trans•act markets

The following are the markets in which we have been studying:

New Orleans, Louisiana

 

  • Crescent City Farmers Market Uptown (New Orleans, USA - Year-round on Tuesdays, marketumbrella.org)
    The site of this popular Tuesday morning market is a wealthy area of the city, which was not flooded, and many local, white, middle or upper class housewives and retirees are regulars. Like the CCFM Downtown Market, it has a tight and intentionally structured layout, a variety of farmers and products, and an intentional, comfortable, social atmosphere.

  • Crescent City Farmers Market Downtown (New Orleans, USA - Year-round on Saturdays, marketumbrella.org)
    a well-known farmers market run by marketumbrella.org, which occurs each Saturday morning in a mostly industrial area. The market includes over two dozen farmers, all local, and a variety of products. Every market day includes services and entertainment, and is tightly structured with an intentional layout. A wide range of demographics is represented.

  • Vietnamese Farmers Market in New Orleans East (New Orleans, USA - Year-round on Saturdays)
    a classic ethnic market, run by a local Catholic Church in a predominantly Vietnamese immigrant community, distant from the urban core. There are roughly two dozen, mostly urban vendors. The area was badly flooded and then had to resist the opening of a nearby dump for storm debris that polluted the canals that irrigated their small family farms. The mall where the market is located is the place where most of the crime in the neighborhood occurs during the rest of the week. The market demonstrates very little management or social engineering, though it is both lively and popular.

  • Upper 9th Ward Farmers Market (New Orleans, USA - Year-round on Saturdays, Renaissance Project)
    located in a church parking lot, is a small, fledgling, weekly market with only six vendors, set on the cusp of a predominantly working poor African American neighborhood and a lively and artsy white bohemian neighborhood that was heavily flooded during the storm. It is run by the Renaissance Project, whose primary goal is to alleviate poverty in the area. The site is located near a senior center and a hospital, and on a main thoroughfare in a recovering area of the urban core.

  • Biloxi Farmers Market (New Orleans, USA - Year-round on Thursdays, Municipal)
    over 45 years old, well-established in the city of Biloxi as a municipal program, and has a loyal clientele. Before the storm, there were over 40 vendors, but that number has now been reduced to roughly two dozens. The location has changed as well, since Point Cadet, its previous site, was entirely destroyed. It is now located Tuesday and Thursday mornings, underneath a busy highway overpass between downtown and a historic middle class beachside residential district. It is a reseller’s market, with 30-40% of the produce sold actually grown locally or by the vendor.

Santarém, Brazil


  • Mercadao 2000 (Santarém, Brazil - Daily year-round)
    the largest market in the city, located in Aldeia quarter, and is open all week. The market starts at 3-4 am, has the maximum flux at 7-8 am, and starts folding by noon or so. The busiest markets days are the Saturdays and Tuesdays, and the market has 600+ stalls. The market sells a huge variety of products – vegetables, fruits, dairy products, meat, fish, clothing items, miscellaneous houseware, medicinal herbs and plants, and snack bars. The APRUSAN manages the fruits and vegetable sections of the market, where its office is located. The member producers sell fruits, vegetables, dairy products, plants and cassava products. Products are categorized into different sections with different stall designs, and the stalls stay permanently at the market space. There is no organization of the producers selling locations in the market – they arrive on a first-come-first-serve basis and choose any stalls that they want, within the section their products belong. They always help each other in the effort of fitting all the producers, by sharing the same stall and making sure that all the producers will have some space in the market. The municipality is in charge of managing the vendor stalls not run by APRUSAN, such as the fish, meat, clothing and medicinal herbs and plants, and the snacks bars. The vendors in the fish area are not fishermen themselves – they usually buy the fish in the Tablado Market across the street or directly with local fishermen.

  • Cohab Market (Santarém, Brazil - Year-round on Saturdays)
    located in the Cohab quarter and happens every Saturday. Despite such infrequency, the stalls are permanently located. The producers start to arrive extremely early in the morning, around 2 am, and the fair starts to close around 11:30 am. The place has space for 200 producers and APRUSAN is also responsible of managing this market. The layout of this market is similar to the other two mentioned, with very narrow space between the stalls. The vendors seem to be much closer to one another, even though they sell the same products as “competitors”. They sell different types of fruits and vegetables, especially vegetables and cassava derivatives, and a smaller section fish. There is one snack tent, which is run by FAMCOS, a federation of residents association.

  • Tablado Fish Market (Santarém, Brazil - Daily year-round)
    is located by the riverfront, right in front of Mercado 2000, across the main street (Avenida Tapajós) that separates the Mercado 2000 from the market. The main product is fish, and it is run by the Z-20, the fishermen’s association. But it is possible to find vegetables, cassava products and some beans, which are mostly products that complement the fish cooking and eating. The market is significantly smaller than Mercado 2000 – perhaps 50 stalls – and is next to the river to facilitate the unloading of fish from the boats to the stalls. The market is open all week, but the fish is available only at the boat arrival time: in the morning, from 4 to 6 am, and in the end of the afternoon, from 4 to 6 pm. The prices are usually cheaper than Mercado 2000, but with less foot traffic of consumers. It is also less sanitary and structured than the Mercado 2000 fish section.

Los Angeles, California

 

  • Hollywood Farmers' Market (Los Angeles, LA - Year-round on Sundays, SEE-LA)
    The HFM is the flagship, certified farmers market (CFM) run by SEE-LA, an open-air street market with over 150 vendors – approximately 90 farmers, 30 local artisans, and 30 baked goods and prepared food vendors – who sell their own products. The HFM has grown to be one of the largest CFM's in Southern California. Besides offering a fantastic variety of the freshest California-grown fruits and vegetables, the HFM has increasingly become a "total package" shopping venue. The HFM also hosts street musicians every Sunday as well as local non-profit community organizations and free special events for the community including chef demos, cookbook signings, tastings, children's craft workshops, and family-oriented festivals. The market, along with all other SEE-LA markets, accepts Food Stamps/EBT cards, Women Infants and Children/ Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (WIC/FMNP) Coupons, and Seniors Farmers Market Nutrition Program Coupons (SFMNP).

  • Hollywood-Sears Farmers' Market (Los Angeles, LA - Year-round on Wednesdays, SEE-LA)
    The HSFM prides itself on its commitment to serving the surrounding East Hollywood community with high quality fruits and vegetables. In addition to a great selection of fresh produce, the market offers family-oriented events that familiarize children with fruits and vegetables in a safe and fun environment. Because of the close proximity to the Van Ness WIC clinic, the market sees a great increase in sales during the FMNP coupon season (May – November). To encourage more customers to shop with their EBT/food stamp card, Hunger Action Los Angeles has been working with SEE-LA as a community partner to conduct outreach at the market during 2006, offering cooking demonstrations and free giveaways to shoppers. Thanks to its role as the host of SEE-LA’s weekly Market Basket program, the HSFM has been able to add new farmers to the market this year including certified organic vegetables and avocados.  

  • Central Avenue Farmers’ Market (Los Angeles, LA - Year-round on Saturdays, SEE-LA)
    This “mini market” features 4 farmers and 3 food vendors who sell a variety of fruits and vegetables as well as nuts and dried fruits. The market serves primarily WIC and Senior FMNP recipients. This is the first market on which SEE-LA has collaborated with the school district and LAUSD. The market has since relocated to its new location early 2007, at George Washington Carver Middle School, with the hopes of increased foot traffic through it. Setup and cleanup of the market each week is volunteered by Coalition for Responsible Community Development and Los Angeles Conservation Corps’ Clean & Green program. The market hosts events for children and adults including healthy cooking demonstrations, tastings, a salsa contest, Spring into Health activities, free raffles, live music, craft workshops and pumpkin carving for kids.

  • Leimert Park Village Farmers' Market (Los Angeles, LA - Year-round on Saturdays, SEE-LA)
    The market features 12 farmers and 7 food vendors who bring a diverse selection of fresh fruits and vegetables as well as other products each week, serving the communities of Angeles Mesa, Baldwin Hills, Crenshaw, Hyde Park, Leimert Park and View Park. The market also hosts monthly events including cooking demonstrations, tastings, contests, children's activities and live entertainment. Leimert Park Village presents challenging neighborhood dynamics between business owners, city officials, and community members. The Leimert Park Village Neighborhood Council generously supported the market in 2007 with a grant for promotional and educational expenses. The market also receives support from Los Angeles Council District 8 and Cultural Affairs. Los Angeles Conservation Corps’ Clean & Green program help publicize the market by distributing flyers every month in the local neighborhood.

  • Atwater Village Farmers' Market (Los Angeles, LA - Year-round on Sundays, SEE-LA)
    The market features 13 farmers and 9 food vendors who bring a diverse selection of fresh fruits and vegetables as well as other products each week, serving a mixed income communities of Silverlake, Los Feliz, Glendale, and Glassell Park in Northeast Los Angeles. The market also hosts monthly events including cooking demonstrations, tastings, contests, children's activities and live entertainment. The market sales in 2007 have almost doubled from the previous year. The AVMF plays an active role in educating and supporting the local community through setting up an information booth bursting with free, in-season produce samples and informative pamphlets at various local events.

  • Echo Park Farmers Market (Los Angeles, LA - Year-round on Fridays, SEE-LA)
    Since the controversial closing of their neighborhood’s only local chain grocery store in 2004, Echo Park residents have been trying to secure a local source for quality fresh fruits and vegetables, and the market’s presence helps the residents to be educated about farmers markets and the advantage of eating fresh and locally. The market continues to get strong community support and help of Council District 13 and GEPENC (Greater Echo Park Elysian Neighborhood Council). The market’s location within walking distance to a WIC center gave community members an outlet to spend their WIC farmers market coupons. The market has become a place where local families can spend their Friday evenings. Local musicians have helped create a festive and fun atmosphere by offering free music performances, making every Friday a celebration of health and community.

  • Watts Healthy Farmers Market (Los Angeles, LA - Year-round on Saturdays, SEE-LA)
    After more than four years of planning and organizing, the WHFM opened last summer of 2007. Supported by the funding and collaboration of Kaiser Permanente Watts Counseling and Learning Center, LA County Department of Public Health South Health Center, Watts Youth Opportunity Program, and the CA Community Foundation, the market is positioned to help address the lack of access to fresh fruits and vegetables and corresponding skyrocketing rates of obesity and diabetes in Watts. The market also provides free health screenings from public health nurses, nutrition education through SEE-LA’s Good Cooking program and other cooking demonstrations in addition to farm fresh produce.

  • Woodland Hills Kaiser Permanente Farmers Market (Los Angeles, LA - Year-round on Thursdays, Southland Farmers' Market Association)
    The Woodland Hills Certified Farmers Market is located on site at Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills Medical Center. The market is centrally located at the plaza area between the main hospital and outpatient offices. The market was established in April of 2007 in collaboration with the Southland Farmers Market Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting growers, to encourage healthy eating among employees, physicians, patients and their families. To enhance the shopping experience, Kaiser Permanente health educators are on hand to provide health information and recipes, and local musicians are invited to perform. The market provides a great outdoor atmosphere for employees, physicians, patients and families to decompress. It also provides a warm environment for everyone to meet and share conversations and recipes. 

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