A Successful Farmers' Market: 3 Defining Aspects

In the United States, there are currently 8,144 farmers' markets.  However, how many of them are truly enjoyable, entertaining, and exciting?  What defines a good market from a great one?  After visiting many of the local markets in the Bay Area, I came up with these defining characteristics:

Exclusivity

Kika's strawberries are the best in the valley.  Photo via realtimefarms.com.

One key ingredient is a variety of exclusive offerings. A few years ago, when it was impossible to find pluots at grocery stores.  People had to go to the farmers market or a farm stand to buy them.  Some may think that this idea is limited to specialty crops, or even prepared and processed foods -- after all, a strawberry from the farmers' market is the same as a strawberry from the store, right?  Wrong.  Just having a special variety of fruit will draw people in and keep them coming back.  At a local market, there is a strawberry grower that everyone looks forward to seeing when strawberry season starts; their strawberries are have such a great berry flavor, and are so sweet.  Unusual offerings, even if only a bit special, will expand customers' horizons and keep them thinking about the market.

Location

Baltimore Farmers Market and Bazaar -- Under an overpass.  Not the worst location, actually.  Photo via examiner.com.

Yes, yes!  Location, location, location.  This might seem silly, but it's really not.  I've seen enough markets placed in inconvenient and confusing locations to know that this is important.  Sometimes this is because of finances; it's cheaper to place a market somewhere a little out of the way.  At the same time, if a market isn't well marketed, no one will know it's there.  If it's difficult to find, then less hardy prospective customers will turn around and go to Whole Foods.  Even those that do arrive may do so in a less than happy mood -- I know, I've been there.  Similarly, close and plentiful parking are important, though less so if the area is metropolitan enough.  Another aspect of this is permanence; a market that's constantly moving just creates confusion.  One local farmers' market has moved nearly every year its been in existence; this means, every year, the market has to work hard to inform the community of its new location, and convince them that its still worth going to.  Customers shouldn't have to question whether a market will be there the next week, so a sense of permanence is extremely important.

Community

Create spaces for people to socialize.  Photo via missioncommunitymarket.org.

This is perhaps the hardest aspect to develop in a market, but nonetheless, the most important.  It's a touchy-feely, ever-shifting point that depends very heavily upon the participation of those who come to the market, both the vendors and the customers.  Having vendors who truly understand and believe in their product helps significantly; it means that they can create real dialogue with customers, which helps build relationships.  Entertainment and events can help build a sense of community, too; chef's demonstrations, sampling days, a children's area, and holiday celebrations are all events that can foster a sense of community.  If the market has hot foods or other offerings that are ready to eat there, then a café are with tables and chairs would be beneficial to encouraging people to gather and socialize.


Sources:
Planck, N. (2004). Some thoughts on selling at farmers' markets.  Rodale Institute.  Retrieved from http://www.newfarm.org/features/0504/farmmarkets/index.shtml

USDA (2014).  Farmers Markets and Direct-to-Consumer Marketing.  Retrieved from http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/farmersmarkets

What-What?! Week of April 13th

For the past five years, my husband has worked at the farmers' markets, for the first 18 months as an assistant, then as a full-fledged manager of the fourth largest market in California.  Tomorrow is officially his last day as a manager for the California Farmers Market Association, and today is possibly the last time he works at a farmers' market.  Yesterday, I went up to see him manage the Saratoga market for the last time.  It was kind of bittersweet; I've loved having my husband work at the markets, but it's definitely time to move along.

His last day of work marks the beginning of really, really preparing to move up to Washington state.  I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't concerned about the future, but I think this is what we need to do, and that, in the long term, it'll be for the best.  The husband and I have all ready started on packing, sorting, and cleaning, which has made it clear that we've continually decluttered enough that we don't have much more to get rid of before we move.

In other news, you may have noticed that I've updated the color scheme of the blog.  I'm not entirely sold on the blue, but I liked it best of the options I considered.  I also posted an article early last week, 4 Funniest Non-Show-Accurate Toys Ever, which discusses some of the most ridiculous TV and movie toys I've seen.

Cooking:  Carrot Mash with Brown Sugar and Cayenne Pepper

This was inspired by a very similar dish on Yahoo! Food, but because I was missing ingredients, it became something different.  The children and I really liked this, though I cooked it especially because my husband wasn't here, because he doesn't like boiled carrots.

1 pound Carrots, washed, peeled, and cubed
2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
Dash of Cayenne Pepper

Boil carrots until tender, then drain and mash with a fork or potato masher (my kids were calling it a "carrot musher" :P ).  Add brown sugar and cayenne pepper to taste.  Enjoy!

What-What?! Week of February 16th

This week, I don't know what happened.  Mostly, I think the household was in survival mode.  We received a box of packing peanuts and toilet paper.  It also had ork miniatures, so you know, there's that, too.  I posted a new article about children's board games, because we've accrued a collection of them.

I haven't felt much like writing lately.  I don't get a lot of time to cook, either.  When I do cook, it's mostly just quick and easy stuff, and because it's the end of the week, the cupboards are a little bare.  Yesterday, I made a quiche using leftover pork, frozen vegetables, onion, cheese, and Worchester sauce.  Basically, dinner from the freezer, without being a frozen dinner (ha!).

Food Review:  Ecopia Farms Salad Kit -- Farmhouse Citrus Salad

My husband came home with this for our dinner yesterday.  The photograph above really does not do this salad justice; it's not just a salad, but an experience.  The kit comes with the salad greens, fresh herb mix, glass canisters of quinoa, blood oranges, and feta cheese, cotton baggies of toasted sunflower seeds and sea salt, as well as a small glass bottle of dressing.  You open the bag and start pulling more and more ingredients out, each beautifully packaged.  Assembling the salad is easy, and because you are the one mixing it up, you can choose how much of each ingredient to include.

This salad truly made the meal.  The blood oranges had a great citrus flavor, and dark, deep red color.  The dressing was suitably light, and combined well with the other ingredients.  I enjoyed it greatly.  Once the salad is gone, you are also left with these nifty glass containers, which are perfectly reusable.  I see homemade spice mixes in my future, or perhaps I'll use one to hold miniature bits.

The kits are on the expensive side, but for a special occasion or as a treat, I can totally see buying one again.  Ecopia sells at the Los Gatos and the Saratoga farmers markets, and delivers throughout the Bay Area.  If it's near you, I highly recommend you try it.

Movie Review:  Disney Cars Movie

A few weeks ago, I got a special offer from Disney Movie Rewards, to get this film for the cost of shipping.  My kids love the Mater's Tall Tales shorts that are on Netflix, so I decided that it'd definitely be something to pick up.  We'd never seen the original film or any of the sequels, but I know that it'd largely received good reviews.

My kids loved it.  I, however, was sadly disappointed.  The story was predictable and pretty unimaginative, which I can forgive to a certain extent; Monsters, Inc. and Ice Age are basically the same story, as well as Rango and Flushed Away, and so on.  The worst problem in this film was that the main character, Lightening McQueen, was just too unlikable.  In some of the behind the scenes features on the first Toy Story film, Sheriff Woody was originally a very unlikable character, which was changed, because no one was going to root for someone that despicable.  I suspect that this same thing happened with Lightening, but the creators didn't go far enough in making him likable.  Even after he's been reformed, I still had a lot of trouble liking him.  Alternatively, the problem might be that Mater is too funny, and it's just too much for the rest of the cast to absorb.  Either way, I can't get past Lightening being a jerk.  I'll keep watching Mater's Tall Tales, but not so much Cars.

(images via Ecopia and Pixar.wikia.com)