How important is Food at Farmers’ Markets? Evidence from Bardon Farmers’ Market, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Contemporary farmers’ markets include many leisure activities, both for children and adults, from face-painting and bouncy castles to cooking and bicycle repair classes. Among so many activities it is easy to ask just how important is simply selling farm produce anymore? This paper considers the nature and role of contemporary farmers’ markets, primarily through the prism of outcomes of research into customer motivations that the writers undertook at Bardon Farmers’ Market, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Key findings relate with asking respondents to rank order six potential motivating variables. These were: 1) Purchasing Fresh Produce 2) Purchasing Ready to Eat Food 3) Purchasing Packaged Foods 4) Purchasing Arts and Crafts 5) Attending Events/ Activities/Including Concerts 6) Social Interactions/Meeting People. The results indicated a high level of concern for sociability and a reduced level of concern for food purchase against previous studies. The elevation of sociability at Bardon Farmers’ Market gives the market managers a key indicator in future management of the market, for instance around vendor choice, vendor mix and social, events and play provision. Any elevating social importance of farmers’ markets, farmers’ markets as third places, could have implications for public policy and policymakers, for example in planning around transportation and ageing.