Economic Indicators

I can always tell when an election cycle is coming to a head as politicians starts promising to do something about food prices and everyone else suddenly becomes economists ultimately blaming the farmers for their role in issues at hand. I’ve been in this business long enough to know it doesn’t matter which party is in control, farmers always get short end of the pitchfork. Woe to the person who complains about food prices in front of me, especially if I have access to their kitchen or worse, their grocery store receipts.

“My kids are eating me out of house and home!” complained a friend of mine with three teenagers who went on to say what picky eaters they were, only wanting certain brands of frozen pizzas and packaged drinks; her excuse for not shopping more at the local farmers market. She was aghast when I suggested getting a big box of mixed fruits and vegetables from the farmers market. Let them learn to cut up their own melons or make a simple Caprese salad with cherry tomatoes, small balls of mozzarella and a few leaves of fresh basil. There’s pita and humus, nuts, yogurt, and yes, pizza which should be more of a treat and not a dietary staple.

Still wanting to play the victim, I cajoled her into letting me trace back the ownership of all the brands of food in her refrigerator despite her assumption she only bought artisan and independent brands.

There are only four companies in the country who control 69% of all grocery sales and 85% of meat sales and her shopping choices where reflected in this statistic. Competition is also stifled among the limited players in the agricultural sector controlling the sales and distribution of seeds and fertilizers. It doesn’t take a Nobel Prize-winning economist to know that when there’s little to no competition those who own the supply chain, the goods, and the distribution they can charge whatever they want. She was shocked to realize that practically all of her food choices were owned by one of the Big Four. From her favorite smoothies to her beloved vegan burgers, all had sold out to multinational food conglomerates. I needled her with the truth that even the farmers market has those items, too.

There’s a reason the Federal Trade Commission is balking at the merger of Kroger and Albertsons grocery stores. Between the two of them, they operate 5073 stores across the United States and employ over 700,000 people. The companies claim that the $24.6 billion deal would lower food costs by giving them more control over their suppliers while allowing them to compete with grocery juggernaut Walmart who is the largest supplier of groceries in the country. Anyone want to guess why Amazon bought Whole Foods or why an investment conglomerate made up of KKR, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup now owns Dollar General who sells more food that Whole Foods.

Last Sunday I stopped at a store on the way home to pick up a few things not available at farmers markets and was flabbergasted to see a price tag of $10.59 for a dozen eggs that I knew for a fact were no where as good as what one can get for around $7 at any of Central Farm Markets. I can also darn sure guarantee the farmers who raise those hens aren’t getting the additional $3.59 the consumers are paying for the eggs. After that I began snooping through the meat cases and the produce sections mentally comparing grocery store prices to those at the farmers market. As I suspected, higher for most items of much lesser quality. Why the heck were they selling imported tomatoes and peaches at the height of the growing season, especially here in the mid-Atlantic?  And variety, forget it. One type of eggplant. One type of melon. One type of cantaloupe. One type of sweet corn which was shucked, trimmed and grown in Kansas. No fresh green beans or okra either.

Another thing I noticed about grocery store food was the amount of packaging, especially plastics and Styrofoam. How does one sniff for ripeness or freshness when the food is sealed in stretch wrap and pumped full of an inert gas to extend shelf life? Nothing beats walking past the orchard stands first thing in the morning and catching the aroma of tree-ripened fruits. While popping one of those thin skinned seedless and flavorless grapes grown in Peru may be the grocery store shoppers’ choice, I’ll take those delicious Muscadines that showed up at the market last week even if I’ve got to spit out four seeds and chew on their thick tannic skins. Absolutely nothing compares with their sweetness.

I’ve listened to both side’s speeches on how they’ll fix the situation, but I’m here to tell you, dear readers, that the solution to this issue resides in your choices when you shop for food. The worker who tallied up my paper goods and cleaning supplies barely acknowledged me other than to ask if I wanted a paper receipt or not. Fellow shoppers were equally isolated in their own little worlds of trying to get in and out as soon as possible. And who picks out the music that included bad instrumental of old Neil Diamond songs! At least the farmers market has great live music most of the weeks and everyone is friendly with each other.

Politicians aren’t going to change grocery stores or an industrialized food system with only few players to a robust and diversified economy with competitive pricing overnight or even within a single administration. Patrons are the ones who make the real difference by shopping at local farmers markets. Those who has shopped with Central Farm Markets for any length of time has seen how agile the vendors and market overall are when it comes to getting fresh, locally produced food to eaters week after week. Additionally, there’s plenty vendor variety while none of the farmers are attempting to merge in order to gain a bigger share of the shoppers.

Many people base the pulse of our economy on assorted price and investment indices, but I’m not looking at commodity crops such as corn, soy, and wheat which trickles down into plastics, fuels, and processed foods. I look at local foods, regional markets and if my fellow farmers are able to continue farming while doing everyday things like send their kids to college or afford healthcare.

Over the last several years the markets have grown, with more and more people attending and pumping their money into the regional economy. It’s working. We, the People are making a difference.