The Local Food Economy Game - Farmers Markets

Use Case Observations from Grinnell Farmers' Market

Jelal Younes — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 16:39:17 -0400

From my visit to the Grinnell farmersâ€™ market on August 11, 2006, I designed both a template for interactions between vendors and customers, and a set of use cases depicting these interactions.

In all interactions between vendors and buyers, there are two constants: the customer walking over to the stand, and the customer leaving the stand. After these obvious aspects of the interaction, there are three variables in any vendor-customer interaction: amount of time spent speaking with the vendor, amount of time spent examining the goods on offer, and the amount of goods ultimately bought by the customer. A fourth variable would be the topics discussed by the vendor and customer (where the goods were grown/made, how much they cost, etc.); unfortunately, my position as an observer did not allow me to watch the interactions closely enough to observe interactions in such detail.

Interaction between buyer and seller at Farmers' Market

Jelal Younes — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 17:22:57 -0400

I have been trying to figure out the Metamodel presented by Jim yesterday on this website. I have tried to work through a simple model of an interaction between a buyer and seller at a farmers' market; it is shown below in the attached document. I am certain that this is not precisely how the interaction would be represented in our ABM program; any thoughts on how it should be altered? I want to make sure I have a simple interaction down before I move on to modeling larger environments, such as the entire farmers' market.

A couple more quotes from "Field that Dream"

Jelal Younes — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 22:37:48 -0400

As an additional to my earlier post about Jenny Kurzweil's "Fields That Dream," here are some facts about local foods and farmers' markets from her book:

In a recent survey, 19,000 farmers reported selling their produce only at farmers' markets.
Shoppers spent $584.6 billion for food produced in the United States in 1998, with farmers earning only a 20 percent share of the food dollar.

And a quote from the epilogue of "Fields that Dream:"

We, the consumers, are essential in supporting [local] farmers and markets. We can truly be part of the movement that supports sustainable and locally grown food.

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"Fields That Dream: A Journey to the Roots of Our Food"

Jelal Younes — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 19:53:08 -0400

Fields That Dream: A Journey to the Roots of Our FoodI have spent some time over the last couple days reading Jenny Kurzweilâ€™s Fields That Dream: A Journey to the Roots of Our Food. Kurzweil describes the state of state of American agriculture through the lives of a number of small-scale farmers.

In addition to being well-written, Kurzweilâ€™s portrayal of the lives of these farmers is striking. From a Mexican family who immigrated to the States to make enough money to survive, to a chef who left his home and job to pursue life on a farm, to a couple who cannot leave their house for more than two hours at a time for fear of leaving their animals without care, each farmer has a story to tell.

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Similarities and Differences Between the Grinnell and Fairfield Farmers' Markets

Jelal Younes — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 17:51:36 -0400

A statistical analysis of the data I collected from the Grinnell and Fairfield Farmersâ€™ Markets. See my more detailed write-ups of the two markets (â€œA profile of the Grinnell Farmersâ€™ Marketâ€ and â€œA profile of the Fairfield Farmersâ€™ Market) in earlier blogs for more information.

The Vendors

Total number of stations:

Grinnell: 27

Fairfield: 23

Total number of vendors:

Grinnell: 34

Fairfield: 37

Gender of Vendors:

Grinnell: 41% male, 59% female

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A Profile of the Fairfield Farmers' Market

Jelal Younes — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 17:19:38 -0400

The Fairfield Farmersâ€™ Market is held every Wednesday from 3:30 PM to 7:00 PM, and every Saturday, from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM. The market season starts on the first Saturday of May and end on the last Saturday of October. Like the Grinnell market, most vendors at the Fairfield market sell produce and baked goods, with a few selling homemade crafts, flowers, jams, etc. Unlike the Grinnell market, foods to eat on site (Crepes, egg rolls, wraps) are an important part of Fairfieldâ€™s market. This is part of a crucial difference between the two markets: the Fairfield market is a social place. Whereas at the Grinnell market, buyers immediately leave after finding what they want, shoppers at the Fairfield market tend to stick around. Many shoppers buy lunch at the market, and sit down to eat it while chatting with fellow buyers. Many children play on the playground next to the market while the parents shop and socialize. Shopping at the Fairfield farmersâ€™ market can be seen as much more of an entire â€œexperienceâ€ than shopping at Grinnellâ€™s market.

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A Profile of the Grinnell Farmers' Market

Jelal Younes — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 16:36:05 -0400

The Grinnell Farmersâ€™ Market runs every Thursday, May 27 to October 14, 3-6 PM, and every Saturday, June 5 to October 9, 8:30-10:30 AM. A wide variety of goods are sold at the Grinnell Farmersâ€™ Market, including many different types of produce, baked goods, homemade crafts, berries, and even kettle corn. The Grinnell Market attracts buyers and sellers from many miles away; according to one vendor, Grinnell Market presents the best opportunity for sales in the area. Grinnellâ€™s Farmersâ€™ Market constitutes a large portion of the local food economy. Many vendors are dependent on their farmersâ€™ market sales; according to another vendor, â€œmost peopleâ€™s sales are over after the farmersâ€™ market season.â€

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Radius of Impact for Iowa Farmers' Markets

Jelal Younes — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 22:34:28 -0400

I have a few pieces of information from work done by Dr. Daniel Otto and Theresa Varner that relate to the question of â€œradius of impactâ€ of Iowa Farmersâ€™ Markets (how far sellers and buyers travel to reach markets). I will post more information regarding this question as I find it.

Consumers traveled an average of eight miles to get to a market

The attached file entitled â€œRadius of Impact Tableâ€ contains a table listing the number of visits to and the miles traveled to farmersâ€™ markets, based on their size, from a sample population from Dr. Ottoâ€™s survey.

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The nine counties surrounding Grinnell and Fairfield

Jelal Younes — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 16:30:57 -0400

There are nine Iowa counties of interest in this project. These include the four counties surrounding the town of Grinnell (Marshall, Tama, Jasper, and Poweshiek), and the five in the vicinity of Fairfield (Wapello, Jefferson, Davis, Van Buren, and Henry).

A map of the state of Iowa with the two regions outlined is shown in the attached file entitled â€œOutline of Two Regions.â€

Grinnell Region
Total Farmersâ€™ Markets: 7
Total Number of Residents: 113,442
Number of Farmersâ€™ Markets per 100,000 Residents: 6.17

Marshall County:

Population: 39,311

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Notes from a study of Iowa Farmers Markets

Jelal Younes — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 16:08:05 -0400

The following are some interesting pieces of information from an article entitled "Consumers, Vendors, and the Economic Importance of Iowa Farmers' Markets: An Economic Survey Analysis," by Dr. Daniel Otto and Theresa Varner, Iowa State University (March 2005). All figures are from a 2004 survey.

Approximately $20 million in total Iowa Farmers Market sales were estimated through consumer reporting, while a more conservative estimate of $9.8 million originated with vendor reports.

An estimated $31.5 million of gross sales and $12.2 million of personal income effects were directly or indirectly related to farmersâ€™ market activity.

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