Program Highlight -
Expanding the Market for Local Foods
One might expect to drive out into the country to buy the freshest fruits and vegetables at a roadside stand.
But in Bob Pierson’s world, the best places to find local produce are at farmers’ markets in densely populated urban areas—like the northwest corner of Philadelphia City Hall. It’s best, he says, because local farmers—half of them grow crops in the urban setting—bring absolutely fresh, high-quality goods to a location where throngs of very appreciative consumers can’t wait to get their hands on the merchandise.
In fact, Pierson says, Mayor Michael Nutter stepped out of his office not too many days ago to patronize the market and was spotted sampling a cracker spread made with locally grown herbs.
Across Pennsylvania, farmers’ markets appear to be the foot-in-the-door that local growers are using to expand their businesses. And they aren’t just growing more tomatoes to sell in July and August. They sell a wide variety of goods at the markets and to restaurants and grocery stores. They think of their business, too, as something they can develop and sell some day. And local produce sold on town squares has become a sort of tourist attraction that bolsters downtowns.
Market watchers say the seasons are beginning earlier with the sale of bedding plants and running later with preserved foods and baked goods that can be prepared in commercial kitchens. Different and exotic foods, meats and dairy products can be found at the markets. Best of all, consumers are becoming increasingly food-savvy and demanding higher quality from large scale grocers.
The market at City Hall, open from noon until 6 p.m. Wednesdays, is the newest of 15 markets within the city. The offerings include “beautiful vegetables,” some of which are grown by high school students, says Pierson, Extension Educator. Customers find exotic and European vegetables like Asian greens and multi-colored beets, as well as the increasingly popular broccolirab, bok choi florets, dandelion and sorrel.
Other Philadelphia markets, found at www.farmtocity.org, report that tomato sales skyrocketed in the wake of the tainted tomato outbreak this spring. Farmers brought all they had but could have sold twice as many.
Philadelphia is no stranger to local food production, Pierson says. A longtime organization, City Parks Association, held a design competition and received 225 entries from many nations. One of the finalists was “Farmadelphia,” a concept that’s being nurtured by multiple partners for use as an urban farming resource.
Another aspect of farming in the City of Brotherly Love involves an attempt to establish greenhouses that would use underprivileged people—someone coming out of jail or someone who needs to perform community service--to grow food to feed other underprivileged groups like unemployed pregnant women, Pierson says. It would operate on money from fines levied for food industry violations.
The Gettysburg area of Adams County, much smaller than the thriving metropolis that is Philadelphia, hosts three markets where farmers sell locally grown goods, including one downtown on the Square. Originated about 15 years ago through a grassroots effort, the market took flight just a few years ago and this year has seen a 40 percent increase in customers.
The other markets, located in New Oxford and at the outlet shops, fall under one blanket and are jointly advertised, says Kathy Glahn, a former manufacturer’s rep in the retail sector who nurtures the markets as a project. She also sells her goods at the markets, mainly salad greens, kiwi berries and florals, as well as eggs and other items for producers who cannot staff a booth on a regular basis.
Glahn, who also sells her produce to local restaurants and bed and breakfasts, says county commissioners and community leaders are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of farmers’ markets, so she goes the extra mile to make sure they are as good as they can be. For example, she looks for growers who are trying to make a living off the land instead of backyard gardeners who want to sell off their extras. To accomplish that, she says, she looks for vendors who will provide a variety of top quality items every week of the season. They also must provide a certificate of insurance and adhere to food safety rules.
Customers look for the basics when they shop at a farmers’ market, items found along the perimeters of a grocery store, including produce, meat, dairy and bakery items, Glahn says. They also look for unusual products and that’s one of her specialties. Her kiwi berries are getting so popular that she’s even getting ready to sell vines. But she won’t sell to just anyone; she just might ask would-be growers for references.
Glahn likes looking at the markets collectively as they grow. But when she awakes at 4:30 a.m. and looks over the rim of her coffee cup at her own small farm, she knows that it’s in her best interest to keep it small. After all, she says, it will be easier when the time comes, to sell a small, efficiently operating farm than a huge one.
One side effect of the local farmers’ markets is that customers become faithful and in the process learn to be more discriminating about what they put on the table. That, in turn, pushes grocers to seek local produce for their shelves.
In one farm market promotion, Glahn gathered statistics by reading containers in a grocery store and mapping the hundreds or thousands of miles the items had been transported. Then she noted that most of the products at the farm markets had traveled 20 miles or less. Customers often comment on how long the local produce stays fresh after they take it home.
Jon Laughner, an Extension educator based in Beaver County, offers some guidelines for expanding the market for local foods. Farmers know that in-town markets are good for them because they don’t all have prime locations for selling what they grow. And main street managers of communities know that local produce has a way of bringing people to downtown areas.
Don’t wait until spring to start planning a market, he says. Start in the fall to line up a variety of vendors. And set up strict guidelines for a “producers-only” market to prevent it from becoming a flea market with some vegetables. “You want to develop a clientele that’s looking for quality (and to) support local farmers.” Lock out vendors who would offer second- or third-rate produce.
Customers of the markets in Beaver County often say they like being able to look at the person who got up at 4 a.m. to pick berries or tomatoes for them, Laughner says. They make comparisons to the well-traveled produce in chain markets and tell him that even though the appearance is the same, the local foods are fresher and of higher quality.
Beaver County has five farmers’ markets spread out over different days and some customers try to hit them all each week. And the offerings are constantly expanding to include much more than fruits and vegetables, Laughner says. Some vendors offer grass-fed beef and others sell eggs with deep-yellow yolks. Expanding the season at the beginning includes the sale of bedding plants and herbs. Extending the season into the very cold months could be done by preserving locally grown items—frozen meats and jellies--in commercial kitchens.
Laughner echoes Glahn’s finding that large scale grocers are jumping on the “buy local” bandwagon. “They see that customers are looking for local foods; they are trying to mimic what we are seeing at farmers’ markets.”