Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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Farmer's Markets Spur Job Growth, New Report Finds
As the economy limps along, farmer's markets are showing record growth, and 
that growth could bring thousands of jobs with it.
http://www.rodale.com/farmers-market-jobs?page=0%2C0

The little economic engine that could: Farmer's markets spur local 
development and job growth.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—In a dismal week for the U.S. economy featuring 
debt-ceiling drama in Washington and the threat of a double-dip recession on 
Wall Street, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) delivered some 
powerhouse statistics demonstrating the public's demand for healthy, organic 
food: The number of farmer's markets in the country increased 17 percent in 
the last year. "There's a yearning for the 99 percent of Americans who are no 
longer connected to the farm to reconnect," Kathleen Merrigan, deputy 
secretary of the USDA, said in a press call Friday afternoon.

The timing is perfect—this week marks National Farmer's Market Week—and comes 
on the heels of a new report finding that farmer's markets could generate 
thousands of jobs in the U.S.

THE DETAILS: The 2011 USDA Farmer's Market Directory lists 7,175 farmer's 
market, and Merrigan says the number is probably even higher because some 
markets don't self-report. The states with the most markets include 
California, New York, Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, 
Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Massachusetts. And, though not on the top 10 
list, Alaskan farmer's markets increased 46 percent over last year, and 
Texas, Colorado, and New Mexico were each up 38 percent. As an indication 
that shoppers are indeed searching for more local, organic food, Merrigan 
said more than 2 million people have searched the USDA Farmer's Market 
Directory so far in 2011.

"Farmer's markets are just growing exponentially," said Merrigan, who 
highlighted farmer's market innovations, particularly those that bring 
healthy produce to low-income areas. One such advancement is the increase in 
farmer's markets' allowing electronic benefit transfers (EBT), so people 
receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, formerly 
known as food stamps, can purchase fresh, healthy food at farmer's markets. 
Many of these markets are moving into food deserts, areas without grocery 
stores that sell fresh produce and where the few stores that do sell fresh 
vegetables are bodegas and corner stores with a high mark-up.

Note: Many of the USDA programs that help boost farmer's markets numbers and 
bring healthy food to people could be on the chopping block in the 2012 Farm 
Bill.

Along with the USDA's new statistics, the nonprofit Union of Concerned 
Scientists (UCS) released an report finding that farmer's markets could be a 
much-needed antidote to high unemployment. Their economic analysis found that 
even modest public support for up to 500 farmer's markets annually would 
create up to 13,500 jobs in a five-year window, bolstering local and regional 
food systems. "On the whole, farmers markets have seen exceptional growth, 
providing local communities with fresh food direct from the farm," says 
Jeffrey O’Hara, the author of the report and an economist with UCS’s Food and 
Environment Program. "But our federal food policies are working against 
them." He adds that tens of thousands more new jobs could be created if the 
government would just divert a small fraction of the subsidies that are 
currently doled out to industrial farms to farmer's markets.

WHAT IT MEANS: Since the majority of farm subsidies go to industrial 
farming—USDA dished out nearly $13 billion for commodity-crop insurance and 
supplemental disaster assistance—the farmer's market phenomenon has come 
about with relatively little government assistance. The irony here is that 
the U.S. is subsidizing a farming system that ultimately makes us sick and 
contributes to taxpayer-funded problems like obesity, flooding, and 
hard-to-treat superbug infections linked to factory farming, all of which 
increase government spending even more.

Despite a grossly unlevel playing field, the number of farmer's markets 
nationwide more than doubled between 2000 and 2010, and the Union of 
Concerned Scientist estimates that now more than 100,000 farms sell food 
directly to local consumers. As the group's recent report found, those farms 
need workers and people to help get their food to consumers.

So what is it about farmer's markets? Why are people swarming to them? 
Merrigan believes it's the combination of a few things:

1. The desire to reconnect with farms.

2. The availability of fresh and unusual and heirloom products. (Merrigan 
referenced the delicious ugli heirloom tomato, one that doesn't ship well 
cross-country, so you won't likely find it in a grocery store.)

3. People's interest in community. Farmer's markets aren't just about food, 
but also meeting your farmer, listening to local musicians, and creating new 
relationships.

For farmer's market tips and to find the market right for you, use these 
resources:

• How to Find True Organic Food at the Farmer's Market

• 6 Ways to Make the Most of Your Farmer's Market

• Farmer's Market Innovations Make Healthy Food an Easy Option