Why don't we love our markets?

Food markets. The words divide us, as much as they have the power to brings us together. They float across class and cultural lines.

Our traditional street markets never seem to be as good as the markets we find when we’re abroad.

There’s a common feeling that farmers markets in the UK aren’t for the likes of us. They’re snobbish, elitist and expensive. It’s okay for them to be the butt of jokes and we’re bored by anyone who questions sourcing and welfare standards.

It’s a cold winters morning at Notting Hill farmers market. Winter squash are lined up like skittles in a bowling alley. On the chicken stall there’s a pile of carcasses, chicken feet and wings that I know will be snapped up by those wanting to make the best stock.

The fishermen have covered their displays with wet sacking. There are rumours in the queue outside the market about spider crabs.

The perks of being early means the pick of the crops. If the farmer only has three black puddings today, they won’t be there for long. Children grow up coming to markets and often, end up working on stalls. Customers greet friends and neighbours. Bring their milk bottles back to refill. It’s busy, energetic, enjoyable. Who would want to shop any other way. Farmers and producers are knowledgeable, interested, polite, proud of their products. They know their customers by name.

We shouldn’t be ashamed to ask where our food comes from. How many of us want to know; how food is produced; where is it produced, when it was produced. And who controls what we eat. Try asking that in a supermarket. Everyone deserves good food, not just those with bottomless budgets. But is cheap food the only option and is it really what we need?

There is no such thing as cheap food. Someone, somewhere will be paying the price. In 22 years of running farmers markets, the most common complaint was expense. Farmers Markets reflect the real price it costs to produce food so is it fair to blame farmers markets and farmers? Supermarkets have turned the price of food on its head by creating artificial prices. Many of us are slashing our budgets and looking for bargains. Buying the best we can afford.

If food prices rise to carry the true cost of their impact, shouldn’t this be along with income increases so everyone can afford it?

Prices vary at farmers markets, and they’re not always more expensive than supermarkets. Produce is fresher and will last longer. You can check the provenance of ingredients, ask questions about welfare standards, additives, seasonality and varieties.

Farmers markets in the UK will never sell bananas and avocados but they supply a huge range of produce, freshly picked, in season. Direct from farm to customers, keeping farmers farming. Plenty of produce is sold open so not only less plastic, it also means that if you only want one apple or potato that’s all you need to buy.

The 2021 EIT Trust report revealed that farmers were the most trusted across the board, with 74% of Britons revealing they trust farmers. In particular, small local farmers that use environmentally friendly production methods. However what we say isn’t necessarily what we do. Our actions when it comes to buying food are mostly guided by budget, necessity, circumstances and food education.

Why do we dislike, even mistrust markets? The widening food gaps seems to apply to markets too. Street markets like Ridley Road in London’s Hackney appeal to a wide section of the population, people from all cultures. Bowls are piled high with bunches of fresh herbs, mangoes and avocados. Stalls selling yams and plantains, salt fish and peppers. It’s a busy, vibrant social space, so much so that Cardiff University is carrying out a survey about it. People come for a bargain.

Markets have an equally important purpose; a sense of place for immigrant communities. Many markets are fighting for survival. There doesn’t seem to be a new generation of people queuing up to sell fresh produce, just as there’s a lack of young farmers.

Here’s a few broad what ifs.

· What if we stopped treating food as commodities and had a fair and equitable food system for everyone, including access to land to grow food and gave farmers the price they need to keep farming.

· What if everyone, all ages had access to free cooking lessons.

· What if the average hourly rate was increased so that spending power could rise.

· What if we spent more on food? Since the ONS survey began in 1957 our spending on food has halved from 33% to 16% .

At the inaugural conference of the European Markets Association in Turin, the mayors of Barcelona and Turin spoke passionately about markets in their cities. Here were people who clearly love and have pride in their markets. They know that within the streets and stalls of their markets beats the heart of the city.

We were taken to the crossroads of the Porta Palazzo market place.

This multicultural market is one of the largest in Europe; It exists because the municipality realised the importance of preserving it. Radiating out from the crossroads, on all four sides of the streets, there is a covered fish market, an indoor meat and charcuterie market, an outdoor fruit and vegetable market, a farmers market, and an occasional flea market. People come from all over the city to shop there. Displays by even the most humble of stalls are sometimes spectacular. British market stall holders could learn a great deal from a trip to Turin.

In Barcelona many people have visited the famous Mercado de la Boqueria. I was privileged to be shown around some of the city’s 40 covered markets, supplying the local population with their daily food.

There wasn’t a market in Barcelona that I didn’t like or was failed to be impressed by. Markets offer storage lockers so you can stow your shopping and retrieve it on your way home; online shopping; a home delivery service, Wi-Fi and an information desk. None of this takes away from the experience of shopping face to face, the true market experience. They’re trying to think about and embrace the needs of the people.

Strong and well organised with their own website, models of excellence and improvement programme, the Mercats de Barcelona website states –

‘Barcelona is one of the few cities in the world to have a network of markets distributed in such a way that every neighbourhood has a market.

And, most importantly, primary food stuffs predominate. There are tapas bars, chefs sourcing ingredients from the market, there is even a cookery school, but hot food does not dominate or take over.

Last year at markets in Northern Portugal we shopped for fish straight off the day boats we’d seen returning to shore. Vegetables and fruit were local and in season. It’s usual for people to shop every day.

A month later I’m in Latvia and Lithuania. The markets are crowded with pyramids of pickles, huge loaves of rye bread and a dazzling array of smoked fish. It’s July and stalls are piled high with cherries, buckets of wild bilberries, red gooseberries and generous bunches of herbs.

In my time running farmers markets in London, I found locations for markets that changed neighbourhoods. They came alive on weekend mornings, increasing sales in local shops and cafes and helping farmer and fishermen to sell direct. Streets and car parks become communities for a few hours a week.

Markets are for all people. Everywhere I’ve travelled I’ve come across a market in a street or square, sometimes a farmers’ market, sometimes not. There are cities in the UK with great covered markets; Leeds, Cardiff, Newcastle’s Grainger Market…glorious Victorian edifices standing because they’re still used, and useful. Maybe luck and lack of budget or imagination means that they’ve not been knocked down and turned into yet another faceless office block with luxury flats. I’m watching Grainger Market in Newcastle with interest as it seems to lose more and more primary stalls selling fruit and vegetables, and gains yet another hot food stall.

Does the UK celebrate and promote markets? Do we love our markets? Farmers markets aren’t available in every town centre. They’re often monthly rather than weekly when they do appear which means that shopping habits don’t change and customers have to rely on supermarkets or other methods of topping up their shop.

In America, many farmers markets have their own token system and coupon programmes for people on low or no incomes to be spent on healthy ingredients. There’s also a Farmers’ Market Nutrition Programme for seniors.

If we don’t try to bridge the gap, give everyone the opportunity to source healthy, sustainable ingredients, make farmers markets the norm rather than the exception, and support our small scale farmers, nothing will change. We’re time poor or cash poor. We need street markets and farmers markets to be central to the solution. Going abroad and visiting great markets is wonderful, but supporting our home grown markets is vital.