Farmers Market as Downtown Revitalization Tool

Nur Asri is an associate at Larisa Ortiz Associates

Fall is upon us and for LOA that means the work on a second round of New York State Downtown Revitalization Initiatives is set to begin. In the past year, our work has brought us to smaller, more rural towns upstate and around the country and with that, came many visits to local farmers markets. Farmers markets, or “multi-stall markets at which farmer-producers sell agricultural products directly to the general public at a central/ fixed location” are not a new phenomenon. In fact, marketplaces have been a key economic, cultural, and social component of villages, towns, and cities for thousands of years. Today, smaller downtowns, are seeing a resurgence of farmers markets as economic revitalization tools, particularly in areas with existing agricultural assets. In this post, we discuss the potential benefits that can be reaped from a downtown farmers market and actions that can be taken to ensure the most effective implementation of one.

Farmers markets are community porches

Many of the farmers markets we have observed in our work, whether intended or not, have evolved into the “front porch” of the community and function as key gathering places. Residents and visitors from various walks of life convene at the market through a common interest for fresh, local produce resulting in unique social interactions.

Morganton Farmers Market at the retail core. Photo: LOA

In some cases, farmers markets have also been key in activating formerly underutilized spaces downtown and turning these into active public spaces. From old warehouses to underused parking lots and vacant land, farmers markets have the power to activate these spaces by introducing a new public use and attracting new users of the space.

In Morganton, NC, for example, hosts a mini farmers market every Wednesday in the warm months on a field that was simply sitting vacant by the retail core of the downtown. Meanwhile, in Springfield, OR, a year-round farmers market is hosted in a former church property that was purchased and refurbished with a 3,000 SF event space.

Farmers markets promote health and wellness

The seasonal freshness of fruits and vegetables sold at farmers markets, the in-built nutritional value of goods sold, and the direct linkage made between food producers and consumers, makes the markets fitting platforms for health promotion and nutrition education.  In addition, consumers around the world are also gaining a new appreciation for and connection to their food producers, so farmers markets are the much-needed platforms to further grow support for local food systems.

In addition, farmers markets that offer SNAP programs also expand low-income households’ access to healthy foods, ensuring that all local residents are able to reap benefits from the healthy offerings at the markets and raising nutritional levels among low-income households. Additional free programming such as cooking and nutrition classes offered at farmers markets can often expand the accessibility of healthy local produce by educating those households that are unfamiliar with preparing fresh, wholesome meals.

Now, for the economic benefits.

Farmers markets are visitor attractions

Farmers markets are also great downtown anchors that attract hoards of residents and tourists for hours weekly. Naturally, this raises foot traffic that may otherwise be lacking in smaller downtowns. In Springfield, OR, for example, the famers market attracted an estimated 30,000 people and more than 40 regular vendors in its first year of opening alone.

In a smaller, rural downtown, this regular stream of pedestrian traffic to the farmers market translates to foot traffic into neighboring stores and restaurants, especially when the farmers markets are held on weekends and customers dwell times are more flexible.

Farmers markets add to downtown retail mix

With more traditional farmers markets that host fresh produce and specialty food vendors, these markets essentially act as the local grocery store. In more rural parts of the country where the grocery store is typically a big box Walmart or Wegmans or Food Lion that requires driving 15 minutes outside of downtown, the farmers market can be a solution to bridging a hyperlocal retail gap.  Its location, typically in a downtown parking lot, means that it is far more convenient for residents in the area to grab a carton of milk or spare eggs. Not to mention, the freshness of pastries and bread sold at the farmers market compared to the large grocery store.

As consumer preferences shift, even grocery stores are replacing their aisles with even more fresh, local produce and organic goods – goods that are already filling the wooden crates at farmers markets. In 2008, local food sales were estimated to be close to $5 billion and farmers markets are naturally aligned to leverage the growth in this demand (if it's not already being met!).

Farmers markets function as business incubators and accelerators

From Farmers Market vendor to.....

Finally, and most importantly, farmers markets cut the middlemen who typically distribute farmers’ and artisans’ goods, therefore raising profit margins for the producers. The markets also act as business incubators by providing the opportunities for producers and makers to first test products directly with consumers and get real time feedback thru product samples – all at a much, much lower cost than either setting up a storefront or selling online. The Fresh Friday Farmers Market in Allentown, PA, for example, has provided increased business opportunities for local farms and food businesses proliferating in the LeHigh Valley.

...Storefront! This is Cedar Rapids Whiskey Sauce Co. in Ely

Upon finessing and growing the demand for their products and services, many farmers market vendors have then grown big enough to be able to set up brick-and-mortar stores downtown. For downtowns that lost retail tenants in the last economic downturn, this business incubation function of farmers markets may be ideal to helping fill those storefront spaces. For example, in Richmond, VA, a vacant storefront that was formerly occupied by a bakery was recently bought over by a pastry chef who sells pastries and baked goods at the local St Stephens Farmers Market. Although the owner will essentially be replacing goods that were already on offer by the previous tenant, the farmers market start has enabled her to refine her merchandise selection based on early consumer feedback.

Other examples of farmers market vendors that have moved on to brick-and-mortar include Blacksauce Kitchen that made its start at the JFX Farmers' Market in Baltimore before recently opening a shop that serves customers one day a week. In Iowa, Cedar Rapids Whiskey Sauce Co last year opened a shop on Dows Street in small downtown Ely after making its start at local farmers' markets and several HyVee grocery store locations.

How to ensure farmers markets really become downtown revitalization tools:

Unfortunately, not all farmers markets have been powerful downtown revitalization tools. There are a number of steps that need to be taken to ensuring that the benefits we discussed above can be achieved.

Site your farmers market in or near your retail core

Geneseo, NY Farmers Market off Main Street by local theater.

Firstly, the location of the farmers market is crucial to driving spillover foot traffic from the market to downtown storefronts. If the market isn’t located in the retail core of downtown, shoppers are unlikely to stop by adjacent storefronts after perusing the market. In Morganton, NC, for instance, before introducing a mini market on Wednesdays on an empty field at the retail core, hosted its weekly farmers market 0.5 mile away, far away enough (given the hotter climate and elevations) that customers passing through the farmers market would have to get in a car before being able to get to downtown. And we all know, once your customer gets in the car, they’re as good as lost. The farmers market wasn’t quite an anchor for downtown businesses until it was introduced right smack in the retail core.

Locating farmers markets in the retail core will be especially crucial for downtowns that have residential uses located at the retail core or within walking distance of downtown. Having direct and easy access to a large residential shopping demand is crucial to the success of vendors, and of course if vendors succeed, they are likely to return to sell goods, maintaining the critical mass of vendors needed to attract customers and ensuring overall sustainability of the farmers markets.

Provide supportive transportation infrastructure

City of Palo Alto installed bike racks on the
street used for weekly farmers market.

If your downtown is dense and walkable and the bulk of your customers are residents who already live in the vicinity, then supportive infrastructure to help customers get to the farmers market might include wide sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, wayfinding signage, bike lanes and bike parking facilities, and bus stops.

On the other hand, if your downtown is small and much more rural with most customers only able to arrive by car, then convenient and well-maintained parking lots should also be made available to support a “park once” downtown for customers and vendors to visit the farmers market and other businesses all at once without having to worry about moving their cars.

Complement the market with programming

Portland, OR Market Music event showcases local acts.

Educational community programs and local music acts are some activities that accompany farmers markets across the country and these are great ways to further engage local residents and visitors that pass through. The best way to find out what types of programs the local community needs is to simply carry out an intercept consumer survey.

At the same time, programs should also be organized to help vendors grow their business and following. The Neighborhood Economic Development Corporation in Springfield, OR, organizer of the downtown farmers market is an owner of properties downtown. Once vendors at the market reach a stage of expansion that requires a larger and more regular storefront, NEDCO is able to rent spaces it owns at lower rates to support these businesses.

Operate the market during accessible hours

Depending on the downtown and the number of major employers in the area, it may be effective to hold farmers markets on weekdays. In such cases, vendors may leverage the existing daytime worker market demand during lunchtime. On the other hand, if the weekday daytime population downtown doesn’t exist, then a weekend market would make more sense. 

Actively brand and market

Strong local campaigns to bring awareness to and promote the farmers market are crucial to establishing a new downtown anchor. In Livingston County, NY, (where we’re about to embark on a Countywide Commercial District Assessment), a Find It In Livingston campaign encourages shoppers to seek local produce and goods by actively announcing where and when downtown farmers markets happen on the county economic development website. The Charles City Downtown Farmers Market similarly participates in the ‘Buy Fresh, Buy Local’ campaign, a comprehensive marketing program for farmers selling directly to consumers, restaurants, grocery stores and other institutions.

Ensure strong administrative capacity

As with all downtown economic revitalization initiatives, administrative capacity and resources are required to sustain farmers markets. In addition to support from the City, buy-in from local residents is essential to carrying out a successful market. While the City is able to support the market in procuring a vacant site or supplying sanitation facilities and power, support from local businesses and individuals will ensure sustained customer traffic and vendor participation.

The non-economic and economic benefits of farmers markets might tempt you to implement one downtown. However, they must not be assumed to be simple revitalization tools. Farmers markets are complex efforts that often require the cooperation of a wide range of stakeholders (existing business owners, residents, community leaders), thoughtful planning, extensive programming and marketing, and of course funding! Who knows what this second round of funding from New York State will bring to the downtowns we’ll be working with this Fall but we will be keeping a look out for those farmers markets and keeping our eyes peeled for what works for them!

If you already have a farmers market downtown and are looking to assess its impact, take a look at this economic impact study of the farmers market in Downtown El Paso: http://downtownelpaso.com/economic-ripples-felt-from-downtown-artist-and-farmers-market/

Planning a downtown street fair? Five ways to avoid undermining retail sales for local businesses

It is not uncommon to hear merchants complain about the singular annual event or street fair. These activities are common among many downtown organizations trying to promote visitation, and to be fair, thoughtful downtown events are important to successful revitalization efforts. But if you ask some business owners, they may not be having the intended effect. Consider the case of the local barber shop whose regular customers avoid the area during downtown events. Or a flower shop that can no longer make deliveries because the street is closed. How do you avoid some of these common errors? And how do you execute a great event that helps local businesses?  I've rounded up a few examples of common mistakes and potential solutions. Is your organization doing any of these things?

The challenge - the main corridor of the festival is packed with
people but the sidewalk side where the business entrances are is empty. 

A better solution - don't block storefronts. Use existing downtown open space
between two retail streets for the market. This way, the events
serve as a link between shopping areas and helps to extend the average customer length of stay. 

A better solution - if you've got a single loaded retail corridor,
place the farmers market stands across the street to
create a double loaded corridor.  This enhances the density of
downtown offerings and encourages cross-shopping. 

A better solution - Don't block access to the sidewalk and local
businesses. Notice the gaps between the vendor stalls that allow for ease of
access between the sidewalk and the main thoroughfare. 

The challenge: Make sure to site your market where the downtown action is.
You want to ensure your market is in close proximity to
your downtown businesses, otherwise the opportunities for
synergy and shared customers are lost. 

The Food Hall Revolution

The retail industry has seen its fair share of trends and advancements this past year – ecommerce is up and millennials are driving experiential shopping. However, one that has inescapably stood out has been the development of food hubs and food halls all across the country. In fact, earlier in 2016, UrbanLand predicted that food was to be the ‘anchor of retail developments’ based on the rising proportion of store growth being attributed to restaurants. From Detroit to Irvine, cities and developers are catching onto the culinary-oriented developments in their own unique ways but are these places simply sexier, marketable versions of the traditional food courts? Let’s find out what constitutes food hubs and food halls and what impacts they are having on economic revitalization and food access.

Marketplaces have been a key economic, cultural, and social component of villages, towns, and cities for thousands of years and food, particularly fresh produce, has always been a vital commodity for trading at these markets. A food hub, as defined by the National Food Hub Collaboration and Michigan State University, is a “business or organization that actively manages the aggregation, distribution, and marketing of source- identified food products primarily from local and regional producers”. By doing so, food hubs bridge the gap between food producers and consumers and satisfy wholesale, retail, and institutional demand all under one roof much like traditional marketplaces. Today, many fresh food producers lack the capacity and financial resources to access these markets on their own so food hubs are indeed making it possible for these producers to gain entry into new markets, increase their incomes, and up scale production.

Not only are food hubs profitable to producers, distributors and retailers, they are also vital in improving neighborhood access to local foods by offering complementary programs and resources such as shared community kitchens for healthy cooking classes and food incubators for budding restaurateurs. All of these components that make up a food hub differentiate it from farmers markets that simply provide platforms for producers to sell directly to consumers like you, but what about the difference between food hubs and food halls?  

As it turns out, the term ‘food halls’ is increasingly being used interchangeably with food hubs. However, food halls are more often than not one of the many programs within a food hub (complementary to grocery stores, food education facilities, food distribution centers, and kitchen incubators). When food halls function separately and independently, they are often less community- and agriculturally-based. While they may claim to support locally-owned businesses and chefs, they often do not guarantee as tight a policy of local produce-sourcing as food hubs do given their varying administrative organizations and missions. Often, these food halls simply bring together multiple vendors, carefully curated to meet the targeted consumers’ taste and preference, and provide them space in high traffic areas at potentially lower rental rates.

Regardless of semantics, both food halls and food hubs are cooking up destinations for local food and providing opportunities for local businesses to grow – albeit to different degrees. Given the infancy of these food-based developments, we can only begin to predict their position as catalysts for redevelopment and socio-economic revitalization.

The Eastern Market in Detroit, Michigan, for example, demonstrates the potential for food hubs to be really sustainable and efficient food sources for communities. The food hub is the “largest historic public market in the Unites States” and has been connecting small farms with customers from metro Detroit for over a century. It has done more than just organize farmers markets for locals; the Eastern Market also hosts a massive wholesale market for local restaurants and grocers from midnight to 6am on weekdays. In addition, the market has incubator spaces for food entrepreneurs and provides professional kitchens for entrepreneurs who would otherwise be unable to access such resources. At Eastern Market, entrepreneurs can develop and test-market their products before expanding regionally. Take for example, McClure's Pickles. The firm got its start at the market and has since expanded nationally.

The Eastern Market not only meets the scope of a regional food hub but has certainly met its mission to “build facilities and critical infrastructure that fortifies the food sector as a pillar of regional economic growth while improving access to healthy and affordable food choices in Detroit”. A survey conducted by Michigan State University found that the majority of food hubs in Michigan helped increase access to healthy foods in underserved neighborhoods, thereby supporting a healthier population. More than 95 percent of Michigan's food hubs are experiencing an increase in demand of their products and services with restaurants, small grocery stores, and kindergarten through 12th-grade school food services being their number one customers. Furthermore, among the food hubs surveyed, about half of food hubs were equipped to accept federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

Food hubs also have the potential to act as arts and cultural centers for their neighborhoods. The large halls and spaces located in the hubs are conducive to art and design festivals. Eastern Market, for example, is home to the Detroit Design Festival every fall and many other creative pop-up events and programs. Like other food hubs, it is increasingly becoming a mixed-use building and yet food-based hub. Even food halls that simply feature chef-driven vendors and tenants are becoming arts and culture centers hosting a myriad of events throughout the year. In a time where millennial customers seek out unique retail experiences, the merging of the arts and culinary worlds was only an inevitable next step.

On the other side of the coin, when food-based developments do not serve the wider community, however, it stands to run into accusations of causing gentrification and rising property values. In Anaheim, California, where a former fruit packing and distribution center was transformed into a food hall dedicated to local vendors, it has quickly evolved into  a selling feature for new residential developments in the neighborhood. Broookfield Residential for example is hoping to “attract young buyers with units priced between $300,000 and $400,000” in a neighborhood that was once a sleepy town known only for Disneyland. Whether intended or not, the Packing House food hall in Anaheim has led to huge inflow of development into the neighborhood, raising prices of property in the area.

Furthermore, food halls that only serve ready-made meals or chef-made meals are often too upscale for the average customer. While they may help fill gaps in a food desert, prices often prevent lower income bracket groups from accessing these freshly-made and locally-grown foods since most prepared foods are not even eligible for SNAP benefits. So while food hubs and food halls may have a right to celebrate their contributions to the local food system and local communities, there are a few implications to also be wary of.

If that didn’t scare you enough, there are also a set of complex challenges involved in setting up and running food-based developments. Start-up, administrative and operational costs can run up high, especially when run by a nonprofit. Although finding capital through donations, grants, and city funding is a common strategy, these funding sources can easily go away. The many moving parts of food hubs also means that overhead costs can arise at all points on the operational chain.

Further still, site development has proven to be a huge challenge for food hubs. This is due to requirements for cold storage, space for processing food, distribution, and strategic marketing. The non-profit Boston Public Food Market, for example, is already spending close to $14 million to turn a state-owned building into a market.

Indeed, food hubs and food halls can take several years to achieve financial profitability. However, it is food hubs that work with various partners, including local farmers’ associations and school districts, which are able to increase their earnings easily by establishing distribution agreements.  These partners often also help with advertising and marketing efforts – lowering food hub overhead – and provide food hubs with a consistent yet diverse customer base.

On the other hand, food halls that function separately and independently with only chef-driven vendors open with 100 percent occupancy before quickly running into problems of high operation and marketing costs. This often leads to high lease rates for vendors. Since local entrepreneurs are particularly susceptible to rent charges and often are unable to make their businesses work in the long run without continued support from the food hall, these food-based developments hollow out and struggle to find replacement chefs.

As we move into a new year, and the trend of food hubs and food halls catches on rapidly across cities, let’s watch out for the saturation point in food-based developments. More importantly, let’s beware of its real impacts on food access and our local neighborhoods and communities. 

Complete Streets help the economy, street vendors vs BIDs smack down, and over designed intersections? Commercial District News Round Up, Week of July 7th, 2015

How Thoughtful Street Design Is Helping Communities and the Economy
The National Complete Streets Coalition, a program of Smart Growth America, released a new report analyzing street improvements in 37 neighborhoods across the country.  In the report, communities that were redesigned to accommodate pedestrians, transit users and bicyclists (as well as drivers of motor vehicles) found that the design resulted in positive impacts on key economic indicators, including employment, new businesses, property values and private investment.

Source: Huffington Post

BIDS Worry Over Movement to Increase Vendor Permits
In New York, the number of street vendor licenses are limited by law - only 3,000 permits are issued annually. But a movement led by The Street Vendor Project seeks to change all that. On the other side of this issue are BIDs that are concerned about the impact of vendors on established businesses - many of whom are paying assessments into the BID and who are affected by vendors right outside their doors. Fordham Road Business Improvement District, the largest BID in the Bronx, along with 72 BIDs across NYC, presented a four-page statement prepared by the New York City BID Association warning of “unilateral, piecemeal change” to the current laws “will lead to unintended consequences.” The BIDs suggest a study before lifting the ban. Both sides see financial struggle as vendors have mounting permitting costs while property owners and merchants of BIDs pay assessments to keep the streets clean and orderly.

Image Source: www.norwoodnews.org   Credit: Adi Talwar

Neighbors Are Mad Lincoln Hub Slows Traffic, But That Was Kind of the Point
The design, intended to imitate an oriental rug and also to slow down traffic, not appreciated by local residents at this Chicago intersection.  Overdesigned?...you be the judge.

Reshaping Growth Centers with Open Space = Smart Growth
The addition of open space to urban areas seems counter intuitive to the often assumed need for high-density growth, but this article points out that the addition of open space and the practice of smart growth can lead to high density and better use of land.  The comparison of Atlanta and Barcelona maps, with similar population size, is astonishing.

Most Bikeable Cities of 2015
Minneapolis took number one spot, putting often assumed bike mecca, Portland, in number three. The ranking looked at cities of 300,000+ and the scores are measured on a scale of 0 - 100 based on bike lanes, hills, destinations and road connectivity, and share of local workers' commutes traveled by bicycle.  Check it out...is your city on the list?

The USDA Site Now Has a National Farmers Market Directory
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has launched a searchable national farmers market directory, allowing you to search for markets online. The site has an interactive map and can search the 8,260 farmers markets by zip code and products sold. The USDA included any market that has two+ farm vendors selling their goods in the same location week to week.