Turns out the last new Seattle farmers' market to open was in 2007 (Phinney Ridge). The article below sheds light on possible reasons why we saw so little interest from food vendors within 100 mile radius for an Enumclaw market. Wade Bennett of Rockridge Orchards in Enumclaw is quoted as saying urban FM's in the Greater Seattle area are reaching and exceeding saturation. Chris Curtis is quoted too. What I get from the article is that farmers are feeling stretched by too many markets, and cannot meet the demand.
What's your response to this? Please leave us a comment!
Does Seattle Have Too Many Farmers' Markets?
by VANESSA HO, Seattle P.I. COM Staff, Monday 8/23/10
vanessaho@seattlepi.com.
"There's a weekly ritual savored by a lot of foodies: Stroll to a farmers market, buy some freshly dug heirloom carrots or richly hued purple potatoes, and feel fabulous about supporting local farmers. Except these days, those farmers are starting to feel stressed out.
As more neighborhoods clamor for their own farmers markets, farmers are watching their revenue shrink, as markets compete with each other and dilute profits.
The recent explosion in farmers markets - including new ones in Bell town and Georgetown this year, and in downtown and South Lake Union last year - have prompted many to ask: In culinary-conscious, urban-ag -loving Seattle, is it possible to have too many farmers markets?
'They have reached and exceeded saturation,' said Wade Bennett, who runs Rockridge Orchards in Enumclaw with his wife, Judy.
'Every little enclave in Seattle - they all want a farmers market. How can you tell them no -- that you can't have fresh food in your neighborhood?' he said.
'But it's becoming a burden. What has happened for most farmers is we're killing ourselves and we're actually making less money.'
Bennett sells his farm's famous cider and Asian pears in nine local farmers markets, but he predicts he'll drop to five or six next year.
'It didn't work for Starbucks either'
Once a novel way of connecting consumers with growers, farmers markets have become a hot commodity for reasons beyond the eating-local movement. There's a social justice piece, in which access to fresh, healthy food is important for under served neighborhoods.
And there's a neighborhood improvement angle, in which communities want a farmers markets to help draw shoppers and spruce up a business district.
'I suppose Starbucks put a store on every corner,' said Chris Curtis, the longtime director of the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance, which operates seven markets in Seattle.
'But it didn't work for Starbucks either,' she said. Curtis noted the coffee company closed hundreds of stores that were cannibalizing profits from each other, after an aggressive expansion.
She said her phone rings constantly from neighborhoods wanting a market, but after hearing from farmers struggling with revenue, she's been holding off. The last market she launched, in Phinney Ridge, was in 2007.
Curtis understands the benefit of a neighborhood market for residents, but thinks it's a bad idea to open one in an area that lacks the density or interest to sustain it.
'The only reason we would open one is if it truly would be good for the farmers,' she said, adding that sales dropped last year with the recession and have been holding steady since.
'We wouldn't rush into a neighborhood if it would only (benefit) the chamber of commerce.'
There are now 19 farmers markets in Seattle. There are markets in Phinney, Wallingford, Ballard and the U-District all vying for shoppers in North Seattle.
There are new markets in City Hall Plaza and Olympic Sculpture Park competing for downtown dollars, in addition to the Pike Place Market. And there are many neighborhood markets that are sparsely attended. A recent King County report found that the number of markets in the county swelled to 39 markets last year, from just nine a decade ago.
'We need to remember that to go to a market costs us money,' said Patty Spahr, the farmers market manager for Full Circle Farm in Carnation. Spahr said she loves having a presence in many communities, and that she and her staffers sell in 24 markets. But it takes resources to pack a truck, drive to a market, set up a booth, and sell produce. And with revenue dropping per market, it makes that effort more difficult.
Full Circle recently dropped out of markets in Mukilteo and the Sculpture Park, and Spahr is finding sluggish sales in Georgetown. 'If we're not going to meet a specific threshold in our sales, it becomes a losing battle,' she said.
Farming now more expensive
One person who doesn't think markets have reached saturation point is Judy Kirkhuff, the market master for the Seattle Farmers Market Association.
Her group runs the popular Ballard market and smaller ones in Seattle, which are seeing growing attendance across the board, she said.
Kirkhuff is also responsible for opening the new markets in Georgetown and the Sculpture Park, where she acknowledged that things are slower, but that's because they're new, she said.
'Starting a market is difficult, and it takes a long time for people to get in the habit of shopping at a new market,' she said. In Georgetown, she said some small farms that signed up to sell weren't able to sustain the effort and have dropped out. In the Sculpture Park, she views this year as prep work for next year.
She said declining revenue for farmers can be attributed to factors other than market saturation. Land and cost of living for farmers have skyrocketed. And more farms are serving up a higher quality and bigger diversity of produce, she said.
'Certain long-term farmers that have been used to being in one place and the center of attraction for many years are often times not responding to those changes,' she said.
'They're getting the effects of additional competition.'
Seattle's Office of Economic Development - which sees farmers markets as necessary tools for developing vibrant commercial districts - has recently begun studying the issue of competition and viability. The city already subsidizes many markets with reduced permitting fees and relocation help.
'Obviously if you add more markets, there's going to be more than one market happening on the same day,' said Karen Selander, the department's neighborhood business district program manager. 'We really want to take a high level view and ensure that these markets will succeed'."
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