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Scaling up alternative food networks: farmers’ markets and the role of clustering in western Canada

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Abstract

Farmers’ markets, often structured as non-profit or cooperative organizations, play a prominent role in emerging alternative food networks of western Canada. The contribution of these social economy organizations to network development may relate, in part, to the process of regional clustering. In this study we explore the nature and significance of farmers’ market clustering in the western Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, focusing on the possible connection between clustering and a “scaling up” of alternative food networks. Survey and interview results from four regional clusters indicate that in addition to spatial agglomeration, dynamic processes of interaction and knowledge exchange are occurring and are shaped by vendor mobility as well as collaborative and competitive forces. Horizontal and vertical collaborations are resulting in innovative strategies to address challenges of scale, scope, infrastructure, and organizational capacity that are prevalent in alternative food networks. Government support for market clustering has been modest to date but, we argue, could play a more prominent role in facilitating cluster development as part of a broader collaborative strategy involving public, private, and social economy sectors in the scaling up of alternative food networks.

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Notes

  1. On a per capita basis, Alberta has 3.06 registered markets per 100,000 inhabitants, British Columbia 2.74, and Ontario 1.12. Western Canada is comparable to the Pacific Northwest, with 3.29 and 2.37 markets per 100,000 inhabitants for Oregon and Washington, respectively (USDA Agricultural Marketing Service 2011).

  2. Treaty First Nation refers to an organized aboriginal group or community that is officially recognized by the Canadian government and has an agreement concerning rights to land and resources.

  3. Metro Vancouver markets studied: Vancouver: Granville Island Market, East Vancouver Market, West End Market, Kitsilano Market, Main Street Market, Winter Market, Ambleside; Burnaby: Lonsdale Quay; New Westminster: Royal City Farmers’ Market.

  4. http://www.alc.gov.bc.ca/alr/alr_main.htm.

  5. South Vancouver Island markets studied: Victoria: Moss Street Market, Colwood Market; Lantzville: Bowen Road Market; Nanaimo: Our Neighborhood Market; Duncan Market; Langford: Goldstream Market; Metchosin Market.

  6. Edmonton and Area markets studied: Edmonton: Old Strathcona Market, Alberta Avenue Market, City Market, Millwoods; Sherwood Park: Salisbury Greenhouse Market; Fort Saskatchewan Market; St. Albert Market.

  7. Central AB markets studied: Bentley, Innisfail, Lacombe, Rimbey, Sylvan Lake.

  8. 17,000 is the average number of patrons per market day in the summer. On a holiday weekend, the market has drawn up to 27,000 people per day. The total number of attendees last year was 350,000.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to acknowledge Chris Hergesheimer, Melisa Zapisocky, Paul Cabaj, and Herb Barbolet for their important contributions to this research and the editor and anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on earlier drafts. This project was conducted as part of the British Columbia-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA), one of the Canadian Social Economy Research Partnerships (CSERP) funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Extension, University of Alberta, Rm. 2-383 Enterprise Square, 10230 Jasper Ave., Edmonton, AB, T5J 4P6, Canada

    Mary A. Beckie

  2. Department of Resource Economic and Environmental Sociology, University of Alberta, 515 General Services Building, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2H1, Canada

    Emily Huddart Kennedy

  3. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Simon Fraser University, AQ 5054, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada

    Hannah Wittman

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Beckie, M.A., Kennedy, E.H. & Wittman, H. Scaling up alternative food networks: farmers’ markets and the role of clustering in western Canada. Agric Hum Values 29, 333–345 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-012-9359-9

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