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News & ArtsThursday, June 4, 2009
Chow / Economy Seattle Farmers Markets: Not Actually More Expensive Than QFC
Posted by Bethany Jean Clement on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 9:30 AM
Many people seem to believe that farmers market prices are high.
I am one of these people. You probably are too. But some nice Seattle University students went out and proved us wrong.
This spring we measured prices at the Broadway and Columbia City farmers markets between May 10 and May 13. Armed with pencils and clipboards, students collected data on organic produce prices at the farmers market and neighboring grocery stores and co-ops...On Capitol Hill, we compared the prices at the Broadway farmers market to those at Madison Market, QFC, and Safeway. The Broadway farmers market had the lowest average price for ten organic produce items available at all four locations. The average price of the ten common items was $4.40 per pound at the Broadway farmers market, $4.57 per pound at Madison Market, $5.82 per pound at QFC, and $8.04 per pound at Safeway. A pound of asparagus, for example, sold for $4.00 at the farmers market, $4.99 at Madison Market, $9.98 at QFC, and $4.79 at Safeway. To be sure, the farmers market did not offer the lowest price on every item, but did tend to have the lowest prices for produce in its peak season.
In Columbia City, we compared farmers market prices to those at the Seward Park Pacific Foods Co-op (PCC) and the Rainier Safeway. The Columbia City Farmers Market beat the local competition on price for ten common organic produce items. Even having removed some extreme values from the data (those organic herbs sold in 2-oz. packages at grocery stores are quite expensive when converted to pounds), the farmers market prices beat the competition. The ten produce items available at all three locations averaged $4.25 per pound at the Columbia City farmers market, $4.97 at PCC, and $4.70 at Safeway...
If this seems familiar, that is because this is the third year of their comparison-shopping study—similar results in '07 and '08. Thanks, SU students (and professor Stacey Jones of SU's Albers School of Business and Economics)! And if you want to say thanks in person:
Seattle University students will be presenting the results of our studies at the Columbia City farmers market on Wednesday June 3, from 3 to 7 pm, and at the Broadway farmers market on Sunday June 7, from 11 to 3 pm.
"From the Capitol Hill Farmer's Market (with the exception of the pumpkin). Portions of the bounty magically transformed into a super tasty squash/leek/pepper soup. yum. The apples will become part of a rhubarb crisp later this week"—photo from October 2008 by Fecki from The Stranger's flickr pool.
2
Organic items. People think it's more expensive because not everyone buys organic at QFC/Safeway/etc. Farmers' Markets are more fun than the grocery too.
6
There's no way to measure this without extremely rigorous testing, and even then there would be so many intervening variables as to make any such data suspect.
But I am guessing that the fresh produce at most farmers' markets delivers more nutritional bang for the buck because by and large, it gets into your hands sooner after having been picked than any supermarket food. This almost certainly goes for eggs.
Everybody's financial situation and food budget is different. I buy both from supermarkets and from farmers' markets and will continue to do so.
By and large, the produce managers where I shop are eager to please and will try to get you what you want. But growers at farmers' markets are even more so, and "cultivating" a long-term relationship with a farmer or farmers is likely to result in a much higher ceiling for customer satisfaction and good nutrition.
But I am guessing that the fresh produce at most farmers' markets delivers more nutritional bang for the buck because by and large, it gets into your hands sooner after having been picked than any supermarket food. This almost certainly goes for eggs.
Everybody's financial situation and food budget is different. I buy both from supermarkets and from farmers' markets and will continue to do so.
By and large, the produce managers where I shop are eager to please and will try to get you what you want. But growers at farmers' markets are even more so, and "cultivating" a long-term relationship with a farmer or farmers is likely to result in a much higher ceiling for customer satisfaction and good nutrition.
7
Go to QFC and try smelling the peaches. They have almost no scent at all. What do you have to do to a peach to drain every bit of scent out of it? It's the same with other produce, but it's most noticeable (to me and people I know, at least) with the peaches. Meanwhile, at a farmers market, you can smell the produce just by walking by the tables.
8
I was pretty surprised to see the amount of money I spent on produce go down after I started regularly utilizing farmer's markets. When you add things like meat and dairy into the equation, it's definitely a different story, but the difference in quality and flavor makes it well worth it.
9
You're talking Organic. I will only talk when the same study is done with non-organic items, which is what the majority of QFC/Safeway consumers buy. That's why Organic has its own tiny section there.
An apple != an organic apple.
An apple != an organic apple.
10
On the other hand, not all the produce sold at farmers markets is organic. They compared organic to organic. You might find a similar price comparison if you compared non organic to non organic.
11
@7,
They're picked way too early, especially right now since peaches aren't yet in season in North America. I'll bet even at the height of the season, QFC still trucks them in from Georgia.
They're picked way too early, especially right now since peaches aren't yet in season in North America. I'll bet even at the height of the season, QFC still trucks them in from Georgia.
12
I live in Louisiana, and I stopped at my city's small farm market today (the big one is on Saturday) because I wanted some fruit to take to work. Unfortunately, execept for strawberries (whose season is just about over here), nothing else is quite in season - though there are a ton of tomatoes already.
Anyway, I bought a 5 pound bag of organic brown jasmine rice for $5. That's about $1 less per pound than I have ever seen it in the supermarket. And I know exactly when this rice was milled (last Tuesday), and where it was grown (Kinder, LA).
And that's why I like to buy at the farm market. I know who I am giving my money to, and I know it is being invested back into my community and state. I might pay a little more for some things (I paid $2 for a baguette when I could get one at Albertsons for $1), but it's money that stays in the state. And Louisiana needs all the help it can get.
Anyway, I bought a 5 pound bag of organic brown jasmine rice for $5. That's about $1 less per pound than I have ever seen it in the supermarket. And I know exactly when this rice was milled (last Tuesday), and where it was grown (Kinder, LA).
And that's why I like to buy at the farm market. I know who I am giving my money to, and I know it is being invested back into my community and state. I might pay a little more for some things (I paid $2 for a baguette when I could get one at Albertsons for $1), but it's money that stays in the state. And Louisiana needs all the help it can get.
13
One product where the difference in quality is immediately apparent between fresh and local(not even necessarily organic) are eggs. Supermarket eggs, even ones that are labeled organic are awful in comparison. In Portland, where I live, I can buy eggs for $4.00 a dozen at the farmer's market, which is a measly $.10 more a dozen than the cheapest organic supermarket eggs I can find.
Meat and dairy is a different story, but it's hard to compare since most supermarkets aren't carrying pasture fed beef or milk. I have, however, found good deals on lamb at the farmers market. It's the specialty products, like herbed jams, flower vinegars, hard ciders where things start to get really expensive.
Meat and dairy is a different story, but it's hard to compare since most supermarkets aren't carrying pasture fed beef or milk. I have, however, found good deals on lamb at the farmers market. It's the specialty products, like herbed jams, flower vinegars, hard ciders where things start to get really expensive.
15
I also find I spend less at the farmer's market than at the grocery store because I'm less likely to impulse-buy. It's easier to talk myself into picking up a few extra items when they're things like $4 boxes of cereal and not $10 bars of soap.
16
Even if produce costs a bit more at farmers' markets, supporting local farmers is worth the few extra pennies.
17
@14: My product line is called "mega-organic" and is made by "recycling" previously consumed produce.
Beat that.
Beat that.
18
Hmmm... we also have 2 organizations that run Farmer's Markets here in town and it seems like the Ballard and Fremont Sunday Markets, for example, are more expensive although I enjoy going to all of them. U-Dist, Broadway, Lake City, West Sea, Columbia City, etc. are all the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance. Ballard, Fremont, QA, Wallingford, etc. are another organization. Looks like the pricing comparisons were done at the NFMA and I have found them to be more comparative with prices.
19
Don't Farmers Market prices vary from week to week? Obviously, they can vary from neighborhood to neighborhood (which by itself calls this study's results into question), but selection and price is subject to a wide variance.
And that of course assumes a truly representative, neutral sample of store produce was compared.
This is a high school level comaprison. These are college students.
And that of course assumes a truly representative, neutral sample of store produce was compared.
This is a high school level comaprison. These are college students.
20
Last sentence of first paragraph needs clarification: selection and price is subject to a wide variance even within the same Farmers Market.
21
Check out full circle farms! I compared them to Safeway (non-organic) and it was the same. They give you a box of produce every week which encourages you to eat your veggies and try new things! http://www.fullcirclefarm.com/
22
The growing washington people also do a pretty good job with the local choice food box http://www.growingwashington.org/foodbox… I particpated in the program last year and was pretty happy with it.
24
Farmers' markets arose to let you meet somewhere in the middle between the price farmers get from wholesalers and the price you pay in the grocery store, or for farmers to sell garden goods they can't produce in enough bulk to wholesale for extra cash. It's win-win by cutting out the middleman. In Seattle the producers seem to sell almost exclusively at the weekend market and price on the same quality demand curve as Whole Foods. Good for them for getting it, but the bountiful good deal of markets in MI or CA it sure ain't.
25
As an example, in East Lansing, in 1998, I could feed 20 hungry college kids the meal of their life, and put a big bunch of flowers on the table, to boot, for $25.
26
@25 - And for $25 I could feed 130 hungry college kids a nice soup of ramen, curry, and potatoes.
27
In my experience, it depends largely on what you buy. Meat and eggs? Much cheaper at QFC. Blueberries? A little cheaper at QFC. Collard greens and carrots? Actually cheaper at the farmers' market sometime. Also, the tomatoes at the supermarket are horrible mealy little things, unlike the sweet, delicate globes of delight at the farmers' market.
28
For you folks complaining about comparing organic grocery prices to organic market prices and how it's irrelevant to you: Check out the produce available at the flower seller stalls at the markets. A bunch of carrots is never more than $2, green onions, garlic, lettuces, bok choy and radishes can all be had for spare change. They're not organic, but they're a hell of a lot fresher than QFC, and the farmers make all the profit. The selection isn't huge, but you won't find cheaper prices, even for the bruised bananas at Grocery Outlet.
Another point for cheapness: I think all Seattle farmers' markets accept WIC and food stamps. As of this year, so do all the Tacoma markets.
Another point for cheapness: I think all Seattle farmers' markets accept WIC and food stamps. As of this year, so do all the Tacoma markets.
29
Another benefit of supporting local farmers is keeping our local economy robust. After reading Wal-Mart's announcement about how damn successful they still are, that seems even more important. I like having access to local options, and I don't like the idea of much of the produce I eat being produced overseas and/or indirectly controlled by Monsanto. The corporate leadership (aka "those fuckers") does not have our best interests in mind. The idea of not having a domestic food supply seems precarious.
30
Seriously? People think the farmers markets are more expensive? Now things might be different in Seattle (I've lived in Pittsburgh and Minneapolis) but everywhere I've lived the farmers markets are WAY cheaper than grocery stores. Not to mention the food's fresher and tastes much better and is probably more healthy for you but I have no way to prove that.
31
In my own unscientific comparisons (usual method: I say "this is too expensive", walk to Whole Foods, and buy the same stuff for less), I've found that shopping at the U District farmers market is almost always more expensive than shopping at the Whole Foods ten blocks away.
To be fair, this seems to be a U District thing rather than a farmers market thing, since prices at the Lake City and Lake Forest Park markets are noticeably lower than prices at the U District market. Maybe they have a magnet hidden somewhere to attract people with no price sensitivity.
To be fair, this seems to be a U District thing rather than a farmers market thing, since prices at the Lake City and Lake Forest Park markets are noticeably lower than prices at the U District market. Maybe they have a magnet hidden somewhere to attract people with no price sensitivity.
32
I've been reading your replies and I just wanted to point out that this is an ASSIGNMENT given to Seattle University students by their professor in order to apply statistics to a real world situation. They do NOT have access to expensive tools and techniques provided to actual stasticians. Of course there are external variables and other things that must be considered throughout this process and this holds true with any and every economist/stastician during such research not just these students. The Farmers Market is a fun place where people can help one another out by buying the great food they have to offer.
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