Farmers Markets and Food Access in DC

We researched farmers markets to understand their impact on food access in DC. Our goal was to inform DC’s understanding of the role farmers markets can play in providing access to healthy food and integrate into communities with low food access.

The project had three main phases:

1. Secondary research and data analysis to understand how farmers markets have affected food access in other cities, learn about best practices for opening markets in underserved and low-access areas, particularly the predominantly Black neighborhoods of wards 7 and 8, and determine the patterns in location and benefits use in markets in DC.
2. Farmers market manager survey: We added questions to the annual survey of farmers market managers to capture information that was missing from our secondary research and data analysis.
3. Interviews with local community leaders in food access: Through interviews with leaders of local organizations who work to close food access gaps in DC, we set out to learn more about how community members in areas with low food access, particularly in low-income and Black neighborhoods, feel about farmers markets.

"DC needs to change how it thinks about food" - Food access organization interviewee

First, we collected case studies about farmers markets in other cities and secondary research on how farmers markets placed a role in food access in DC.

• A  2019 poll  conducted by the Washington Post found that 74% of residents felt their access to fresh fruits and vegetables was “good” or “excellent”, but only 49% of respondents in wards 7 & 8 indicated the same.
• As reported by one of our interviewees who works on food access in DC, of the 75 full-service grocery stores in D.C., only 3 full-service grocery stores operate in wards 7 & 8.
• A  Massachusetts study  found that SNAP users receiving incentives increased their fruit and vegetable consumption by 26%.
• Another  study on Midwestern Farmers Markets  found that SNAP users that attended farmers markets were less racially diverse than the SNAP users who did not attend them, and that incentive programs did not change this dynamic.

Our next question was how farmers markets are supported by federal and local governments, and how they fit into the broader urban economy.

The federal government supports farmers markets by offering three different benefits programs tailored for farmers market shopping:

• The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) funds nutrition incentive and produce prescription programs.
• The Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) provides fresh, unprepared, locally grown fruits and vegetables to WIC participants, and this program has disbursed nearly $30 million in grants for FY21, including $329,000 for DC.
• The Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) funds projects that develop, coordinate, and expand farmers markets through outreach, training, and technical assistance, and this program has disbursed nearly $13 million in funds in FY22.

Below the federal level, cities around the country have implemented policies to make farmers markets more successful and more accessible to low-income populations.

Cities have seen that farmers markets are a draw for shoppers and a boon for the local economy.

So what do these farmers market policies and impact look like in real life? And can DC see similar impacts?

FRESHFARM used SEED methodology to measure the economic impact of their Downtown Silver Spring market, which is useful for comparison to DC because it has a FRESHFARM market and is proximal to the district.

We conducted interviews with community organizations to understand the role farmers markets currently play in DC food access.

Strengths of Farmers Markets

• Benefits and incentive programs provide an opportunity for predominantly Black communities with low food access, such as wards 7 and 8, to afford fresh and healthy foods.
• Farmers markets also can serve as a place for community interaction.
• Farmers markets can temporarily fill food access gaps in less time than it takes to set up a brick-and-mortar store.
• Farmers markets are part of a wider set of policies that create healthy and vibrant communities, including support for transportation, housing, and green spaces.

Challenges of Farmers Markets

• Interviewees also noted that farmers markets often do not meet communities' needs. Their shoppers tend to be located in the higher-income parts of DC, are expensive, and provide produce or food products that are niche, low-demand, or unfamiliar in the predominantly Black and brown communities of DC.
• Benefits programs are limited given the demand for them and farmers' need to make enough profit at a market to make the trip worth it.
• Markets are often located in inconvenient locations across town or require significant transportation or time to reach.

Opportunities for Farmers Markets

• Curating farmers market vendors and offerings beyond just produce, so that they’re reflective of the preferences and culture of the community that will be shopping there
• Working with local community leaders and advocacy networks to elevate “Farmers Market Champions” that can build local support and increase awareness
• Expanding farmers market access to low-income, predominantly Black neighborhoods in DC where they often don’t currently exist to maximize access
• Expanding benefits programs to enable more residents of low-income communities of color to access fresh and healthy foods more easily
• Increasing awareness of these benefits to ensure that they are fully utilized

"Market champions, folks from the community, in each community...who are out talking to people in their neighborhoods about the farmer's market, who are talking to people about [how] you get certain benefits.... So that when people go to the market folks who look like the people that they've seen around their neighborhood before, and it's not just the folks who, who have means at farmer's markets." - Interviewee

Through this project, we have learned that farmers markets have potential as a temporary solution to a much larger, pervasive problem. As a result of historic disinvestment in communities east of the river, Wards 7 and 8 face by far the highest rates of food insecurity in the city and have the lowest access to fresh and healthy foods. While the DC government is working to open more grocery stores, farmers markets are an opportunity to address food access gaps in the interim.

The DC government should ensure that farmers markets in low-access areas are welcoming spaces created by and for local community members and provide affordable options for fresh and healthy foods either through food benefits or subsidizing markets themselves. There are some outstanding questions that should be addressed as well, such as:

• Should markets be small or large?
• Who might be interested in being a community champion for farmers markets?
• When it comes to allocating funding, which should receive higher priority: benefits programs or markets themselves?

"I’m more a fan of doing farm stands until the demand increases and then scale up with community education." - Interviewee