Winter Farmers Markets Surge

Year-Round Markets Key to Solidifying the Local Food Movement

Good news from the sustainable agriculture front: The number of winter farmers markets in the United States is on the rise.

Photo by John LooA farmers market in Mountain View, CA. The spread of year-round markets is an essential step toward
having local food transcend novelty and become an ordinary part of people’s food buying habits.

The surge in cold season markets is a footnote to the larger story of farmers markets’ growing popularity. (According to the US Department of Agriculture, the number of US farmers markets has skyrocketed from 1,755 markets in 1994 to 7,175 markets last year.) But it’s a footnote with real importance: The spread of year-round markets is an essential step toward having local food transcend novelty and become an ordinary part of people’s food buying habits.

Many of us don’t just want produce from May through November. We crave fresh veggies all year long — even if in the winter months that mostly means cole crops like cabbages, kale, collards, and broccoli. For people living in the colder regions, the desire for winter vegetables can force them to buy produce grown on the other side of the continent and shipped thousands of miles. That might make sense for a few crops like citrus fruits, which don’t thrive in higher latitudes. (There’s a reason why an orange is a traditional Christmas stocking stuffer — it was meant to be a special treat.) But there’s little sense in shipping a bunch of chard thousands of miles.

Farmers in colder areas are stepping up to meet the demand for year-round local produce. They have started using low-tech hoop houses (kind of like a greenhouse, but placed right in the fields) that allow them to extend their growing season into the colder months. Seven of the top ten states experiencing an increase in year-round markets are places with unforgiving winters; the state with the most growth in winter markets is New York.

A USDA tally released late last year breaks down the numbers. The number of winter markets (defined as being open at least once a month between November and March) rose 38 percent from 2010 to 2011. The year before, there was a 17 percent increase in winter markets. The Empire State now has 180 markets occurring when the ground is frozen; Pennsylvania has 78; Ohio boasts 50.

The presence of winter markets is crucial for entrenching locally produced food as part of households’ shopping routine. Going to farmers markets shouldn’t be a summer novelty or a once-in-awhile gimmick. Buying your food from people you know shouldn’t have to be some kind of political statement. Rather, farmers markets should just be the place you go to get your groceries — no more out of the ordinary than, say, picking up a six pack of (regionally brewed) beer at your (neighbor-owned) corner store. Year-round markets are a huge part of realizing that vision.

It appears that the surge in winter markets is being driven by grassroots economics — farmers are trying to fulfill the desire for fresh produce year-round. But there is something that governments can do give this a nudge: Establish permanent structures to house market vendors.

In many parts of the world, farmers markets take place in warehouses or colonnades especially designed for the purpose. They are a fixed part of the urban landscape. It’s different here in the US, where most markets happen in vacant parking lots during the weekend and vendors have to bring their own tents. There are a few exceptions to the rule — like the awesome market in Davis, CA, the market in Bellingham, WA, and the Alemany Farmers Market in San Francisco, CA.

We need more of these. At the very least, such permanent markets provide farmers and shoppers a little bit of relief from rain, sleet, and wind (or summer sun). More important is the civic signal that permanent markets can send: They make it clear that farmers markets are here to stay.

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