Wish You Were Here? Do Farmers’ Markets Contribute to Better Food Access in Food Deserts?

• In Event: 512 - Section on Consumers and Consumption Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 01. Food, Ethics and Interventions

Abstract

Food deserts have received considerable attention in academia in recent years. Research has shown that the individuals living in these areas have diets that are less nutritional and experience worse health outcomes when compared to those not living in food deserts. While the effects of food deserts on individuals are well known, much less is known about the efforts to alleviate the situation. One such proscription that has been suggested to contribute to improving food access has been the farmers’ market. Several case studies and popular press accounts have popularized that farmers’ markets can dissipate the negative effects of food deserts. While these markets has been championed, several important questions remain. In particular, little work has examined the actual prevalence of farmers’ markets in food deserts across the US. This article explores this question by both investigating the history of farmers’ markets and food deserts and by examining contemporary data from the USDA and US Census. Results suggest that although much press and praise is given to the promise of farmers’ markets alleviating food deserts that, in fact, they rarely cross paths. The historical records of farmers’ markets and food deserts suggest the we should not expect significant overlap between the two; whereas the analyses of data suggests that farmers’ markets are infrequently found in areas that are considered food deserts today. This research contributes to illuminating the present state of the local food outlets, while proposing several questions about food accessibility for individuals located in food deserts.

Author

• Justin Schupp, Wheaton College