Background

According to the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance, "farmers markets are Seattle's best places to find locally-grown, seasonal (and delicious) farm-fresh food." Washington’s temperate climate allows shoppers to buy fresh, locally grown fruit, vegetables, mushrooms, and herbs all year long. In spring dormant farmers markets burst into life, including the Broadway Farmers Market near Seattle University. Farmers markets provide a direct link between farmers and customers. Fresh, local spring produce includes arugula, asparagus, lettuce, spinach, herbs, raspberries and other tasty items.

The farmers market may be colorful and social—but is it economical? For buyers of fresh produce, does shopping at the farmers market make economic sense? The aim of this community research project is to compare prices at the farmers market with the prices of comparable produce at the nearby supermarket and food co-operative. The spring 2010 Economics 260 class will add to existing data on farmers market prices by studying Spring 2010 prices at farmers markets compared to those at grocery stores.

Community Partner

Our research is being conducted in partnership with the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance (NFMA), a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting local farmers and helping to keep local farmland in production. The NFMA does this by operating seven "producer-only" farmers markets in the city of Seattle, where farmers direct-sell their produce to shoppers, earning the full dollar value of their farm products. Our project will be based at the University farmers market, its only year round market.

Statistical Analysis of Spring 2010 Data

1. Create new variables as follows: for each product, calculate the cost of the product at the farmers market as a percentage of the price of a comparable product at each supermarket and food co-op.
2. Calculate the mean and standard deviation of each of these new variables. On average, how much does organic produce cost at the farmers market as a ratio of its price at each grocery store and food co-op. How do these results compare with the results found for the spring 2009 data?
3. For each grocery store and food co-op, calculate 95% and 99% confidence intervals for the price of spring 2010 farmers market produce as a percentage of its price at the grocery store or food co-op. In a non-technical sentence, what do your confidence intervals tell you?
4. For each grocery store and food co-op, conduct a hypothesis test at the 10%, 5%, and 1% significance level as to whether the average price at store differs from that at the farmers market.
5. Additional issues: Additional questions you might investigate using the data are 1) a comparison of the availability of local produce at the farmers market with its availability at the grocery store, 2) how this year’s results compare to those in previous years, 3) a comparison of the price of ingredients for a particular meal/dish prepared at the farmers market to the price of those ingredients at the grocery store or co-op, 4) many other questions – be creative!

Sharing the Results with the NMFA and Farmers Market Shoppers

Once the analysis is complete, the next step is to document the results of our study for the NMFA and to share the results with farmers market shoppers. Your finished product should describe the study that was done and its results. What conclusions can you draw about prices at the farmers market? How do they compare to the prices of comparable products at neighboring grocery stores and food co-operatives? To document and share your results, you may to write either:

1. A news feature suitable for publication in the Puget Sound Business Journal describing the study and its results.
2. A report on the study we conducted, targeted to policy makers and researchers, suitable for posting on the NMFA website.

The tone of the project will vary depending on the form you choose—the news article would be written for the business community and general audience, whereas the research report would target policy-makers. Regardless of the form you choose for presenting the results, the content should include:

1. Background information and the goals of the study
2. A summary of the data and how it was collected
3. Detailed presentation of the results of the study, including clear and concise graphs or tables showing the results (your work should include a minimum of 3 graphs or tables).
4. A summary of the conclusions and their implications.

Sources for background research include the website of the NFMA, www.seattlefarmersmarkets.org , the internet and printed sources, and the class presentation of the NFMA representative Cassie O’Neill.

Price: $19.03

Solution: The downloadable solution consists of 8 pages, 1103 words and 1 charts.
Deliverable: Word Document