Citizens' Daily Lobby

Even as the local food movement has entered an encouraging period of growth, significant roadblocks to local markets exist.  One of the biggest issues facing local farmers markets is the influx of cheap produce that is not grown locally.  A large percentage of this produce comes from shipments to large grocery chains that are rejected by the company for a variety of reasons, including temperature discrepancies and minor blemished incurred during shipping.  These shipments are sold very cheaply to local wholesalers by truckers anxious to get back on the road for their next shipment.  The wholesalers then put the produce up for sale on the roadside or at local farmers markets at a deep discount.

Selling such cheap produce at local farmers markets puts farmers at a disadvantage.  The deep discounts wholesalers can offer on their produce cannot be met by local farmers without a loss, and, as a result, the local farmers lose money.  The state may also lose money, because these wholesalers may unfairly take advantage of sales-tax exemptions given to local farmers.  Consumers lose, too.  Many consumers believe that foods offered at farmers markets are locally grown and fresh, rather than blemished goods rejected by the national grocery chains.

It is imperative that state lawmakers acknowledge this problem and that steps are taken to ensure that locally grown foods are given a fair chance at local markets.  Jody Hardin has some ideas for what this policy might look like:

If we can persuade our policy makers to see we need this fairness to be mandated throughout the state as law: to provide designated, fair trade markets exclusively to our states farmers and only their produce be allowed, it would be an automatic game changer for the fresh market farmer!  I’m thinking, perhaps, that we may propose to host a CAFM market on Saturday at the River Market, and ask all the other non farm vendors as well as farmers who want a second day to to sell on, to move to a Sunday market with a new distinction as “International Bazaar or Flea Market”, for example.  This would help the merchants drive two big business days downtown and it would segregate the tax exempt farmers from those who are required to pay state sales taxes from re-selling, giving the City of Little Rock, Pulaski County,  and state a legitimate reason to make the distinction into a law and increase tax revenue.  Mixing farmers with re-sellers will never be fair to local small farmers or the local food system.