Local businesses have been struggling amidst the coronavirus pandemic, and local farmers’ markets are no exception.
National Farmers’ Market Week was Aug. 2 through Aug. 8 this year, bringing a much-needed burst of attention to farmers’ markets across the country.
“(The pandemic) has definitely sent a shockwave through the farmers’ market sector,” Ben Feldman, executive director at Farmers Market Coalition, said. “For quite some time now, it’s been pretty much impossible to be a market operator.”
The Albuquerque Growers’ Market Alliance banded together to present the Downtown Growers’ Market, the Rail Yards Market, the Mile-Hi Farmers’ Market and the Dominga Baca Farmers’ Market during National Farmers Market Week.
Farmers’ markets were declared an essential business in New Mexico on March 24. Feldman noted that there was little guidance from the federal level on deciding if farmers’ markets were an essential business, and instead states were left to decide the matter on their own.
“It’s still kind of a tricky business to operate because while we are providing, you know, essential goods to people — food, local foods, and things like that — and supporting small businesses, we’re still an event and bring in a lot of people,” Danielle Schlobohm, co-manager at the Downtown Growers’ Market, said.
Farmers’ markets have been taking safety precautions in response to the pandemic, such as requiring masks and limiting the number of people allowed in at once, according to Schlobohm. Feldman said research suggests that farmers’ markets are actually one of the safest places to shop in the pandemic, with one factor being that it is all outdoors.
There have also been online events, according to Feldman, such as giveaways, contests, cooking classes and webinars.
“The biggest advantage of shopping at the farmers’ market is that you get a great deal more choice and say in how your food was grown and what food you take home,” Feldman said. “You have more varieties to choose from, you can choose from multiple vendors. There’s a tremendous amount of choice at the farmers’ market, and there’s a tremendous amount of transparency.”
Both Feldman and Schlobohm noted that farmers’ markets are one of the few places where farmers get a full income for their products. According to the Farmers Market Coalition, United States farmers received only 17.4 cents for every dollar spent on food in 2017.
At farmers’ markets, the figure is close to 90 cents on the dollar.
“It contributes toward the type of world that we all want to live in where farmers are stewards of the land and are on the front lines of combating climate change; one where we value the effort and energy that goes into producing food and one where people within the supply chain — farmers, farmworkers — are valued for the work that they put in,” Feldman said.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
93% of farmers’ market operators report an increase in costs associated with operating a farmers’ market and over 70% reported a decline in income, according to Feldman.
“Unlike other sectors of the economy, farmers who sell at farmers’ markets and the farmers’ market operators have really by and large been left out of the federal pandemic relief efforts to date, and there needs to be more federal support for farmers’ markets,” Feldman said.
He said many people compare going to the farmers’ market with going to church — it’s a place where people go that becomes a part of ritual and community.
“This year, the campaign is centered around the essential role that farmers’ markets play in the food system as demonstrated by the coronavirus pandemic,” a press release from the Albuquerque Growers’ Market Alliance said on July 21.
Schlobohm talked about the work that goes into setting up a farmers’ market, including insurance, permits, vendors, scheduling and more.
“People maybe don’t fully understand what goes into it, and it takes a lot of work,” Schlobohm said.
The New Mexico Farmers’ Marketing Association is another resource for locals to find nearby markets. According to its website, the organization’s goal is to sustain farmers and producers, educate the public about healthy eating and encourage support for locally grown food.
“There’s a lot of cultures that are based in farming and agriculture, and it’s something that we have forgotten as a society,” Isabel Strawn, former president of the Lobo Gardens club at the University of New Mexico, said.
Most Albuquerque markets have food assistance programs, with SNAP cards, WIC checks, senior checks and certain prescriptions for healthy foods accepted as payment, according to Schlobohm.
Keona Matthews, current president of Lobo Gardens, said she wants people to “be mindful of where food comes from.”
“Working hand and hand with farm to table is definitely an easy and viable option,” Strawn said.
Megan Gleason is the culture editor at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @fabflutist2716
