Sales at Delaware farmers markets set a record in 2023 with over $4 million in revenue.
Market organizers said while the fresh fruits and vegetables are the initial draw, the friendships and community spirit keep people coming back, leading to the increasing revenue.
The $4,144,951 in sales statewide breaks the record set in 2022 by $437,136, the Delaware Department of Agriculture announced on Jan. 9.
“Our larger, more established farmers markets all had increased sales this year,” said department marketing specialist Kathy Jackson.
Figures for individual markets weren’t disclosed.
“Our agreement with the farmers markets is that they share their numbers with us with the understanding that we will only release the aggregate total,” Jackson said.
At the Riverwalk Farmers Market in Milford, market co-chair Lang Redden said 2023 sales were about $25,000 higher than in 2022, marking a continuing recovery after the pandemic.
During COVID-19 restrictions, overall sales “took a nosedive,” Redden said.
“The individual vendors held their own. We just had fewer vendors participating because of the restrictions,” she said.
After COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, there have been “huge changes,” Redden said. “We have more and more people, more younger families, more new faces. When I first started volunteering about eight years ago, we had to go around and hunt for vendors, but now we have a waiting list."
Organized by volunteers in conjunction with the nonprofit organization Downtown Milford Inc., the Milford market is the longest-running farmers market in the state, Redden said, preparing for its 29th season.
“The people make it happen — the volunteers, we have committed vendors, a loyal base and the community, the customers,” Redden said.
New Castle County organizes farmers markets at Carousel Park, Glasgow Park, the Bellevue Community Center and in the Whitehall community north of Middletown.
“This was our best year,” said C.J. Lindsay, the county coordinator for farmers markets and youth sports. “We saw improvement across the board as far as vendors and visitors.”
After a down year in 2020 because of COVID-19 precautions, sales and participation bounced back in 2022 and 2023, Lindsay said.
Those results are similar to the statewide totals when sales in 2019 were about $3.2 million, then dipped in 2020 to about $1.9 million, followed by a rebound in 2021 to about $3.1 million and then record sales in 2022 and 2023.
Delaware Secretary of Agriculture Michael T. Scuse said the success of a market relies on three keys:
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Farmers who grow the products to bring to the markets each week.
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Consumers who want to purchase the freshest locally grown food.
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Market managers who engage their community to support family farms.
“We are fortunate to have fantastic farmers markets throughout the state that serve as prime examples of how a community supports Delaware’s agriculture industry,” Scuse said in a press release.
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Delaware farmers markets are run locally by a variety of groups — by farmers themselves, businesses, market associations, nonprofit groups and city or county governments.
The Department of Agriculture provides support and marketing assistance.
Fresh produce was 52% of total sales in 2023, with the remainder coming from products such as meats, cheeses, jellies, breads, salsa, eggs and honey.
“When farmers bring these products to our farmers markets, it is easy, convenient, and enjoyable for consumers to buy directly from the source,” Jackson said.
Along with fresh fruits and vegetables, the interaction between customers, the farmers and other vendors is probably the main reason for the markets’ growth, organizers said.
“Many of the farmers and vendors get to know regular customers and greet them by name,” Jackson said. “I know that many customers also have favorite farmers and vendors that they visit each week. If a farmer isn’t at the market for a week, customers ask about them and want to make sure that person is OK.”
At the Riverwalk Farmers Market in Milford, Redden said each Saturday is a community event, usually with live entertainment, a food truck and seasonal activities like a Halloween celebration with games and contests.
“When I first volunteered with the market, I thought it would be like a supermarket: People would buy their groceries and then leave,” Redden said. “But it’s not like that. People socialize, gather, talk, meet other people. It’s not just a market, it’s a community. We build relationships. You hear vendors say to customers, ‘Hey, how are you? How were those potatoes last week?’”
Some vendors offer services that keep the farm-to-table relationship going, like one vendor who offers buckets to customers, encouraging them to bring the scraps back from the fruits and vegetables they buy. He takes the scraps from the buckets, composts them and gives the bucket back for the next week.
At the New Castle County markets, “a lot of times customers become acquaintances and even friends with vendors because they see them on a weekly basis,” Lindsay said. “The vendors build a little community with other vendors. We even have vendors who go out to lunch or dinner as a group after a market.”
The New Castle County markets also offer a variety of attractions during the season such as live music, children’s games and healthy meal planning.
“We offer weekly recipes, trying to match a recipe with what farmers are selling that week,” Lindsay said. “We celebrate Farmers Market Week in August, and we had pumpkin giveaways in October.”
Another factor in the growth is social media, “an essential tool” for farmers markets, Jackson said.
“Successful market managers schedule regular posts across several channels to appeal to customers. They use their own accounts and share posts on accounts managed by farmer vendors, the towns and community groups where they are located,” she said. “Social media promotions have grown exponentially in the last 10 years.”
The Department of Agriculture supports farmers markets with social media posts on market opening days and special events and promotes its “Delaware Grown” website as a one-stop place to find information about all the farmers markets in the state.
For the New Castle County markets, people can sign up for a weekly email newsletter with updates on products, vendors and entertainment, and the county also keeps people informed on its website, Facebook and Instagram.
In Milford, the Riverwalk Farmers Market website has information on a variety of topics for customers and vendors, and the market also gives updates on Facebook and Instagram.
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These are the farmers markets that reported sales to the Department of Agriculture in 2023 as listed on the department’s "Buy Local Delaware" website page as of Jan. 10, but some sites may be moving or changing hours from last year so check the website in the spring for updated information.
New Castle County
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Bellevue Farmers Market, Bellevue Community Center, 510 Duncan Road, Fox Point, Fridays, 5-8 p.m., June to September.
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Carousel Park Farmers’ Market, 3700 Limestone Road, Pike Creek, Fridays, 2-6 p.m., May to October.
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Co-Op Farmers’ Market, Newark Shopping Center, 230 E. Main St., Newark, Sundays, 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., May to November.
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Glasgow Park Farmers’ Market, 2275 Pulaski Highway, Glasgow, Fridays, 3-7 p.m., June to October.
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Penn Farm Market, Wheely's Farm Stand & Cafe, 791 E. Basin Road, New Castle, Tuesdays, 12-2 p.m., June to September.
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Westside Grows Farmers Market, Cool Spring Park, 10th and Van Buren streets, Wilmington, Thursdays, 4-7 p.m., June to October.
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Wilmington Farmers Market, Rodney Square, 10th and Market streets, Wilmington, Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., May to October.
Kent County
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Modern Maturity Center Farmers Market, 1121 Forest Ave., Dover, Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., June to October.
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Tidal Farmers Market, 1456 Frederica Road, Frederica, Sundays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., May to September.
Sussex County
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Bethany Beach Farmers Market, PNC Bank parking lot, Garfield Parkway and Pennsylvania Avenue, Bethany Beach, Sundays, 8 a.m. to noon, June to September.
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Fenwick Island Farmers Market, Warren Station, 1406 Coastal Highway, Fenwick Island, Fridays, 8 a.m. to noon, June to August
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Historic Lewes Farmers Market with three locations:
1. George H.P. Smith Park, Dupont and Johnson Avenues, Lewes, Saturdays, 8 a.m. to noon, May to September.
2. Crooked Hammock, 37707 Crooked Hammock Way, Lewes, Wednesday, 8-11:30 a.m., June to September.
3. Lewes Elementary School, 820 Savannah Road, Lewes, Saturdays, 9 a.m. to noon, October and November.
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Nassau Valley Vineyards Farmers Market, 32165 Winery Way, Lewes, Sundays, 12-3 p.m., May to September
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Rehoboth Beach Farmers Market, Grove Park, Columbia Avenue and Grove Street, Rehoboth Beach, Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., May, September and October; Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., June, July and August.
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Riverwalk Farmers Market, South Walnut Street at the Mispillion Riverwalk, Milford, Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., May to November
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The Farmers Market at Sea Colony, Coastal Highway and Westway Drive, Bethany Beach, Wednesdays, 8 a.m. to noon, June to August.
These newer markets were added to the Department of Agriculture’s website but weren’t included in the 2023 sales report:
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Bethel Farmers' Market, Bethel Museum, 312 First St., first and third Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon, May to September.
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Greenwood Farmers Market, Greenwood Town Hall, 100 W. Market St., second Saturday of each month, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., May to September.
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Laurel Farmers Market, Tidewater Park, Central Avenue, second and fourth Saturdays, 9 a.m. to noon, June to August.
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Village Farmers Market, Brandywine Mills Plaza, 19th and Market streets, Wilmington, Tuesdays, 5:30-7:30 p.m., July to September.
Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Sales at Delaware farmers markets top $4 million for first time
