Food Access and First Impressions: Understanding Spending Trends Between New and Returning Farmers Market Customers
Abstract
Farmers markets (FMs) emerged as key community hubs and access points. Farmers markets increased in popularity following the COVID-19 pandemic (Warsaw et al., 2023). During the peak of the pandemic, the modern industrialized food system underwent delays and heightened inefficiencies. This motivated a wave of new individuals to rely on farmers’ markets and smaller/more local food systems for their needs (Warsaw et al., 2022). The purpose of this paper is to examine how spending patterns differentiate between first-time and returning farmers market customers. To better understand consumer engagement and inform strategies that promote equitable access to local food systems. The research question, “How do spending behaviors differ from first-time and returning farmers market customers?” hopes to pull out key differences between new and returners spending. This will be important to inform policy change that will mold FMs to become more accessible, particularly to promote racial equity. Analyzing spending behaviors can lay the groundwork for further research that will be put into the context of public health, market sustainability, and equitable food access. Understanding the financial forces that address how first-time buyers, who are often racial minorities or economically disadvantaged, spend at FMs can help answer questions of how to improve racial equity at FMs. By increasing FM funding and accessibility through government-backed WIC/SNAP transactions, a new era could potentially be on the horizon to address food insecurity (Warsaw et al., 2021 & Monticone et al., 2024). The research project will take on a mixed methods approach. The period for data collection will be four weeks. The participants will access the Farm2Facts (F2F) survey electronically. A descriptive statistical analysis will be run to (1) portray the mean spending between both groups, (2) thematic analysis will be run to pull major themes about customers experience, (3) variance tests will be run on the data. It is hypothesized that the established FM customer group will spend more than newcomers, and that community and vendor relationships were the main motivators for market attendance. If the hypothesis is supported by the results, then marketing plans and policy efforts can be better informed on how to reach new customers, low-income, and racial minorities to the market. FM managers and customers alike deserve better facilities and promotion to solidify FMs as a primary mode of food acquisition. Key words: farmers markets, accessibility, Farm2Facts, racial equity
Start Time
15-4-2026 9:00 AM
End Time
15-4-2026 12:00 PM
Room Number
Culp Ballroom 316
Poster Number
10
Presentation Type
Poster
Presentation Subtype
Posters - Competitive
Presentation Category
Social Sciences
Student Type
Undergraduate Student
Faculty Mentor
Christen Minnick
Food Access and First Impressions: Understanding Spending Trends Between New and Returning Farmers Market Customers
Culp Ballroom 316
Farmers markets (FMs) emerged as key community hubs and access points. Farmers markets increased in popularity following the COVID-19 pandemic (Warsaw et al., 2023). During the peak of the pandemic, the modern industrialized food system underwent delays and heightened inefficiencies. This motivated a wave of new individuals to rely on farmers’ markets and smaller/more local food systems for their needs (Warsaw et al., 2022). The purpose of this paper is to examine how spending patterns differentiate between first-time and returning farmers market customers. To better understand consumer engagement and inform strategies that promote equitable access to local food systems. The research question, “How do spending behaviors differ from first-time and returning farmers market customers?” hopes to pull out key differences between new and returners spending. This will be important to inform policy change that will mold FMs to become more accessible, particularly to promote racial equity. Analyzing spending behaviors can lay the groundwork for further research that will be put into the context of public health, market sustainability, and equitable food access. Understanding the financial forces that address how first-time buyers, who are often racial minorities or economically disadvantaged, spend at FMs can help answer questions of how to improve racial equity at FMs. By increasing FM funding and accessibility through government-backed WIC/SNAP transactions, a new era could potentially be on the horizon to address food insecurity (Warsaw et al., 2021 & Monticone et al., 2024). The research project will take on a mixed methods approach. The period for data collection will be four weeks. The participants will access the Farm2Facts (F2F) survey electronically. A descriptive statistical analysis will be run to (1) portray the mean spending between both groups, (2) thematic analysis will be run to pull major themes about customers experience, (3) variance tests will be run on the data. It is hypothesized that the established FM customer group will spend more than newcomers, and that community and vendor relationships were the main motivators for market attendance. If the hypothesis is supported by the results, then marketing plans and policy efforts can be better informed on how to reach new customers, low-income, and racial minorities to the market. FM managers and customers alike deserve better facilities and promotion to solidify FMs as a primary mode of food acquisition. Key words: farmers markets, accessibility, Farm2Facts, racial equity
