Regional tourism at the farmers’ market: consumers’ preferences for local food products

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine farmers’ market consumer behavior through a regional food and culinary tourism lens to see the ways these festive and atmospheric markets can be used to develop a regional brand or identity surrounding food production. Design/methodology/approach This study was based on a survey of 270 participants in a farmers’ market in the USA. A combination of descriptive and statistical analyses was used to analyze consumer habits and spending. Findings The findings in this study suggest that while most of the customers live in a town where the market is located, a significant number of customers come from other locations, with some traveling significant distances, to participate in this market, particularly for the Saturday market. Many of the customers come to purchase organic and local foods. Research limitations/implications This work is limited, in that it is a case study at one farmers’ market in the USA, and the work is exploratory in nature. Practical implications This work has implications for market managers seeking to increase their consumer base. Markets that want to increase their reach would do well to promote their events to a wider geographic area. The results presented here showed that consumers are willing to drive upward of 40 miles to attend a high-quality market. Originality/value This work expands our conceptualization of farmers’ markets by suggesting that these markets have the potential to form the backbone of a region is food identity through the creation of a food destination.

Effective management and governance of Slow Food’s Earth Markets as a driver of sustainable consumption and production

“…Trust is a critical component of consumer's intention to buy direct (Giampietri et al, 2018;Vittersø et al, 2019). Garner and Ayala (2019) point out that the relationships with producers and the resulting increased knowledge about growing practices construct more trust than organic certification systemsthe social exchange aspect is thus as central as the economic one.…”

“…Therefore, we believe that effective management can have a substantial impact on both the longevity of the event and an ongoing social and cultural exchange. In their simplest form, market committees can collect primary data about their visitors and present the information to destination management organizations for collaborative action in the branding of local food (Hall & Sharples, 2008) and in local event planning (Garner & Ayala, 2019).…”

“…Previous empirical research on farmers' markets (e.g., Garner & Ayala, 2019;Wittman et al, 2012) has focused on a single country. The strength of our data relies not just on the number of markets, but the number of countries included in the research.…”

“…Similarly, the tourism literature also recognizes the economic (Guthrie et al, 2006) and social benefits of farmers' markets, which are seen as events that reinforce a sense of community identity (Hall & Sharples, 2008). Furthermore, the theatrical display of everyday lives in the markets holds a certain appeal to tourists (Jolliffe, 2008;Sidali et al, 2015), and if local food is branded, it can promote the region as a whole (Garner & Ayala, 2019).…”

Αξιολόγηση Προγραμμάτων Μη Τυπικής Περιβαλλοντικής Εκπαίδευσης

“…Επομένως, είναι ένα εργαλείο πολιτικής και έχει χρησιμοποιηθεί με πολλούς τρόπους ευρέως στη νομοθεσία. Σε έρευνα σχετικά με τις «Αγορές παραγωγών», η διατροφική ταυτότητα με κύριο λόγο τα τρόφιμα αναγνωρίστηκε ως η «ραχοκοκαλιά» για την ανάδειξη μίας περιοχής ως προορισμού επισκέψεων, από άτομα που δεν ήταν κάτοικοι της περιοχής (Garner & Ayala, 2019). Οι καταναλωτές ενδιαφέρονται για τα τρόφιμα που επιλέγουν.…”