Columbia City Market's 10th Anniversary

The Columbia City Farmers' Market celebrated its 10th anniversary yesterday, with a big cake and a chef demo by Julie Andres, of La Medusa restaurant.

Julie is at the market every Wednesday right after it opens, shopping with a red wagon for ingredients for the restaurant's changing Wednesday night market menu. For her demo she made fresh pasta with seasonal vegetables, which happens to be one of my favorite meals.

I've been vending at Columbia City since practically the beginning, and it's changed considerably during that time, growing from a tiny event to one of the biggest markets in the city. It's tapered off some after peaking a few years ago, but it's still steady and always entertaining, and it draws a loyal crowd.

Tamales at the Ballard Farmers Market

The folks selling authentic Mexican food in the grassy lot off the street that hosts the Ballard Farmers' Market are no longer there because of a health permit issue. The market wouldn't let them come in under their permit's umbrella because they're already saturated with food vendors, and it's impossible to get a legitimate stand-alone permit unless you have a fully functioning food truck.

Their absence has been great for my booth. During the few short weeks they were there, they got some great reviews. People come down to the market looking for tamales, and they see mine, and they buy them.

I didn't get to taste the other tamales, but I'm sure they're better than mine. They're Mexican, while I'm a Jewish girl from Brooklyn. (I'm sure their matzo ball soup can't hold a candle to mine.) My tamales are made with olive oil rather than lard, so they're great for people who are vegetarian or just want to eat healthier. They're also fabulous as a starch with a little protein to serve with the side order of seasonal grilled veggies which is our signature item. I'm proud of what I serve, but I don't expect it to satisfy folks who come down to the market looking for authentic tamales.

I wonder whether there's anything ethically suspect about capitalizing on the buzz that some other business has generated. I suppose that it's not completely fair to the customers who are looking for the other tamale booth, but the review says the booth is run by folks from Mexico City, and I'm obviously not from Mexico City.

On some level I also feel that there's some cosmic justice to the fact that I've benefitted from these recent events. I came into the market through legitimate channels, and I've paid my dues there for many years. My sales suffered during the weeks when the unpermitted booth was competing with me. Not to mention, the whole situation was desperately unfair to my friends at Green Go, who abandoned plans to vend in that grassy area after calling the health department and learning that they couldn't get a legitimate permit without the market's consent.

The Guerrilla Food Court

There's a food court springing up in a grassy lot off the street that holds the Ballard Farmers' Market. The vendors there rent space from the man who owns the property, rather than paying a stall fee to the folks who run the market. These guys are doing a great job and making wonderful food, but I can't help feeling like they shouldn't be there.

Sure, I resent the extra competition, but it's more than that. The rest of us have taken the trouble to go through established channels to be part of this event, and these food vendors haven't. The farmers' market spends plenty of money on marketing and outreach, and they work with the community to build something that meets the needs of neighborhood. These food vendors benefit from the work and investment of the market organizers without giving anything back to them. They also generate trash, which the market has to haul away.

At the same time, I always like to think of contemporary farmers' markets in a historical context. This kind of gathering of merchants and vendors is as old as civilization, and probably played a role in generating the earliest societies. And there must have always been people selling on the fringes of these events, not quite part of them, but somehow contributing to the experience. Like the Grateful Dead parking lot, or the vendors on the street as you make your way into a sporting event.

As much as I don't want them there, I'm open to the possibility that they'll help to make the Ballard Market even better than it already is.

Opening Day at the Lake City Farmers' Market

Yesterday was opening day at the Lake City Farmers' Market, and its first day at a new, permanent location. It's now being held in Albert Davis Park, north of NE 125th St, between 26th and 27th Ave. NE.

The new location is a big deal, because this is the first Seattle market to secure a long term spot. The other markets have to renegotiate their right to use their sites year by year.

To commemorate the occasion, the mayor made an appearance. It's the third time I've seen him at a market during the past few months, and he really does seem sincere about building a partnership between the market organizations and the city.

The market's layout was a bit strange, and I was concerned about the loading and unloading situation, which has half of the vendors (including myself) hauling our stuff on carts through a narrow service lane. That part actually went unbelievably smoothly. The layout has a number of vendors on the street, which is closed to vehicle traffic, and the rest of us in the park. I didn't think the connection between the two sets of booths was quite clear enough, but people seemed to find their way.

It was a cold, showery day. I think it's all going to be really lovely once the sun comes out and the grassy part of the park is full of people enjoying the day and, of course, eating. We're also right in front of the community center and the library, which has great bathrooms.

Pike Place Conundrum

According to an Seattle Times article earlier this week, some local farmers are giving up their stalls at the Pike Place Market because of slow sales. They're finding it more profitable to vend at neighborhood farmers' markets, in fact, one of the reasons that Pike Place Market sales have been suffering seems to be the proliferation of neighborhood markets: shoppers now have more convenient opportunities to buy fresh produce directly from the farmers who grow it.

The Pike Place Market started in 1907 as a venue for consumers and producers to circumvent predatory wholesalers. The market has become a model for similar ventures in other parts of the country, and was a forerunner of the very farmers' market movement which is now competing for its customers.

In the meantime, Pike Place Market has grown into a prime destination spot for tourists. Farms like Tiny's Organics, who have been able to adapt their offerings and feature items like small packets of dried fruit, which tourists can easily carry home with them, are more inclined to continue selling there.

Pike Place Market may no longer be the local shopping destination that it once was, but there's still plenty of room there for producers who can tailor their offerings to suit the new clientele. In the meantime, there are now plenty of other places for farmers to sell directly to the public, if they're not happy with what's going on downtown.

The Market and the Street Fair

Saturday was the U-District Street Fair. The community center which hosts the local farmers' market usually raises money during the fair by collecting fees for parking, using the lot that they lease to the market on ordinary Saturdays.

This year at the market vendors' annual meeting we debated whether or not to hold the market during the street fair. (It wasn't much of an issue in the past, because the market didn't run all year, but started up the week after the event.)

We considered the fact that stall fees would be higher, to compensate the community center for lost parking revenue. In addition, many of the market regulars wouldn't come, because the parking situation would be so hairy.

On the other hand, continuity is important, and those regulars who would show up expecting a market shouldn't be disappointed. And the street fair had the potential to introduce a whole new crowd to the market, people who happened to be in the area but wouldn't ordinarily think to come.

I took the day off, but I couldn't help myself from stopping by to see how things were going. The market was half its usual size, but it felt busy. The vendors I spoke to said their sales were about average, but they'd seen very few regular customers. Who knows? Maybe they picked up some new ones.

Opening Day at the Madrona Farmers' Market

Yesterday was opening day at the Madrona Farmers' Market. It's held in the parking lot of the Grocery Outlet on MLK and Union, perhaps a funny location for a farmers' market, but it works. In fact, the setting gives the market a unique, quirky flavor.

This market used to be held on 20th and Madison, in a church parking lot. It was grassy, but off the main drag. The market had a good feeling, but sales were a bit disappointing.

Last year we moved to the current location. It's definitely busier, and much more visible. Some people who lived closer to the old spot were disappointed, but most of the vendors have been pleased, and the fact that our sales have improved suggests that there's more of a demand for a farmers' market here.

It's still a small market, but it has its charm.

Opening Day at the Wallingford Farmers' Market

Wednesday was opening day at the Wallingford Farmers' Market. I wasn't there personally because I was busy catering for the Vegetarians of Washington, but Adam the grillmeister du jour, took some pictures.

I'd had low expectations for this market. The one prepared food vendor I know who gave it a try dropped out after two weeks. A farmer friend told me that she does well there, but only because so many of the other farmers' dropped out.

Our first day there dramatically exceeded my expectations (which, as you can tell, were low.) I'd decided to do this market even though I wasn't expecting much because I have such a simple operation that I really don't have to sell much at any particular market to have a profitable day.

I've been vending at farmers' markets for a long time, and most of them start slow. I was doing the Ballard Market when it was barely worth doing, and now it's the best market in the city. There's no telling which market is going to turn into the next Ballard, and when one does, I want to be there with seniority and an established customer base.

Opening Day at the Brattleboro Farmers' Market

I was in Vermont visiting family over the weekend, and I was lucky to be able to swing by for part of opening day at the Brattleboro Farmers' Market.

Spring comes much later in Vermont than it does in Seattle, so there were more crafts and less produce than I'm used to seeing. There were some plant starts, and a forager selling fiddlehead ferns and ramps, or wild leeks.

The visit got me thinking about the role of crafts at farmers' markets. I'd recently seen an article offering tips for evaluating farmers' markets on their green credentials. One of the criteria offered was an emphasis on "growers only" or "food only" markets. According to them, a truly reputable market should include as few craftspeople as possible.

I have mixed feelings about this. Sure, farmers' markets are about food, but they're also about community and about buying local products. Food is a logical place to start when building local economies because fresh, seasonal products really taste better than stuff shipped from far away, but there are plenty of other products that can also be locally produced and marketed, and farmers' markets are logical places to sell them.

Craftspeople help to flesh out markets during times of year when agricultural products are in short supply. Many of the crafters I know who sell at farmers' markets feel that they don't get enough respect, and their needs are given very low priority by market managers.

I like to think of my experience as a market vendor as part of a very old tradition bringing people together to exchange goods and services. Ancient and medieval markets included not only food vendors, but also merchants, money changers, and even fortune tellers. We need to fix our broken food economy, but we need to fix so many parts of our economy that are broken, and the craftspeople deserve a place at the table as well.

The Brattleboro Farmers' Market is deeply scrupulous about their standards for food vendors. All produce has to be grown by the vendors, and prepared food items have to include as much local produce as possible. I wouldn't consider them any less green because they also honor their local craftspeople.

Opening Day at the Columbia City Market

Yesterday was opening day at the Columbia City Farmers' Market. The weather looked ominous at times, but there was no real rain. Miles and Karina played alt-country, an opening day tradition. The mayor was there, ringing the opening bell and talking about the city's commitment to its farmers' markets. All is all, it was a fun day, and an auspicious beginning.

Farmers Market Administration

Two groups run virtually all of the farmers' markets in the Seattle area. Their missions are mostly similar, but their styles can be very different.

The NFMA, or Neighborhood Farmers' Market Alliance, runs the U District, Columbia City, West Seattle, Lake City, Magnolia, Broadway, and Phinney markets.

Seattle Farmers' Markets has markets in Ballard, Madrona, Wallingford, and Queen Anne. They also run the Fremont Sunday Market, which is more of a craft and flea market than a farmers' market.

The NFMA is a non-profit organization with an office staff and a board of directors. Their markets are for food only, so there's no crafts. Until recently they didn't offer much hot, ready to eat food at their markets, although they've been relaxing that policy lately. (I just wish they'd done it when I was their only hot food vendor.) They're well organized, and they do a lot of marketing and outreach, which leads to plenty of media attention.

Seattle Farmers' Markets is run by a handful of dedicated, hardworking individuals. Their policies tend to be more fluid than the NFMA's, although they do have to have rules in order to keep things flowing. All of their markets include crafts and hot, ready to eat food. To me they feel more relaxed than the NFMA markets, although it can be harder to take care of practical, administrative details.

Whether they're run by individuals or by a board, working with these organizations always comes down to building relationships with the folks who are on site making decisions. I appreciate the mission that these organizations share: to support local foods and local farmers. I may bang heads with them from time to time because I want them to support my local foods rather than someone else's. But in the end, I have so much respect for what they do, that we can usually come up with a workable solution.

Pea Starts

This time of year, as the winter produce wanes and the spring offerings haven't yet stepped up to fill the gap, you see a lot of vegetable starts at the markets.

This gives the farmers something to sell, and it gives the die hard customers something to buy.

I'm not much of a gardener, but the past couple of years I've been buying a couple of plants and giving it a try.

Easter Sunday at the Market

It was a wet and sloppy Easter Sunday at the Ballard Market. Few people turned out-hey, I wouldn't have turned out if I hadn't been working. On days like this, I'm not there to make a living. I'm just there to show that I'm a trooper.

My Favorite Market Musicians

My favorite market musicians were playing at the U District this morning. Moe Provencher does folk and roots music, and some lovely original stuff.

They recently got back from a trip to India, and have been playing around town again. They were at Ballard last Sunday as well, and they'll be there again tomorrow if the weather is decent.

Kale Buds

Two years ago nobody was selling kale buds at farmers' markets, but last year, all of a sudden, they were everywhere. They're the tasty, colorful, early yellow flowers of the kale plant. The upper parts of the stems are nice and tender, but the lower parts can be tough and chewy.

Kale buds are a perfect example of an edible part of a plant that folks got in the habit of throwing away, or composting. Then some farmer got the idea to bring them to a market and see if anyone would buy them.They were successful enough that, before long, everyone was selling them.

The Recession and the Farmers' Market

Despite the dire warnings and reports that I've been hearing on the news, I'm pleased to report that the farmers' markets where I've been vending this winter have been thriving, at a time of year when farmers' markets don't normally thrive.

I don't want to be cocky about this, and I realize that anything can happen, but I don't think it's an accident that chain stores at malls are closing while people are choosing to spend more of what little money they have on better food.

Ethical Corporation magazine doesn't think it's an accident either. The researchers they cite say that ethical businesses tend to suffer less during tight economic times, because the people who support them care about more than price.

The Wonderful Ballard Farmers' Market

Today was the third sunny Sunday in a row and the Ballard Farmers' Market was hopping, as usual. I took this picture before the market even opened; there are often so many people around that it's hard to drive in to unload. On the one hand that can be frustrating, on the other hand it's exciting that folks are eager enough show up early.

The Ballard Farmers' Market started out as part of the Fremont Sunday Market in 1990. It moved to Ballard in the winter of 2001-2002, a move which gave both venues room to grow and establish their own identities.

The market in Ballard was originally held in the US Bank parking lot, a site that was eventually developed into the Ballard Library. After it's first summer there it moved to the brick-lined Ballard Avenue, with a permit to close the street to vehicle traffic on market days. Last summer it expanded half a block north to accomodate all the vendors who wanted to sell there.

It just keeps on getting better.

Yes, We Have No Bananas

I love this kind of marketing: turning a weakness into a strength. You can't get the variety at the farmers' market that you find at the supermarket, but that's actually a good thing because most of those supermarket items are picked too early, stored too long, and shipped too far.

There's been a lot of talk lately about the issue of food miles, or the distance our food travels to get to our tables. But that's not the only reason it's important to eat locally. Locally grown food is more likely to be produced by independent growers rather than monster corporations.

People who live and work independently tend to also think independently. It's no accident that the earliest successful democracy--ancient Greece--was an agricultural society built on a system of small, independently owned farms.

At the other end of the spectrum there's the "banana republic," which calls to mind everything from petty tyrants to frequent revolutions to an impoverished population growing a single variety of food to enrich shareholders of foreign corporations.

Yes, we have no bananas...

Good Food- Worth the Price?

I was talking to a farmer over the weekend who mentioned that he'd just raised his prices because he'd realized that people were willing to pay more for his produce. He was conflicted about the change, and worried that his stuff was less affordable now for people who really couldn't pay the extra money.

A few days earlier I'd been shopping at Pacific Food Importers, one of my favorite spots. I was deciding whether to try a new brand of olive oil or stick with Adolpho's, my long time favorite. I got to talking to one of the guys who works there, and when I mentioned my preference for Adolpho's he said, "Yeah, that's great stuff, but he finally figured out what it was worth, and jacked up the price."

Now, I appreciate a good deal as much as the next person, but part of me is also glad to see people who produce fine products getting fairly compensated for their efforts. I've written before about farmers' market pricing, and the fact that organic produce at the market is often cheaper than comparable fruits and vegetables at the grocery store.

Even if organic produce at the market is generally cheaper than what you'd pay at the store, it' still usually more expensive than "conventional" produce, because it's a higher quality product.

As contemporary Americans we spend a smaller share of our income on food than any other society in the history of the world. I've heard figures ranging from 9 to 13 percent but, whatever the exact number, we're pretty spoiled in this arena. The low cost of food gives us more money to spend on clothing, entertainment, vacations and high speed electronics, among other things.

The fact is, we spend our money on what matters to us. I know people who are barely scraping by who buy most of their food at farmers' markets, and I've met people who live in mansions but fill their cupboards with processed garbage from Costco. What matters to you?

High Prices at the Farmers' Market: Fact or Fiction?

One of the biggest hurdles faced by local farmers' markets is the perception that market food is too expensive. (The other big hurdle is the lack of convenient parking, but I have nothing useful to say about that.)

Last spring an economics class at Seattle Central Community College explored the question of whether farmers' market prices really are higher than comparable prices at the supermarket. They compared the cost of organic produce at the nearby Broadway Farmers' market with prices at QFC, Safeway, and Madison Market.

In almost every case they found that produce at the farmer' market was actually cheaper than stuff at conventional stores. So why the negative perception?

Perhaps a trip to the farmers' market feels expensive to some people because it involves preparing meals from scratch. Shopping for ingredients and cooking a real meal tends to be more expensive than eating fast food or frozen convenience food, although it's certainly cheaper than buying a decent meal at a restaurant.

Fresh herbs, in particular, tend to much more affordable at farmers' markets, and the bunches are much bigger than those tiny, overpriced plastic packages at the supermarket.

And I haven't even touched on the question of quality...