Whole Foods Farmers' Markets?

[Chris Amirault]

While trying to figure out which CSA to enroll in or which farmers' markets to frequent this coming year, I discovered these two "farmers markets" in my town:

Whole Foods Waterman

Whole Foods University

These are the two WF stores in my town, both of which I happily frequent. But I'm a bit confused: how exactly are these farmers' markets? Note, for example, that neither page lists the farmers at the market, unlike every other market listing at Farm Fresh Rhode Island.

I've contacted Jewel Gregson and Nina Hewitt via email, WF employees who are each listed as the organizers of the farmers' markets, and will post their responses when I get them. Meanwhile, does anyone else have WF farmers' markets popping up this summer? Any idea what they are? Who gets what profits? Who is invited? Are the WFs inviting farmers to compete against them in the parking lots, or are they asking for a cut?

What gives?

ETA: Nina's email sent me an autoreply that lists her as "Marketing Team Leader." I guess we'll see which "marketing" that refers to when she replies!

[annecros]

Hmm. Seems they are going to be required to buy "out of the back door" now. I can see it, 5 AM and seven dozen pickup trucks backed up to the back door at your local Whole Foods. Would almost be worth getting up early in the morning.

Click for SFGate article

In addition to buying more from smaller growers, Whole Foods plans to:

-- Give $10 million a year in low-interest loans to help small, local farmers and producers of grass-fed and humanely raised meat, poultry and dairy animals.

-- Raise its standards of humane care for the animals who supply meat, eggs and dairy to the stores. Whole Foods has hired an "animal compassionate field buyer" to work with producers to ensure that they meet the standards.

-- Set up Sunday farmers' markets in the parking lots of some Whole Foods stores, including about 10 in Northern California.

In announcing the initiatives, Mackey defended Whole Foods policies of buying globally, saying it was important to support farmers around the world and also that he didn't want to dictate values -- such as buying locally -- to customers. But he conceded that "Whole Foods could and should do more to promote local agriculture."

This is going to be fun to watch.

[moosnsqrl]

They have launched a "buy local" initiative (undoubtedly in response to the backlash from Michael Pollan's book. They are holding seminars/workshops for local growers who want to be qualified suppliers for their markets. Additionally they are offering scholarships to potential growers.

Time will tell but this is a far better response to criticism than many other large corporate entities have managed, so good for them for listening and trying to right the wrongs.

[SuzySushi]

What I've read is that Whole Foods, as part of its corporate initiative to "walk the talk" in offering consumers local products, is encouraging farmers' markets to set up their businesses in the parking lots of some of its stores on Sundays.

WF said that wherever possible, it will work with exisiting farmers' markets in its trading area. The space will be offered to farmers at no charge, and WF is not asking for a cut of their sales.

It's apparently a "good neighbor"/publicity gesture, as well as a means of bringing more customers to its stores--and my personal feeling is that if Whole Foods is perceived as offering more locally grown products through these independent farmers, maybe some of the criticism directed at WF will die down. (Adding more local products is partly in direct response to Michael Pollan's criticism last year, and partly due to increased retail competition from Wal-Mart and supermarkets carrying more organic foods.)

[russ parsons]

a couple of these points came up in an interview with wf's regional boss a couple of weeks ago. i'll try to keep them brief and remember, i'm relaying his points:

1) there are several WF stores that sponsor certified farmers markets in their parking lots. this is separate but complementary to their push for local sourcing. his point is that it is also complementary to WF's marketing: you can buy lots of fruits and vegetables at the farmers market and then come inside to buy everythign else you need for the meal. makes sense to me.

2) the push for local produce is probably in some part related to the Pollan/Mackey dialogue, but mr. WF insists that it is really a return to previous practices and mainly indicates a maturing of the chain. in his version, WF used to source a lot from local farmers, then had to stop when the chain grew too large to be able to consistently source that way. Now, their supply chain is mature enough that they can offer consistency from national sourcing and supplement it with locals. this is in agreement with what several local farmers have told me about their experiences selling to WF.

it should be noted that running a full-service grocery is different than running a farmers market and i don't think it's fair to hold them to the same standard. in a grocery situation, customers rely on you for their staples. most people shop farmers markets, on the other hand, for special meals or as a supplement to their weekly marketing.

ideally, i think, a hybrid will emerge--a 7-day produce market that sources from good local farmers and where customers don't expect to be able to find everything all the time. i don't think this is far off.

[Chris Amirault]

Thanks, Russ. Your interview and my correspondence concur. I sent this:

Hi Jewel and Nina,

I'm a Providence resident, frequent WF shopper, and the Director of Operations of eG Forums, the online forums for the eGullet  Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. I'm writing with a few questions about something I found at Farm Fresh RI: the existence of "farmers' markets" at both the Waterman and  University stores this summer.

Can you shed some light on what, exactly, this means? It's a bit confusing to understand what a farmers' market would be at a retail grocery store. In addition, at the FFRI website, there's no listing of any farms affiliated with the WF farmers' markets, unlike any other farmers' market.

I'd be very interested in your answers, and plan to share them with the members at eG Forums. (Click here if you'd like to see the topic devoted to the matter.) Of course, we'd love to have you join as members!

Thanks in advance for your response(s).

Cheers,

Chris Amirault

I received this:

Hi Chris,

Thanks for your email. We are very excited to be hosting Farmers Markets at both Providence Whole Foods Markets. Our mission is to support locally grown and locally made food. Our Farmers Markets will host farmers who are simply looking for a space to set up and sell their goods. Any sales go directly to the farmers. We have not yet listed the farmers who will be attending but we will have information out for customers soon explaining the Farmers Markets and announcing who will be joining us.

We are also thrilled to announce that on Tuesday, July 24th both Providence stores will be donating 5% of the day’s total sales to the Fresh Network of Farm Fresh RI.  We would love it if you would be interested in spreading the word! Please let me know if I can answer any further questions.

Best,

Jewel

I've gotta say I'm impressed, particularly with the fact that 100% of sales go to the farmers. As we know, virtually all farmers' markets take a cut as a percentage or fee; I suppose that WF's marketing logic here is that they're making back a big stack of good will and free pub by not asking for anything.

It's hard to see this as anything other than win/win/win for customers, the farmers, and WF.

[MattJohnson]

I've gotta say I'm impressed, particularly with the fact that 100% of sales go to the farmers. As we know, virtually all farmers' markets take a cut as a percentage or fee; I suppose that WF's marketing logic here is that they're making back a big stack of good will and free pub by not asking for anything.

It's hard to see this as anything other than win/win/win for customers, the farmers, and WF.

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And residual sales from getting those little things to finish off the meal. I agree, sounds great.

[djyee100]

While trying to figure out which CSA to enroll in or which farmers' markets to frequent this coming year...

Localharvest.org lists all the CSAs in the country if you are looking for one. http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

[Chris Amirault]

Just an update. A farmer friend tells me that her experiences with the farmers market folks at Whole Foods have been very positive. Sounds like they're living up to the promise here...

[annimal]

I was once pleasantly surprised by a Whole Foods farmer's market last year. It was really welcome, being right on my way and in a place I would have stopped at anyways, and having some of the great local growers as well as bakeries etc. I'd definitely frequent the Whole Foods markets, especially since I am almost always unable to make it to the normal farmer's market, having classes all morning on Saturdays.