Repinned this to the top of this blog as there is a large discussion on this topic happening once again this year.

 Starting in the early 1970s, there was a rapid rise in the number and spread of new farmers markets, even in the face of an increasingly globalized retail sector, an over saturation of unhealthy foods, and the ongoing loss of public spaces. By setting public goals and designing their spaces based on those goals and local culture, farmers markets grew in number and relevance, building deep loyalty from under 500 sites to more than 8,000 in recent years.

However, as the term farmers market becomes widely used by retail outlets without any interest in serving farmers or local goods, the authentic markets among them may be in danger of losing their value and their hard-earned shopper allegiance.

By most estimates, the most recent rise in the number of farmers markets in the US began around 1976 with the passage of the Direct Marketing Act, which directed the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support farmers and organizers who wanted to combat the explosion in packaged and fast food offerings.

But even prior to that law, significant initiatives were already in progress in places like Madison, WI, Brattleboro, VT, and Athens, OH. Those earliest markets are part of a cluster of markets founded by “back-to-landers” interested in ecological concerns and community. Almost all the earliest markets were in towns with a university and included vendors who adopted sustainable practices. Most of the early markets defined their market as “producer-only” , severely or completely banned any reselling and did not allow any packaged products. More clusters of new markets followed in the 1990s and 2000s, all using a definition that prioritized local farmers (often defining that as a percentage of spaces only for agricultural food producers or harvesters), with each cluster adding amenities and programs to serve a widening set of shoppers and goals.

Through all of these clusters of new markets, research indicates that farmers markets continued to prioritize being casually inviting, locally controlled, and to expand what was available regionally across many seasons.

At the same time, these markets’ use of “secondary” space (such as parking lots), temporary structures and refusal to go into “storefront” mode has often confounded government leaders. Yet, during the pandemic, open-air markets showed their versatility by meeting the moment with safer design protocols, product abundance and customer care. The published USDA COVID project survey of customers show a large number turning to farmers markets immediately after finding their usual stores shelves lacking in healthy foods, with many expressing a promise to remain as loyal market shoppers even after the crisis was over.

Still, even with those examples, government is too often beguiled by the idea of a huge store, even when it means little in the way of permanent good employment or local wealth. And when they do come, big box stores quickly take note of the success of local food and farmers markets and increasingly begin to use their images, messaging, and even the name.

While some states legally define farmers market (and not as many as one would think, with even fewer enforcing it), there is no single national regulation of the term. Recently, the USDA published a new definition but just for their survey of farmers markets that is being led by researchers at Michigan State University(MSU):

A farmers market is a designated, recurring location in which two or more vendors sell locally-produced items directly to shoppers.  At least one vendor must sell agricultural products (produce, meat/poultry, seafood, honey, plants, eggs, dairy, grain) that they grew, raised, or harvested. Farmers markets are coordinated by an individual, group, or organization/agency. 

This definition was kept deliberately vague as a way for MSU to collect data from a wide variety of farmers markets in every state, and because the USDA has long suggested that they do not want to define the term strictly to allow states and localities to define it for their purposes. Even so, this simple description was not universally approved by all market or all state leaders: some reportedly wanted it much stricter, and some less.

Along with that troubling lack of a definition, there is also constant chatter online from shoppers complaining about farmers markets that have a preponderance of everything but local farm goods, including crafts, packaged drinks, and even resold packaged goods.

All of this suggests that it may be time for leaders to decide what constitutes a farmers market in their region, to defend itself and its terms to keep this most recent 50-year revival of the ancient term alive and well and supported by its vendors and its shoppers.