Colorful urban farmers markets have been popping up across Boston, benefiting local vendors and giving residents regular access to farm-fresh produce.
Boston’s large urban spaces, such as Copley Square, are surrounded with tents every week, filling city centers with crates of apples from Massachusetts orchards and rows of locally caught seafood on ice, as well as community favorite products, like soaps made from mushrooms.
This rise in the popularity of farmers markets follows a nationwide trend to shop at local businesses, said vendor Melissa Roiter, who owns the Yummy Mummy Bakery.
“There’s a huge push nationally to buy local,” Roiter said. “You see it everywhere, even in the news, people handing out reusable bags. The buy-local push has been wonderful for small business owners everywhere.”
However, David Valicenti, owner of Valicenti Pasta Farm, said that the surge in popularity of farmers market can cause problems for the industry.
“There’s been a sort of saturation of farmers markets,” Valicenti, a vendor at various Boston markets, said. “And while they’re well-intentioned, a lot of the folks who put these markets on don’t really have a full understanding of the market. So basically, what they’re doing is taking a finite number of customers and dividing it in half.”
Roiter said she has seen the positive impact that farmers markets have on the community because they allow diverse groups of people to come together and give opportunities to small businesses.
“It’s brought a lot of local vendors in,” Roiter said, “and people that live in the city or work in the city or visit the city can have access to them all in one location.”
Dustin Jones, 28, of the North End, said he tries to go to farmers markets as often as possible so he can find the freshest food and support local farms.
“You know where your product’s coming from,” Jones said. “It’s typically picked when it’s actually ripe, versus early, so it can hold in transportation. And, normally, it’s not coated in wax.”
Genevieve Stillman, head chef at Stillman’s Farm, said she thinks the face-to-face interactions between different people is the best aspect of being a vendor at a farmers market.
“With a farmers market, you can have a conversation with somebody,” Stillman said. “They’ll be newly from whatever country they’re newly from and say, ‘Hey, have you ever grown or can we ever get x, y or z?’ And we’ll say, ‘Hey, yeah, get us the seed or let’s see if we can find the seed.’”
These markets have become prominent across the city, and while some residents said they enjoy the experience of shopping at open markets, others said they preferred the low prices and convenience of grocery stores.
While she thinks farmers markets probably have higher quality food, Dipali Dey, 29, said that the high prices of the products and inconvenience of the locations make her choose to shop at a regular grocery store.
“I think they’re very expensive at times,” the Brighton resident said. “And it’s kind of randomly timed as well, so I just come to Star Market and get my stuff here, usually.”
Stillman said she also thinks larger farms should support small farms trying to break into the farmers market world. Her business started small and was able to expand thanks to the advice and support she received from larger vendors.
“I always want to see other people get into the business,” Stillman said. “That’s a great way to start. Pair up market masters who want to start up a market in a certain community with the new farmers that may not have as much or are struggling.”
Valicenti said that he also tries to support small vendors attempting to enter into farmers markets, as his business had to face the struggles of being a beginner in the industry.
He now wants to pass on all he has learned to current beginners in the market.
“You make mistakes, you refine” Valicenti said. “You make mistakes, you refine again. Eventually, you get this whole system down.”
Valicenti said he would be happy to give market advice to fellow farmers and small business owners looking to expand their sales into Boston’s farmers markets.
That kind of support system, Stillman said, will help to expand markets across the city and give customers more variety in their food choices. The biggest benefit from farmers markets, she said, is “providing access for everybody to enjoy the bounty of Massachusetts.”
