And now, something we can feel good about. This Sunday marks the start of National Farmers Market Week, an annual celebration of local food systems. To get us in the mood, here are seven facts that illustrate the benefits of farmers markets and local food systems.
FACT #1: There are 8,690 farmers markets nationwide. This may actually be a low-ball count, but it’s the number of markets currently listed in the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) National Farmers Market Directory. Washington, DC, where I live, is particularly fertile ground for farmers markets—the interactive database lists more than 60 markets within five miles of my home (try it for your state or ZIP code). But farmers markets have become commonplace across most of the country, as illustrated by this rather crowded national map generated from the USDA’s data:
FACT #2: In 2015, more than 167,000 US farms sold $8.7 billion worth of food directly to consumers, retailers, institutions (such as hospitals and schools), and local distributors. This was the finding of a farmer survey published by the USDA last year. The survey further found that more than one-third of those sales ($3 billion) were made directly to consumers via farmers markets, CSAs, farm stands, and the like.
FACT #3: Participants in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) redeemed more than $20 million in benefits buying food from local farmers in FY 2016. That’s up a staggering 638 percent from 2008. The data from the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, which tracks purchases made with SNAP benefits (formerly known as food stamps), shows that nearly 7,000 farmers markets and individual farmers across the country are authorized to accept these benefits. And the USDA’s Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) grant program, established by Congress in the 2014 farm bill, is helping to increase purchases of fruits and vegetables among SNAP participants by subsidizing these purchases at farmers markets and other outlets.
FACT #4: Three out of four farmers who sell at farmers markets use practices that meet or exceed organic standards. That was the finding of a 2015 survey by the non-profit Farmers Market Coalition and American Farmland Trust. More details from the survey: Nearly half of farmers used integrated pest management, information on the life cycle of pests, and their interaction with the environment to manage and prevent crop damage. And the overwhelming majority (81 percent) incorporated cover crops, reduced tillage, on-site composting, and other soil health practices into their operations. (Read more about the importance of soil health here.)
FACT #5: Farms selling fruits and vegetables locally employ 13 full-time workers per $1 million in revenue earned, for a total of 61,000 jobs in 2008. A report by the USDA’s Economic Research Service compared these farms with fruit and vegetable growers not engaged in local food sales, and found the latter employed just three full-time workers per $1 million in revenue.
FACT #6: Farmers themselves benefit economically from farmers markets, pocketing upwards of 90 cents for each dollar of sales there. So says the Farmers Market Coalition. And how does that compare to the return for US farmers overall? The National Farmers Union estimates that farmers’ share of every dollar Americans spend on food in 2017 is a paltry 15.6 cents.
FACT #7: Sales increased by more than one-quarter at farmers markets participating in the USDA’s Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) between 2006 and 2011. Established by Congress in the 2002 farm bill, the FMPP is a competitive grant program designed to increase access to locally and regionally produced foods and develop new market opportunities for farmers. To measure this program’s impacts, researchers in 2012 surveyed organizations awarded grants during the previous six years. In addition to a 27 percent sales increase, the survey also showed that customer counts increased by 47 percent at markets that received FMPP grants, and the number of first-time customers increased at nearly all (94 percent) of these markets.
BONUS “FACT”: Everyone loves a farmers market. Everyone. Even this guy (who is normally not a big fan of facts), proving that farmers markets really do bring people together.
But seriously, the benefits of local food systems—for farmers, consumers, and communities—are worth investing in. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue recognized those benefits with his official proclamation of the week. But now it’s up to all of us to ensure that the secretary and Congress make those investments. That’s why UCS is advocating for USDA programs (including SNAP, FMPP, and FINI, among others) that are helping to ensure that farmers markets and local food systems thrive.
Happy National Farmers Market Week!