For Zach Lester, co-owner of Tree and Leaf Farm in Va., farmers markets have traditionally been a gathering of the tribe as much as a collection of freshly harvested fruits and vegetables. They’ve been a place where true believers could make their weekly investment in the future of local and sustainable agriculture. But in recent years, Lester has noticed a shift in the markets, where he once could expect to generate $200,000 or more a year in gross sales. “The customers have changed,” says Lester, who runs Tree and Leaf with his wife, Georgia O’Neal. “A lot of people that walk through markets are not shopping. They’re there to meet. They’re there to socialize.” They’re there to eat and drink, not shop for ingredients. These new farmers market visitors tend to be young.
They arrive for a bite or some booze, maybe a pizza at or a bottle of gin. They’re “shopping with the eyes,” says Lester, “and they don’t care about the season.” The change in market demographics, Lester says, has affected Tree and Leaf’s sales, which have dropped by as much as $50,000 annually at the Dupont market compared with his peak years in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Other farmers share similar tales