Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
King Cullen
The drive to develop the modern farmers' market can be traced back to the
1930s. In 1930 Michael Cullen opened what many believe was one of the first
supermarkets.
King Cullen opened in Queens, New York, and changed the face of food
retailing for ever. In the same year a company called Birds Eye introduced
the first frozen foods into the American market. This revolution meant
that in 1933 the National Association of Food Chains was formed and in
1934 inexpensive low temperature food display units were developed for
retailers. The Supermarket Institute in the USA was formed in 1937 and from
there on, mass retailing of food developed rapidly.
As a result of this evolution, farmers lost contact with consumers and be-
came part of what is now called 'the long supply chain'. In other words they
became a supplier to a retailer who developed their own marketing strat-
egies. Farmers did what the retailer asked. For many years this reduced the
stress on farming communities as farmers did what they did well and left the
marketing to other experts. But, profit margins started to slowly be squeezed
and as a result, farmers started ask how they could short circuit the supply
chain to the consumer.
Consumers also started questioning the supply process. In the old days
food was grown locally and the consumer knew the farmer. Under the long
supply chain 'globalization' became the buzz word. Initially, consumers were
impressed that they could, for example, buy strawberries all the year around
from all corners of the world. But today, many consumers have started to ask
if this was a good strategy for their health and the planet in the future.
The existing shift started in the early 1970s when farmers' associations
started to emerge to encourage farmers to sell direct to the consumer. The
early days saw the emergence of Pick Your Own retailing and farm shops on
the farm.
The key to success today is to take the product direct to the consumer
once more. As a result the wheel has gone full circle and the farmers'
market/farm market is one of the strong growth areas in retailing in the
new millennium.
Cities and towns around the world once again have thriving farmers'
markets. As a guide there is one farmers' market to every
100,000
of the
population in many parts of the first world. Reducing 'food miles' are now
buzz words.
In the USA, due in part to the increased interest in healthier foods, a
greater desire to preserve local types of cultivars or livestock and an in-
creased understanding of the importance of maintaining small, sustainable
farms on the fringe of urban environments, farmers' markets in the USA have
grown from 1755 in 1994 to 5274 in 2009. New markets appear regularly and
existing markets - some well over a century old - are seeing renewed growth
in both North America and Europe.
Farmers realize that to obtain customer loyalty they have to attend a
market with their produce every week. Others still rely on participating at
