Cultivating Better Food Access? The Role of Farmers' Markets in the U.S. Local Food Movement

Abstract

The local food movement has grown substantially in the United States in recent years. Proponents have hailed this growth as a shift away from a conventional food system rife with inequality toward one that introduces more just outcomes for society. While the movement's development and popularity have proliferated, little research has examined nationally how successful it is at delivering on its promises. By combining the social movement and food system literatures with quantitative methodology, this article examines the accessibility of the farmers' market across the United States. Using multivariate logistic regression, the analysis focuses on several identifying characteristics of individuals within and characteristics of neighborhoods across the United States to explore what increases (or decreases) the likelihood of a farmers' market being located within their boundaries. The results suggest that several social, economic, and racial differences exist between those living in areas with farmers' markets and those in areas that do not. Additionally, the analysis found that several neighborhood characteristics significantly influence the likelihood of a farmers’ market being present, including a neighborhood's socioeconomic status, the quality of neighborhood infrastructure, participation rates in social support programs, and the prevalence of poverty. In addition to posing questions of accessibility for the local food movement this research contributes to our understanding of grassroots social movements by examining the avenues and potential limitations that they negotiate while ensuring their stated goals are reached.

Leveraging markets to develop central capabilities: case studies of Cotati, CA, and Brownsville, TX

“…It is generally understood that living in a food desert increases the risk of developing dietrelated chronic diseases such as obesity (Brace et al, 2020;Schupp, 2017Schupp, , 2019. Research shows that, although farmers' markets serve as community-level interventions that provide healthy food options to food deserts (Brace et al, 2020;, farmers' markets are infrequently found where they are most needed (Schupp, 2019).…”

What do farmers bring to market? Exploring good types, number of vendors, and founding dates by SES and race/ethnicity

“…Data from the ACS 2013-2017 five-year estimates at the census-tract level were used to approximate the boundaries of a neighborhood for the analysis. While there are many different conceptualizations in the literature as to how to measure a neighborhood, using census tracts as a proxy of a neighborhood has been shown to be an effective way to do this (Apparicio et al, 2007;Coulton et al, 2013;Hillier et al, 2011;Schupp, 2017). Two variables were created from the ACS.…”

“…Farmers markets have been suggested as a promising method of direct marketing to contribute to increasing food access (Gillespie et al, 2008). This promise is based upon farmers markets' documented ability to provide diversified and healthy foods options and the low start-up and operational costs needed for market sessions, compared to brick-and-mortar alternatives (Govindasamy et al, 1998;Leiper & Clarke-Sather, 2017;Schupp, 2017).…”

The rise and decline of farmers markets in greater Cincinnati

“…1 ). Although the USDA list is composed of self-reported markets and lacks systematic vetting to ensure accuracy (Schupp 2017 ), we assume that the inaccuracies are consistent across the US and from year to year, and so the USDA numbers adequately portray the patterns of expansion and stagnation, though not the precise number of US farmer markets in any given year.…”