Farmers Markets Provide a Range of Benefits

  • By: Karen Skubik
  • May 20, 2014
  • 373
                        
With Wooster’s Farmers Markets soon to open, one may ask, “Why shop at a Farmers Market?” The reasons are many and can be organized into categories depending on who or what benefits: consumers, producers, the environment, and the community and local economy. The Consumer For starters, the food is fresh and local. Farmers bringing their produce to the weekly market will pick their fruits and vegetables at the peak of each item’s growing season thus providing optimal taste and nutritional value. You can try something new. Have you ever tried oriental eggplant or gooseberries? Small farm growers often offer lesser-known items and may give you tips on how to choose, store, and cook the unique products. According to Matt Mariola, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at The College of Wooster, the “social capital” is one of the biggest benefits. Mariola said, “Social relationships is probably the most invigorating thing about being either a vendor or a customer at a farmers market. You chat with one another, make new friends, compare food recipes, and as a customer you get to see exactly who is producing your food.” The social ties build and strengthen week after week. “It is these social relationships that really define the heart of what a community is”, according to Mariola. The Producer The weekly market provides a secure market space which is particularly valuable for new or small scale vendors. And, with the middleman cut out of the supply chain, the farmer’s financial return is maximized. Additional cost savings can occur with reduced transportation costs and packaging requirements. Customers can provide direct feedback to the farmers and even make requests for items they may like to see the next week. Sue Skeens, Recreation Coordinator for Wooster’s Parks and Recreation Department, is in charge of the Farmer’s Market at the Community Center and said, “we welcome new local vendors to take the opportunity to sell their produce or baked goods.” With a regular flow of the 50+ age group into the building for scheduled activities, Skeens noted that the market, “helps seniors have easy access to the local fresh produce at a very reasonable rate”. The Environment Much of our supermarket food travels hundreds, if not thousands of miles, so with a short drive to an area market, local famers are able to reduce food miles resulting in a decrease in fossil fuel use and vehicle pollution. Environmental production and packaging practices are often encouraged at farmers’ markets. Organic or pesticide-free products can often be found and customers usually bring their own bags. Visitors to farmers’ markets may be treated to a grower’s limited supply of a stripped cucumbers or purple tomatoes, for example, because diversification is supported and therefore bio-diversity is enhanced. The Community & Local Economy Both the Community Center and Main Street Wooster’s Farmers’ Markets are organized and sponsored by city-related entities partly to increase pedestrian traffic in the downtown area thus stimulating the local economy. According to Mariola, “money spent at the farmers market has a tremendous "multiplying effect" economically.” He said, “every dollar you spend at the farmers market goes directly to the farmer. And where does the farmer in turn spend that dollar? On items from other vendors at the same market, maybe a coffee and a muffin from the local coffee shop, maybe lunch downtown after the market, maybe a quick trip to the hardware store.” The markets can be important anchors for the community, attracting retailers, increasing employment and making the downtown an inviting place to both shop and live. The 2014 Wooster Farmers Markets The Downtown Wooster Farmers Market takes place in the heart of Wooster around the gazebo and will open June 7 continuing each Saturday from 8 a.m. until noon through October 25. Easy access to the market is available by parking on the street or in the North Buckeye Street Municipal Lot. The Community Center Farmers Market is held each Thursday at 241 South Bever Street from 8 a.m. until noon and begins June 19 running through October 2. Bring the kids, meet your farmers and friends, stimulate the economy, and try something new.


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