To Market, To Market By Rachel Tomczek BCULST 593 Final Paper March 8, 2012

The lights are warm and bright overhead; the smell of bread, meats and cheese fill the air; appealing bars of salads, olives, pickles, cheese, specialty items, soup and pre-made entrees beckon; and helpful people are there to answer questions and provide cooking tips. Central Market is my local grocery store of choice and since I have been shopping there I am hard pressed to go anywhere else, except the local farmers market when it is open for the season. Yet, as I have wandered the aisles and tried new items and returned to old stand-bys I have begun to ask myself the questions who is allowed to market?; what do the faces look like that occupy this space?; are people here because of a political move to vote with their food dollar or out of a choice for organic/local items? I am interested in attempting to answer these questions and therefore spent several hours at Central Market with my eyes open versus focused on my shopping list. Central Market, Mill Creek, was opened in 2004 by John and Mo Nakata and Ed Loverich; their mission statements states We operate innovative retail grocery stores with diverse formats, in select locations, dedicated to serving our customer's needs while recognizing our obligations to the community and responsibility to the environment. Careful selection and support of our employees personally and professionally create an atmosphere of mutual respect, trust, and teamwork. Quality, diversity, and profitability drive our organizational structure and operating systems, which fulfill our commitment to our customers, employees, and suppliers (1996, 2012, retrieved from http://millcreek.centralmarket.com/newSite/millcreek/aboutus/index.php). It is an amazing store to shop at, however, one has to wonder if everyone is invited to shop there. With prices not at the level of Whole Foods, but still more expensive than a local Safeway, you definitely have to plan to spend a bit more on your monthly grocery budget when shopping at Central Market.

Not too many years ago it was considered the norm to grow your own produce in your backyard garden, raise your own chickens for meat and eggs, and maybe even have a cow for milk and other dairy products. What you did not raise yourself you often would purchase from a neighbor or the local mercantile. The first self-service supermarkets did not come along until the 1930s and the first recognized supermarket was opened by former Kroger employee, Michael J. Cullen (Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarket). Since then markets have become bigger and bigger, resulting in the invention of big-box stores such as Costco and Sams Club specializing in bulk products sold at lower costs. However, with the creation of these large grocery chains and the issues of food access and food deserts geographic areas where mainstream grocery stores are either totally absent or inaccessible to low-income shoppers more creative ideas are abounding for how to provide food to areas that need it most (2009, retrieved from http://www.marketmakeovers.org/node/147). The Department of Agriculture says that more than two million Americans in low-income rural areas live 10 miles or more from a supermarket, and more than five million households without access to cars live more than a half mile from a supermarket (Bittman, 2011, retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/is-junk-food-reallycheaper.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all). These statistics are frightening our economy has significantly contributed to the issue of people being able to access food and has created a disparate situation where people may not only be able to not afford the food for purchase, but also may not be able to make their way to a store to purchase the food even if they were able to afford it. PCC Markets around Seattle are local food co-op stores selling local produce and other products that are owned by the members; Central Market are local grocery stores in the Seattle

area selling local products as well as national products; the Seattle area abounds with local farmers markets some operating year round; and more and more CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) are starting every year. While all of these spaces are helping to provide food to many people (specifically the Seattle area), I still have to ask, who is allowed to participate in these spaces? For many seasons the idea that it is cheaper to buy junk food has been a primary excuse used by many to choose not to buy healthy products; there is beginning to be some push back against this. Bittman (2011), in his article in the New York Times states this is plain wrong (retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/is-junk-food-reallycheaper.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all); a typical order for a family of four from McDonalds can cost upwards of $28, whereas a meal of roast chicken, vegetables, salad and milk cooked at home may run about $14 and feeds anywhere from four to six people. Most people can afford real food, therefore, maybe the main excuse is not money, but rather time. It is very easy to visit the drive through in about ten minutes while running to a childs event; however, it will take a much longer time investment to cook dinner at home and actually sit down and eat it together at a table. Buying, cooking and eating real food is time consuming and many people do not have the luxury of time. In a study conducted by Morland, Wing, Roux and Poole (2001), they looked at the distribution of food stores and food service places by neighborhood wealth and racial segregation in Mississippi, North Carolina, Maryland, and Minnesota. Morland, et al (2001), found that large numbers of supermarkets and gas stations with convenience stores are located in wealthier neighborhoods, there are fewer places to purchase alcohol in wealthy neighborhoods compared to poorer ones and there are four times more supermarkets located in white

neighborhoods compared to black neighborhoods. Through their study they concluded, without access to supermarkets, which offer a wide variety of foods at lower prices, poor and minority communities may not have equal access to the variety of healthy food choices available to nonminority and wealthy communities (23). With the pull of the suburbs and city centers, many supermarkets have moved into these communities and with economic downturns, many mom-n-pop mercantiles are unable to survive. This move has contributed to these food deserts and the economy has made it even more challenging for people to access food whether they can afford it or not. According to the U.S. Census Bureau and USDA (2009/2010), 48.8 million Americans lived in food insecure households in 2010, with 16.2 million of those being children; in 2010, 14.5 percent of households were food insecure. What this equates to is that one in six people in America are hungry and one in four children do not have enough to eat (retrieved from http://feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/hunger-facts.aspx). Many of these households are minority families or single parent head-of-household homes; there is also significant misconceptions that people who are hungry are not working and may live on the streets. Hunger affects anyone and is no respecter of race, socioeconomic status, education level or gender; this silent epidemic affects 49 million Americans. According to the US Census Bureau, in 2010, 21 million people lived in working-poor families. This translates into nearly 9.6 percent of all American families living below 100 percent of poverty have at least one family member working. In fact, 36 percent of client households served by the Feeding America network have one or more adults working (retrieved from http://feedingamerica.org/hunger-inamerica/hunger-facts.aspx).

As I walked through Central Market and had so much fun creating the field guide for this assignment I was struck by how many of the people surrounding me were white or Asian, assumed to be middle to middle-upper class socioeconomic status, wandering the aisles pushing carts filled with fresh produce, items from the many food bars, milk in glass containers and bags filled with dry goods from the bulk section. I can imagine that many people would like to shop here, but are unable to secondary to their location, socioeconomic status and even to some level their race, as Morland, et al (2001) discovered in their study. Small groups of people and NGOs are working to combat the issue of hunger and increase peoples access to food; and coming up with some very creative solutions. For example, Stockbox Grocers is a local organization started by Carrie Ferrence and Jacqueline Gjurgevich with the goal of creating miniature grocers tucked inside reclaimed shipping containers and placed into the parking lot of an existing business or organization. They supply essential grocery items and fresh produce in locations within walking distance from homes, work and schools; allowing people to have a selection of good food, where they need it (retrieved from stockboxgrocers.com). What about other markets? The places that are thought of with nostalgia and the smells, tastes, sights and feel of sweat, dirt, animals and life fills your senses farms, CSAs (community supported agriculture), local co-op grocers and farmers markets. After spending time in the formal atmosphere of Central Market, I wanted to explore the atmosphere of the farmers market and see what the face of this space looks like; asking the same questions of myself that I did when I stepped under Central Markets brilliant lights - who is invited to market?; what do the faces look like that occupy this space?; are people here because of a political move to vote with their food dollar or out of a choice for organic/local items? In addition to these same questions, I wanted to understand the question of why; why do people

choose to potentially drive farther and spend more money in the hopes of buying local, seasonal and organic products? A simple Google search for farmers market yields 37 million results, including farmers markets that Google maps has found near your location seven in my case. The variety among farmers markets is staggering some may be open one day a week or others all week long; some are seasonal and open for only a few short months while others are open all year long; traditionally they are thought of as outdoor markets filled with booths of people selling their various wares, everything from produce to wine, fresh baked goods to jars filled with preserved products and numerous non-food items; a more recent trend has been the development of indoor markets set-up in the style of farmers markets, without being exposed to the elements. The Seattle University District Farmers Market is Seattle's oldest and largest "farmersonly" neighborhood market. Founded in 1993, this Saturday market offers a place for more than 50 Washington State farmers to sell their fresh produce and quality products each week (retrieved from http://www.seattlefarmersmarkets.org/markets/u_district, March 9, 2012). The market is also open year-round. Since the local farmers market that my husband and I normally frequent is open only seasonally we decided to visit the University market and were impressed with the variety of vendors and winter produce selection. This market was very different from our normal market location in that it is held in a local parking lot and surrounded by busy roads and businesses. Because this location is more in the city I noticed some significant differences from our regular market and from the atmosphere of Central Market the homeless man asking for money down the street from the market, an employee of Real Change selling his papers in front of the Safeway across the street and more students and ethnicities could be seen at the market. I believe that the atmosphere of the farmers market is where I noticed more of the

politics of space and who was invited into this space; I also, noticed more significantly the disparity of power. In a study conducted by Freedman (2009), it was found that food access varied by sites in a manner that was designed to appeal to customers race, class, gender, or environment and that local food environments are reflections of social hierarchies (382). With growing food insecurity and hunger in America many food banks, charity food distribution centers and soup kitchens are growing. Along with this has also been the increased work to increase peoples access to fresh fruits and vegetables in order to meet dietary standards; one of these programs is the FMNP (Farmers Market Nutrition Program) which provides food stamps and/or coupons that are redeemable at farmers markets. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (known as WIC) was created in the 1960s to support women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, postpartum and have infants or young children with their nutritional needs. The FMNPs purpose is to provide fresh, nutritious, unprepared foods from farmers markets to women, infants and children who are nutritionally at risk and to expand awareness and use of farmers markets by consumers (quoted in Just & Weninger, 1997, 902). Racine, Vaugh and Laditka (2010), showed that women who received and redeemed Farmers Market Nutrition Program vouchers were much more likely to purchase fruits/vegetables at farmers markets (441, emphasis added). One has to ask if this is actually helping provide greater nutritional opportunities for lowincome Americans. Jones and Bhatia (2011) noted in a field action report that despite the growing popularity of farmers markets, limited market accessibility for recipients of federal food assistance program might increase disparities in nutritional opportunities for low-income Americans (781). They also noted that there are significant opportunities for improving health

equity by coordinating food system policy among the many different organizations in existence (781). A definite need for improvement would be to increase the information provided to participants in the FMNP, this allows participants to make better informed consumption decisions and eliminates the economic inefficiency of coupons that cause a distortion in the market by inducing consumption beyond levels that represent the value of F&Vs [fruits and vegetables] to recipients (Just and Weninger, 1997, 915). Should farmers markets and CSAs be used to help provide food security? I want to believe that the answer to this question is yes and yet I am beginning to see that there are so many more complexities to this question. In a study by Guthman, Morris and Allen (2006), they state: We applaud these efforts, yet see them as inevitably ephemeral, for they are subject to the vagaries of philanthropic priority changes, the volatility of the stock market that determines foundation resources, and the presence or absence of effective leaders. The key to meeting food security needs remains public entitlement programs. Understanding who is included in and excluded from the circle of winners and under what circumstances is crucial to understanding the potential of AFIs [alternative food institutions] for meeting farmers and consumers needs. AFIs can provide fresh produce and conviviality, but they are not currently positioned to meet the goal of food security. (682-683) These statements sum up my feelings about farmers markets currently, however, I continue to side with the hope that work will continue to happen to create opportunities for AFIs to help in providing food security and greater access to fresh produce specifically to marginalized groups in America. The U.S. needs more creative ideas such as Stockbox Grocers, farmers markets that accept WIC (Women, Infants and Children) and food stamps and CSAs

that provide produce to homeless shelters and food banks. Through these methods we can start to combat the hunger in the wealthiest country in the world.

References Bittman, M. (2011, September 24). Is Junk Food Really Cheaper? The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/is-junk-food-reallycheaper.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all Feeding America (2012). Hunger Facts. Retrieved from http://feedingamerica.org/hunger-inamerica/hunger-facts.aspx Ferrence, C. and Gjurevich, J. (2011). Retrieved from stockboxgrocers.com Freedman, D. A. (January 01, 2009). Local Food Environments: They're All Stocked Differently. American Journal of Community Psychology, 44, 3-4. Guthman, J., Morris, A. W., & Allen, P. (December 01, 2006). Squaring Farm Security and Food Security in Two Types of Alternative Food Institutions. Rural Sociology,71, 4, 662-684. Jones, P., & Bhatia, R. (May 01, 2011). Supporting equitable food systems through food assistance at farmers' markets. American Journal of Public Health, 101,5, 781-783. Just, R. E., & Weninger, Q. (August 01, 1997). Economic Evaluation of the Farmers' Market Nutrition Program.American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 79, 3, 902-917. Morland, K., Wing, S., Diez, R. A., & Poole, C. (January 01, 2002). Neighborhood characteristics associated with the location of food stores and food service places.American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 22, 1, 23-9. Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance. (2012). University District Farmers Market. Retrieved from http://www.seattlefarmersmarkets.org/markets/u_district Public Matters. (2009). Whats a food desert? Retrieved from http://www.marketmakeovers.org/node/147 Racine, E. F., Vaughn, A. S., & Laditka, S. B. (March 01, 2010). Farmers' Market Use among

African-American Women Participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 110, 3, 441-446. Supermarket (2012). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarket.