-4), 213-224. doi:10.1007/s10935-011-0245-9
  2. Halweil, B., Prugh, T. (2002). Home grown: the case for local food in a global market. Washington, DC: Worldwatch Institute.
  3. Hinrichs, C., Gillespie, G., & Feenstra, G. (2004). Social learning and innovation at retail farmers' markets. Rural Sociology, 69(1), 31-58. - economic/sociology/geography
  4. Milestad, R., Westberg, L., Geber, U., & Björklund, J. (2010). Enhancing adaptive capacity in food systems: Learning at farmers' markets in sweden. Ecology & Society, 15(3), 1-18.
  5. Tong, D., Ren, F., & Mack, J. (2012). Locating farmers’ markets with an incorporation of spatio-temporal variation. Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 46(2), 149-156.