In neighborhoods such as Fremont, Ballard and West Seattle, people are already enjoying the benefits of their local farmers market: fresh cauliflower, asparagus, strawberries and other produce that has been grown locally. Soon, residents of Queen Anne will have the same opportunity.
June 28 will mark opening day for the Queen Anne Farmers Market, which will take temporary occupancy of the McClure Middle School parking lot. The market will be open on Thursdays from 3 to 7 p.m. through Oct. 4.
The idea of hosting a market on Queen Anne was first sounded at a neighborhood envisioning workshop hosted by the Queen Anne Neighbors for Responsible Growth (QANRG) almost a year ago. "When the neighbors got together and talked about what they'd love to see in the future of Queen Anne, the farmers market was something that came up over and over again," said Nancie Kosnoff, a member of the QANRG coordination committee. "I think this will help create a focal point for the community," she added.
Nationally, the popularity of local markets is on the rise. According to the USDA, the number of farmers markets grew by more than 100 percent from 1994 to 2004. Their growth has come from an increased desire for a producer-to-consumer connection.
"Small farms are the only area in the agribusiness sector that is growing," said Judy Kirkhuff, an employee of Seattle Markets who manages the Ballard, Wallingford and Capitol Hill markets. "Primarily because there is an acute interest in local, organic and sustainable food techniques.
"We're a very progressive area," said Kirkhuff. "We have a lot of intelligent, educated and sensitive people that spot this, and they get it."
She attributes the success of markets in the area to an increased awareness of locally produced foods, as well as a desire for urban communities to establish a central gathering place.
"It turns into someplace where they run into neighbors, and meet their families. They bring their children and it's a community event."
Kosnoff agrees that farmers markets serve a social as well as economic purpose. "It's a great gathering point," she said. "Since QANRD started, we've found that people have hungered for a focal point for the community ... and if there's food involved, all the better."
Queen Anne residents have shown enthusiasm for the idea. Dr. George Counts, chair of the planning committee, has witnessed the strong positive response. "When we needed to raise monies in just over two or three days, just by word of mouth and phone calls, we managed to raise about $7,000," he said. "That was a tremendous amount of support from the community."
After neighbors introduced the farmers market idea, the committee spent the past year ensuring it could begin operations this summer. The biggest obstacle was finding a location.
"Queen Anne is already pretty congested," Kosnoff said. "It's been very difficult to find a location that is still central to the commercial district. We did not want to draw people away from the local merchants, so we really struggled to try and put together a location that will work for everyone."
Counts and the committee are taking steps to ensure that, if the market is successful, it will have a long-term home.
"There is an engineer, Joe Geivett, who is developing the space on the corner of Queen Anne Avenue and Crockett," Counts said. "He is interested in developing, on both sides of the street, a space that would benefit the entire community and would be a nice space for a farmers market."
Geivett, a person active in the Queen Anne community, said that when the committee approached him he saw the chance to be a part of something special. "You see retail seven days a week," he said, "and it's nice to mix it up once in a while."
Businesses on Queen Anne, even grocery stores, have much to gain.
"There's pretty good surveying evidence available that farmers markets have a beneficial effect on surrounding businesses," explained Kirkhuff. "The merchants tend to love the markets because more people find out about them by walking to the market or being in the general area. Just getting the exposure is really good for the brick and mortar businesses."
With just over a month left for planning, the QANRD committee is deciding on the details of opening day. Neighbors adjacent to the market have been promised free tote bags, and other ideas include a guest chef, balloons and T-shirts.
These details are the heart of the project for involved neighbors like Kosnoff. Despite the bureaucratic work involved, she said, there was one moment that reaffirmed her commitment to the project. "At one of our last community council meetings, Judy Kirkhuff was sitting there and I said, 'You can go if you want.' She said, 'Great, because I need to call them and tell them to plant.'
"The idea that [farmers] were waiting with seeds in hand ... that was what it was all about in the first place."
Sarah Anderson is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.
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