Closing Bell: Malcom X Farmers Market on the Ropes
So much for that momentum we wrote about a couple of weeks ago! Weak community support is threatening the viability of the new Malcom X Farmers Market within the first month of its life, according to an email being circulated from the one of the market’s organizers. The main fresh food vendor, Migliorelli Farms, just…
So much for that momentum we wrote about a couple of weeks ago! Weak community support is threatening the viability of the new Malcom X Farmers Market within the first month of its life, according to an email being circulated from the one of the market’s organizers. The main fresh food vendor, Migliorelli Farms, just announced it’s bailing on the new scene because it’s been unable to cover its labor and gas expenses to date. The problem? Not enough people are coming to the market. This is particularly distressing given how much attention is given by the press and politicians about the desperate (and very real) need for fresh food in some of our poorer communities. (The fresh food argument has been the primary rationale given by the proponents of tearing down Admirals Row to build a supermarket to serve the surrounding housing projects.) Bottom line: If you care about preserving this incredible amenity in the neighborhood, you better vote with your feet and your wallet on Saturday. Otherwise, to paraphrase the organizer’s email, you’ll be proving the haters wrong who said Bed Stuy couldn’t support a farmers market. Don’t let that happen. The Malcom X Farmers Market is held on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1p.m. in front of Jackie Robinson Park on Malcom X Boulevard between Marion and Chauncey Streets
Come Support the Malcolm X Community Market!!! [Bed Stuy Blog]
Photo by Ultraclay
I’m with 11217 – perhaps the majority of people in Bed Stuy simply aren’t interested in the stuff they’re selling at the Greenmarket. Could be as simple as this.
As someone touched on earlier, the point of the farmers market is to eat locally grown, organic produce. Sure you can get gassed mass-produced oranges at the grocery store, but this is supposed to offer us something different and better. The price is higher because it’s grown with more care on a smaller scale and is better for you and the world at large.
Agreed, tybur6. I go to farmers markets for fresh tomatoes, exotic mushrooms, that sort of stuff. I don’t expect stuff to be cheap but nor do I have any need to buy ordinary staples there. I don’t give a crap about the whole organic thing.
This happened when the farmers market first arrived in Bay Ridge. When word got out that the farmer was not satisfied with his sales, the community board printed posters and posted them all over Bay Ridge. Now the market gets quite a crowd and the popular stuff sells out quickly (strawberries, blueberries, garlic scapes, etc). And the market is also growing. We just got a new farmer that has eggs. So it is growing.
Maybe Bed Stuy could do the same?
Is it possible that the people in Bed Stuy don’t really want the stuff they are selling at the Greenmarket and that it’s the city pushing “healthier” food down the throats of neighborhoods which really don’t have as much interest as others…? Just thinking aloud…
And I’ve always found the Grand Army Plaza greenmarket to be fairly priced for the quality (which is excellent). And we certainly have MORE than our fair share of places to buy fruits and vegetables around here, but it’s packed every single weekend…
So that theory doesn’t really work…
Oh, by the way… why can’t a supermarket sell ramps?! If people want them, the supermarket can get them. They just have to actually BUY them.
Right… can the economy in Bed-Stuy support a *luxury* market? Cuz that’s what Farmer’s Markets are in this city. They’re not great places to get good priced, high-quality stuff. They’re places to get high-quality, high-priced stuff.
I agree with those who said the prices at Farmer’s Markets are generally to high. I go to the Ft. Greene one every now and then but don’t have the luxury of going on a regular basis. I’m not surprised by the low turnout.
“This is particularly distressing given how much attention is given by the press and politicians about the desperate (and very real) need for fresh food in some of our poorer communities”
i still dont get how if there’s really a huge demand for fresh produce, any person looking to profit wouldnt fill that demand. now if the demand is Whole Foods quality at C-Town prices, the economics just aren’t going to let it happen.