Farmers Markets: Interest in local food doesn’t mean success

IOWA CITY - Iowa City is canceling its winter farmers market this year.

That's partly because construction of Lucky's Market, a grocery store being built at the Iowa City Marketplace, formerly known as Sycamore Mall, will disrupt the winter market's space. Next year's summer market at the location is also looking for a new home to avoid competing with the store.

But the winter market is also closing because there just hasn't been enough interest to keep the market going, says Iowa City Parks and Recreation administrative secretary Tammy Neumann.

'Our markets need to be self-sustaining, they need to pay for themselves. That includes cost of staffing and advertising,” she says. 'Last year's market did not do that.”

Despite a growing demand for fresh, local and organic food, a successful farmers market is not a foregone conclusion, says Mike Bevins, state horticulturist with the Iowa Department of Agriculture.

He works with farmers markets and helps keep track of how many exist around the state.

In 1988, there were 81 farmers markets in Iowa, he says. In 2009, there were 184. That jumped to 228 markets in 2010.

'I think we probably hit market saturation in about 2009,” he says. 'We've been right around that 230 number for the last five years.”

Iowa City started the winter market in 2011 at Grant Wood Elementary and moved it to the Iowa City Marketplace last year in an attempt to gain more vendors. Despite space for 37 stalls, they averaged 10 vendors a week, sometimes less.

Finding vendors available to attend new markets is challenging, Bevins said. Driving from a rural farm to a market, setting up, selling for several hours and then repacking unsold goods is a time-consuming task. Many vendors are already attending several markets a week.

'When people come to us wanting help starting a new market, one of first questions we ask is, do you know if there are vendors available?” he says. 'If you don't have vendors lined up, it's probably not going to work.”

To make it worth vendor's while, a market needs to draw in shoppers. With organic and local food increasingly available at mainstream grocery store chains, that means offering incentives beyond carrots and kale, he says.

Veronica Tessler is co-founder of Penn Market, a farmers market that just wrapped up its inaugural season in North Liberty. She credits a family-friendly atmosphere with the first year's success.

The market offered kids activities, live music and food trucks.

'We wanted to make it more of an outing rather than just a place to pick up your produce,” she says. 'North Liberty is the fastest growing town in the area with a lot of young families looking for activities and a sense of community.”

She and co-founder Lesley Triplett also decided to hold the market on Sundays to avoid competing with thriving Saturday markets in nearby Iowa City and Cedar Rapids.

Competition was a major challenge that led to Marion closing its Wednesday afternoon market midway through this summer. The market was down to just four vendors, says Marion Parks Director Mike Carolan. Marion's Saturday market will continue next summer.

'I could even go back 10 years ago and there were not nearly the markets there are today. There was not that competition,” he says. 'All those vendors are trying to figure out where is the best place to be.”

He also says the Wednesday market's frequent change of location, from a building on the east side of town to two different parks, made it hard to keep customers.

Location is important, says Brenda Christner, manager of a winter farmers market that launched last year at the Johnson County Fairgrounds. That market has already started up again for the season.

The fairgrounds allowed vendors to drive right up to their stalls, rather than having to carry goods through a building as they had to at the Iowa City Marketplace, Christner says.

She also credits a community atmosphere among the vendors with the fairgrounds market's success.

'They all became good friends, and they liked to get together, even if there weren't people to buy,” she says. 'It's just a very nice atmosphere.”

Bevins says challenges don't mean new markets can't work, and the number of available vendors is increasing.

He says past studies showed the average vendor was someone in their 50s or 60s, and shoppers skewed the same way. That's starting to change, with younger farmers and food producers entering the scene and a greater emphasis on savvy marketing via things like social media.

'This year we saw about 100 new vendors applying for the nutrition program (which allows vendors to accept SNAP and WIC benefits as payment),” he says. 'I'm optimistic.”

Winter Markets

ELY

' Where: Ely Public Library, 1595 Dow St., Ely.

' When: 9 a.m. to noon Nov. 8 and 22, Dec. 13 and 20, Jan. 10 and 24, Feb. 7 and 21, March 14 and 28 and April 11 and 25.

' Vendors: Call (319) 848-2036.

IOWA CITY

' Where: Iowa City Holiday Markets, old Ben Franklin storefront in the Iowa City Marketplace, formerly Sycamore Mall, 1600 Sycamore St. (new location), Iowa City.

' When: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Nov. 15 and Dec. 13.

--

' Where: Johnson County Fairgrounds, 4261 Oak Crest Hill Rd. SE, Iowa City.

' When: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Oct. 26, Nov. 9 and 23, Dec. 7 and 21, Jan. 11 and 25, Feb. 8 and 22, March 15 and 29, April 12 and 26.

MOUNT VERNON

' Where: Mount Vernon First Street Community Center, 221 First St. NE., Mount Vernon.

' When: 10 a.m. to noon, Saturdays, November through April. No market Nov. 29 or Dec. 29.

CEDAR RAPIDS

' Where: NewBo City Market, 1100 Third St. SE, Cedar Rapids

' When: Saturdays 8 a.m.

to 6 p.m. and Sundays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays, beginning Nov. 28, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

URBANA

' Where: Community room below Urbana City Hall, 906 W. Main St., Urbana.

' When: 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. second Saturdays, November through April.

Farmers market locations and times were compiled by The Gazette by calling community city halls and market organizers and visiting market websites. Know of a market not listed here? Send an email to features@sourcemedia.net.