Farmers Markets and the Local Economy
With yesterdays blog I looked at the growth of local businesses now investigating another staple of the local economy the market.
They have the added advantages of allowing producers to sell limited stock to the consumers and still sell bulk items to large contracts. Farms and other local suppliers can also offer their services which are specific to their business or unique products such as Hook & Sons raw milk products. Now markets can also present a risk they have some immediate start up costs and the products need to be marketed correctly to ensure that the farmer can sell their products. The important distinction that the suppliers need to remember is the markets function as a gateway for the business.
Now various steps could be used as mechanisms to improve consumer supplier relationships. Community Supported Agriculture or CSAs can be a system of both direct marketing and intelligent crop production. By working with their consumer base through surveys or questionnaires they can ask the consumer what products they want or are interested in and then can shift their crop production to reflect this. Farms can also share their news or any events which they are operating continuing to get individuals to buy into their brands or stories.
Farms can take this information collected from consumers and understand their market adapting tried and tested subscription models in some cases offering meal delivery or box models which are similar in cost to supermarkets. These are seen across different company models such as muscle food and hello fresh as ways to tailor food supply to the consumer whilst playing to a healthier side of consumerism.
Family-run food merchant shops currently represent around 10% of the vegetable market, while the market has seen an increase in market share from the 70s to the present day. Nearby shops are the social communities of networks – they watch out for the old and sick, they give notice sheets to commercials, they stay in contact with local individuals. They give assorted produce and link the consumers with customer.
Merchant led markets have the strategic aims of supporting nearby farming. These business sectors are membership driven by a well established foundations in their historic craft and promise of propelling the interests of farmers. Merchant led markets sheets additionally have a littler of associations in their network. This implies the market might be constrained in its capacity to seek extra income and further expand. Community led markets have goals that address network needs yet in addition organize merchant success. These business sectors profit by having markets made out of assorted individuals since this gives social capital that can assist markets with getting to extra assets.
Local governments have to remember that whilst the markets work as catalysts for merchants, social cohesion and civic good. They should be treated similar to large shopping centres and the various groups should be worked with to ensure they prosper. For example ensuring that traders or other small businesses which offer an anchor point at various ends of the market as this will encourage shoppers to shop for longer. Provide a layout for consumers to follow which maps the stalls so they know who is who and where they are. Encourage merchants who sell cooked food to group together to act as a central food court. Recognise their differences they do not have store rooms they have vans or other forms of storage they need nearby to facilitate their ability to trade. By treating markets as a thriving shopping centre it can play to the strengths of both the uniqueness of farmers market and their place within the local area.
https://www.sustainweb.org/pdf/afn_m1_p2.pdf
https://farmersmarketcoalition.org/the-cultural-significance-of-farmers-markets/
