Farmers Market Coalition

One too many produce markets and grocery store chains have jumped on the marketing band wagon, capitalizing on growing consumer enthusiasm for local food, direct from farmers. Safeway’s ears must have been burning in Kirkland, Washington as farmers market advocates from across the country convened by conference call to discuss why Safeway was opening up tents in their parking lots, moving their produce department out into these tents and calling it a “Farmer Market”. The term “farmers market” has become so ubiquitous that its integrity has been compromised, especially in the eyes of the farmer and the discerning customer.

Tags: definition

One of the first issues that Farmers Market Coalition (FMC) members asked the organization to look at after FMC’s incorporation in 2006 was the definition of the term ‘farmers market.’ Then, as now, the use of the term (with or without an apostrophe) is coveted from marketing and public image perspectives and is not always used with sufficient integrity or in the best interest of family farms.

Tags: apostrophe, definition, farmers market