Farmers markets seek wider niche in craggy economy

Six canopies teeming with local plants, produce and crafts on Clayton's grassy square signify a farm-fresh optimism taking root in the Triangle despite the chilly economy.

Open for business on a breezy Saturday, Clayton's new downtown farmers market is one of at least half a dozen such fledgling enterprises popping up in the Triangle this spring -- a bumper crop of ventures whose success hinges on customers willing to pay the often premium price for locally grown food.

Supporters of these new markets say that a fat, just-picked tomato or a basil plant in the kitchen window might be just the thing for the cash-strapped and fast-food weary. For some, spending a bit of their grocery budget on locally grown food is both healthy and shrewd because they believe they're buying superior quality.

"In the midst of bad times, people are always looking to go back to the basics," said Niki Jones, surrounded by hostas and flowering vines.

This growing farm-to-kitchen trend is Triangle wide.

Cary will get its second market this spring, and new markets in North Raleigh and at N.C. State University will make at least five for Raleigh. A second Johnston County market recently opened in Selma, and Pittsboro will get its second in May. They will join at least 25 established markets in the Triangle.

Amber Polk, president of the Clayton market, said down years can be good for farmers markets. Direct sales between farmers and consumers cut out grocery store mark-ups and other extra costs, she said, making some products cheaper than in grocery stores. Throw in activities for kids and a free band, as Polk hopes to do, and you have a low-cost outing.

"We want to be a destination for people, not just a place you stop by while you're out," Polk said.

And there's a bigger impact, Polk said, as the money spent on local products ripples directly to farmers, and then across the small towns and rural crossroads where they live. In Johnston County, where Polk grew up, many who were raised in farming families want to support local farmers.

"Although we may not be farmers now, we know the value of farms and farming," said Polk, who works at N.C. State University's Center for Environmental Farming Systems.

North Carolina agriculture officials run five state-owned farmers markets in Raleigh, Charlotte, Asheville, Lumberton and the Guilford County town of Colfax, which serves the Triad and the western Piedmont.

Nationally, U.S. agriculture officials tracked a 6.8 percent rise in farmers markets from 1994 to 2008, noting a total of 4,685.In North Carolina, the Web site Farmer's Market Online, www.farmersmarketonline.com, lists more than 90 open air farmers markets from the coast to the mountains, ranging from countywide operations to small town outfits. But this online directory doesn't include some of the newer Triangle markets that have either recently opened or are about to open.

Big or small, state-run or locally operated, the markets generally include only products grown on local farms or made by local people, from zucchini to honey, bread to salsa. Vendors pay a fee to set up a booth.

While prices for farm-fresh produce and meat are usually higher than the grocery store, shoppers can get a price-break when fresh fruit and vegetables are in season and there's a local bumper crop. They also brag about getting a break in taste.

Opening a farmers market is not as simple as it might seem. Both the Clayton and North Raleigh markets took about a year of planning and were well in the works before unemployment started rising in North Carolina.

The N.C. Cooperative Extension conducted surveys to see whether North Raleigh could support its own market. Raleigh already has a weekly downtown market in the spring and summer, along with the year-round State Farmers Market off Lake Wheeler Road.

Market boosters say the new markets will draw people from as far as Youngsville to the north and Knightdale to the east and as far south as the Beltline. They're not worried about the impact of the economy on the affluent shoppers who surround the new market at Falls River Town Center.

"We have done extensive demographic research on the area and we know even down to how much people budget per month for food," said Steven Elliot, a bookstore owner who has been active in getting the North Raleigh market started. "If anything, we think the economy being what it is will press people to spend more on their shopping budgets versus their restaurant budget."

The Clayton and Selma markets resolve a strange dearth of places to buy locally grown produce in farm-rich Johnston County. Johnston residents often must drive to Raleigh's State Farmers Market to buy produce grown in their home county.

"I hope it succeeds," Julie Alioto said of the market where she had just bought a handmade sage candle. "I don't want to have to keep driving to Raleigh."

Jennifer Holt said she has tried several times to bring a farmers market to Johnston over the past decade. She's the owner of Happy Hollow Farm outside Clayton and is now a vendor at the Clayton market and optimistic about the new enterprise.

"People have become more conscious of the need to eat healthy food and to eat local produce," Holt said.

While the Clayton market has started small, organizers said more vendors will come each week as spring and summer produce come in season.

Count Elizabeth Scott among those underwhelmed by the market's offerings during its second week. Strolling among the six booths with her husband, 19-month-old son and in-laws, she expected to see more choices -- particularly more produce.

"Maybe it will grow," she said.

For the farmers at the booths Saturday, the new market is an inexpensive storefront. Polk said that many of the vendors who signed up sell most of their produce at roadside stands.

Jones, of Smith Nursery in Benson, is taking advantage of the growth in area farmers markets. A friend's son was selling her plants at a Raleigh farmers market while she worked the booth in Clayton. "It's such a wonderful experience," Jones said. "I think enough people will come to both."