Beyond groceries: How farmers markets rebuild community
As a national non-profit, the Canadian Centre for Food & Ecology helps impactful ideas get the attention they deserve. By connecting supply-side partners with their ideal audience, we inspire people to take action through food. Our goal? A delicious, healthy food system that works in harmony with nature.
In 2015 Canada ranked 5th on the world happiness index. Now we sit at number 15 and for those under 30, it’s even worse at 58th place. How did we fall so far in just ten years?
The happiness index is calculated by various sub-metrics: generosity, GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy at birth, freedom to make choices and perceptions of corruption. All of these metrics except for generosity, have fallen in the past decade.
In the thrusts of an ever-worsening housing crisis, many Canadians feel their options are limited. Forced to work multiple jobs or grueling hours to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.
In a post-pandemic world, 44% of employed Canadians now work on a remote-only or hybrid basis. Online shopping and home delivery services have skyrocketed. Movie theatres sit empty, and even most coffee shops resemble coworking spaces more than community hubs.
Pre-pandemic, a 2019 Angus Reid Institute survey found that “just three-in-ten [Canadians] (30%) say they regularly socialize with their neighbours, while just one-in-five (18%) say they volunteer in their communities or go out to events such as live music or theatre shows (21%)”.
This has an immediate impact on the level at which we feel a connection with our community and ultimately, our mental health.
In recent years studies such as a 2022 survey released by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have reported increased rates of anxiety, depression and loneliness among their respondents, with 25% of respondents feeling moderate to severe anxiety, a significant rise from 19% in July 2021. More recently, a 2024 survey commissioned by the YMCA, conducted among Angus Reid Forum members found that 60% of Canadians feel disconnected from their community, with 16% reporting they never feel a sense of community and 44% experiencing a sense of community only sometimes.
It is in reaction to this world that feels ever more online and ever more detached, that we are in desperate need of “third places”, a term coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg in his 1989 book The Great Good Place. Third Places are settings a person frequents beyond their home (the first place) and work (the second place). Traditionally these spaces were built into the social mould, places like sites of worship or more casual activities like the local pub, bowling alley or barber shop. Places where you knew you could go and find like-minded community, see the same faces again week after week and build up routine and rapport.
According to Oldenburg’s definition a “third place” should have 8 essential qualities:
It must be a neutral ground
It must put no importance on social or economic status
It must be a place for conversation
It must be accessible
It must have regulars, who set the mood and attract newcomers
It must have a low-profile
It must have a playful mood
It must be a home away from home
It is the decline of places fitting these criteria, according to Oldenburg, that we see such a deterioration of social cohesion in North American society.
Some argue that the internet, meeting this criteria, potentially fills this void. Yet, feelings of social isolation and loneliness deepen as our access to the internet grows. There must be something special about the tangibility of an in-real-life third place.
One of these third places in need of special attention is markets, specifically farmers’ markets, which provide a unique and welcoming environment where diverse community members can connect, not only with each other, but also with the people who feed them. Fostering direct relationships between shoppers and food producers, farmer’s markets cultivate trust, appreciation for our food, and a deeper sense of belonging in our communities. This opportunity for connection represents significant benefits for mental health, social cohesion, and overall well-being of individuals and communities.
Unlike larger, corporate grocery chains, farmers’ markets allow shoppers to make real, lasting connections with producers, vendors and other community constituents. United by interests in food, soil health, ‘buy local’ initiatives or even just a desire to spend more time outside, markets deliver a prime opportunity for connecting with others in your community.
In a Ford Foundation study on public markets as a vehicle for social integration, respondents were asked the question of why they come to markets, 68% of respondents said the most self-evident point, “products” but following after were “place” at 37% and “people” at 27%. In response to the open-ended question “What is the greatest benefit of the market to the community?”, the response “Brings people together” ranked highest at 28.2%, significantly above “products” at 17.7%, and “price” at 15%.
Farmers’ markets are neutral, free-to-enter, low-stakes environments, perfect for someone in need of connecting with others. You get outside. You see a glorious rainbow of produce, flowers and freshly baked bread. You talk with local producers about what leafy green is best this season or how the recent rain almost ruined the potato crop. You chat with neighbours about going in on a bulk purchase of flour. Your kid spies a classmate and runs off to look at the flower stand. Or maybe you just came to meet up with a friend, get some Instagram photos and a sourdough doughnut. Either way, you leave telling yourself “Why don’t I come to the market more often?”
In an era of eroding social bonds and loneliness on the rise, we need to reinvest in third places that foster real authentic human connection, to each other, our food and our wellbeing. Farmers’ markets are a prime example of this such place, bringing people together, usually outside, in a way our digital realm cannot replicate. We must invest our time, money and attention to these markets if we want to build a future where community bonds are strong, people are happier and good, local food is bountiful.
Written by Kate McQuade, Communications Specialist on behalf of the Canadian Centre for Food & Ecology.
Photo credit: Somi Jaiswal
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