Farmers' markets and the good food value chain: a preliminary study

Food choices are replete with values about how society produces, processes, distributes, and consumes food. Consumers act upon these value-based food choices on a daily basis by choosing what food to buy, where to buy it, and how much to spend. Among these choices, the increasing visibility of shopping at farmers' markets warrants particular attention. A study of farmers' market customers in British Columbia, Canada provides preliminary insights into the relation between farmers' markets and value-based good food choices. Using a convenience sample, we completed 446 interviews with farmers' market customers. Results lend insight into how farmers' markets function as a medium to both frame and act upon value-based food choices. We found that farmers' market customers who shop more often at markets have concepts of good food different from people who shop less often at markets. The results also indicate that the importance of shopping at farmers' markets varies among customers.