Connecting Farms, Fresh Food, and Community
Few things bring Skagit agriculture to the public as directly as farmers’ markets and farmstands. Our local markets and many roadside farmstands create some of the distinct community culture here.
At Waxwing Farm, the farmstand allows “our customers to engage with agriculture directly,” said Arielle Luckmann co-owner of the farm that is just south of downtown Mount Vernon on Britt Road. “They’re seeing the farm. They’re seeing us and our crew in the fields picking their produce, growing their produce. And they’re getting it right there.”
For Luckman, this close interaction inspires “us to focus on growing really great food for our community because that interaction gets to happen there, which not every community gets to experience.”
Consumers can interact with farms and farmers at local farmstands and farmers’ markets. At a farmstand, shoppers see the fields where food is grown and occasionally walk over to pick a berry. That immediacy reinforces the food’s freshness, one of the distinct advantages of buying direct.
Angelica Hayton, owner of Hayton Farms Berries, emphasizes this freshness. In season, her farm is represented at about 50 farmers’ markets per week (and a few year-round). The berries are “going to be very fresh,” said Hayton. Berries are picked and loaded within hours of being sold, allowing her to showcase the best, freshest berries.
Building Relationships
From these quick, personal interactions deeper relationships can develop. Tia Entrikin, the executive director of the Mount Vernon Farmers’ Market, pointed out that building community around healthy and local food options sits at the center of the market’s mission.
That is important to individual operators, too.
Boldly Grown Farm in Bow sells vegetables in the wholesale market and at its farmstand on Ershig Road. Amy Frye, who co-owns Boldly Grown Farm, admits that it would probably be easier to just focus on the wholesale side. “We already have those established channels,” Frye said. But she saw a gap in her area that a farmstand could help meet. “It’s a way to connect with the local community,” she said. “We’re all about feeding our community, feeding our region.”
At the farmstand, Boldly Grown Farm offers not only their own produce but value-added products using what they grew as ingredients. Through the Puget Sound Food Hub and personal connections, they showcase other local farms and agriculture-based, value-added products. “I want to highlight the abundance of diversity and quality that our region has to offer,” said Frye.
Local markets reflect the diversity of local farmers and allow them to share produce and herbs that are new to some marketgoers.
John Yengich, president of the Mount Vernon Farmers’ Market board of directors and a co-owner of Dahlia Depot Farms in Sedro-Woolley, appreciates these opportunities. Many people “go to the supermarket and see the same thing day after day,” said Yengich, “but if you come to the market here, you’re going to find a completely different variety. So, we try to teach them about the various foods as well as help them in learning how to cook” these unique varieties.
Helping Farmers’ Businesses
Farmers’ markets and farmstand offer practical benefits, too, especially for smaller farms. Restaurants and food coops can visit a farmers’ market and see what is selling, generating more business for local farmers.
Farmers’ markets are excellent incubators for farm businesses, said Jeremy Kindlund, the manager of the Sedro-Woolley Farmers’ Market. “There’s no better place than a farmers’ market to directly market your goods,” said Kindlund. “When you are the one growing it, producing it, you can sit there and talk to the person that’s interested in what you have.”
Besides developing business relationships, selling directly to consumers allows farmers to keep more of the profits.
Hayton, who operates a seasonal farmstand on Fir Island Road in addition to going to farmers’ markets, said these direct-to-consumer options are “the best way to get most of the money to the farmer. Support the local community, shop local,” she said. Instead of a markup going to a grocery chain, the profit goes to local farmers and their employees, keeping it in the community and allowing farmers more control over prices.
Providing Food Access
Some of the revenue farmers gain from the direct-to-consumer options comes through programs designed to assist with food access.
Most farmstands and the farmers’ markets accept Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) payments for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Not only does this make for a simple transaction but often there are matching programs at the markets, funded through state and federal programs. At some markets there are weekly limits, but at others, such as Sedro-Woolley, there are no limits. Getting double the fresh fruits and vegetables sends more good food home with people who need it and more money home with farmers.
Along with additional support, including Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition programs, food access initiatives send about $25,000 a year to farmers who sell at the Mount Vernon market, according to Entrikin: “That’s free food to these families, and it’s extra money to our farmers.”
Meanwhile, at Sedro-Woolley, Skagit Gleaners gather food at the end of market days. Last year, they saved nearly 1,000 pounds of food and made it available to those experiencing food insecurity.
Feeding people, after all, is what farmers do.
Waxwing Farm grows more than 30 varieties on just over four acres. From that, they “grow a lot of food for a lot of people in our community,” said Luckmann. “I think that’s a fabulous gift to our smaller and larger Skagit community.”
Strengthening Community
Strengthening our community is fundamental.
“We really want to be grounded and rooted in this place and part of the community,” said Frye. The farmstand makes those connections firm.
“A town that has a good farmers’ market is in good shape,” said Kindlund. It reflects a healthy agricultural sector with committed community support.
For the larger Skagit community, farmstands and farmers’ markets connect all of us with the products of the soil.
By Adam Sowards: info@skagitonians.org