S9 Ep65: Local Food, Big Impact— The Farmers Market Advantage with Andy Naja-Riese and Tanner Keys
"Every community has different values, and every community should have different choices. And that's why local food is so important so that local communities and local farmers can decide what's most important to them and how they want to connect the people who grow our food with the people who are seeking nourishment." —Andy Naja-Riese
"The health of our Farmers Market is really dependent upon the health of our farmers." —Tanner Keys
Wonder why local food sometimes costs more, or if it’s really worth the effort to shop there? The real story behind farmers' markets is more complicated—and more important—than you might think.
Andy Naja-Riese, CEO of the Agricultural Institute of Marin, and Tanner Keys, Cooperative Agreement Manager for the Islands of Remote Areas Regional Food Business Center, have spent years on the front lines of food access. Their work in California and Hawaii gives them a unique view on what it takes to make local food affordable, how certification and regulations shape what you see at the market, and why these markets matter for everyone.
Listen in for honest talk about food prices, local farming, organic rules, food as medicine, and how farmers' markets are working to make healthy food available to all. You’ll get practical insights, real solutions, and a fresh look at what’s possible in your own community.
Connect with Andy:
Andy Naja-Riese brings 17 years of experience in community food systems, public health, and food equity programs & policy. As Chief Executive Officer, he leads AIM's major programs, partnerships, strategic planning, advocacy, and fundraising, including a capital campaign for AIM’s Center for Food and Agriculture in collaboration with AIM’s Board of Directors. Andy joined AIM in 2018 after spending 10 years working for the Federal government, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service.
Andy is currently the Co-Chair of the Marin County Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) Collaborative, serves on the Steering Committees of the Marin Carbon Project and Marin Community Health Improvement Plan, sits on the National Farm to School Network's Advisory Board, and represents AIM on the California Food and Farming Network & Food and Farm Resilience Coalition. He received the 2022 CVNL Heart of Marin Award for Excellence in Leadership and the 2023 Farmers Market Champion of the Year award from CAFF. He earned his master’s degree from the T.H. Chan Harvard School of Public Health and his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
He lives with his husband and dog in Sonoma, where he enjoys backyard gardening, cooking farmers market hauls, eating bagels, and enjoying Northern California’s natural beauty
Connect with Tanner:
Tanner Keys grew up in an agricultural community & lifestyle that has instilled a passion for food & land. He has served in various roles with the Hawaiʻi Good Food Alliance (HGFA) beginning in 2022, helping the organization in its beginning years and later leading a project of HGFA, the Hawaiʻi Farmers Market Association. Before that, he served as the Team Leader to the FoodCorps Inc., an AmeriCorps program, from 2019 to 2021. Tanner has a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Oregon, and it was his service in the Peace Corps (Timor-Leste ʻ16-ʻ18) that led him back to the path of supporting agriculture & food security.
Connect with Hawai’i Good Food Alliance
Episode Highlights:
01:16 Geography and Food Access: How Location Changes Everything
06:13 Comparing Coasts: East vs West Market Experiences
10:38 Organic vs Certified— What “Certified” Really Means
16:53 Hawaii and California’s Diversity
23:40 Making Markets Accessible
27:55 Permanent Market Dreams: Building for the Future
33:57 Are Farmers' Markets Expensive? The Real Price of Local Food
Resources:
Podcast
S5 Ep 27: AIM— Preserving the Farmer's Market for Everyone with Andy Naja-Riese Part 2
S7 Ep1: Boosting a Healthy, Accessible Local Farm-to-Table Revolution with Andy Naja-Riese Part 2
Tweets:
Wonder why local food sometimes costs more? Get the real story on prices, certification, and how markets are making healthy food easier to get as @justine.reichman sits with Andy Naja-Riese and Tanner Keys. #entrepreneurship #socialgood #inspiration #impactmatters #NextGenChef #EssentialIngredients #FarmersMarket #FoodAffordability #EatLocal #FoodSecurity #FoodAccess #Certified #LocalProduce #Organic
Inspirational Quotes:
04:57 "I think what makes it really special in California is that we have a year-round growing season, and people can shop the seasons and get a variety of different produce in the winter months versus the summer months." —Andy Naja-Riese
06:03 "When you show up to the Farmers Market, you know that you're buying from the farmer that grew the product, to make sure that's not coming from a wholesaler." —Andy Naja-Riese
06:18 “I came from the East Coast, and the produce that we got there was very different. The accessibility to those different produce was very different. And the focus on local was not quite as prevalent as it is here, in my experience, because it didn't have the same access." —Justine Reichman
09:35 "I think a unique thing to Hawaii is the impact of the tourist industry on Farmers Markets— the culture around Farmers Market for the community versus tourism— because there's a really strong distinction." —Tanner Keys
15:19 "The challenge is to find affordable, local food.” —Tanner Keys
15:29 “Food is such a big part of the Hawaiian culture. It's very ingrained. So the way that people relate to food is like the way that they relate to their farmers." —Tanner Keys
22:04 "Every community has different values, and every community should have different choices. And that's why local food is so important so that local communities and local farmers can decide what's most important to them and how they want to connect the people who grow our food with the people who are seeking nourishment." —Andy Naja-Riese
23:42 "We want to make sure that small farmers and food makers can keep doing what they do best on the farm and in the kitchen, and Farmers' Markets are so core to their livelihood." —Andy Naja-Riese
28:02 “Farmers Markets makes it a formal structure. It can't be moved anymore. Nothing's going to displace you. And the farmers are going to have a place to go sell their food, and the consumers are going to have a place to go get their food as well as learn more about it.” —Justine Reichman
29:23 "The health of our Farmers Market is really dependent upon the health of our farmers." —Tanner Keys
30:49 "For a lot of farmers, even going to the Farmers Market, that's a day off from work. And so they've had a really strong impact of opening up time and capacity to engage different types of customers." —Tanner Keys
32:05 “Food and nutrition are fundamental to how we live, but healthfully and happily, and I think it matters how your food is grown. It matters that you're eating things that have certain nutritional aspects.” —Justine Reichman
Transcription:
Justine Reichman: Good morning, and welcome to Essential Ingredients. I'm your host, Justine. Today with me, I have some new friends, some old friends. And of course, our community of friends, and I'm really excited for this conversation. We brought Andy back from the Agricultural Institute of Marin. He is not a new face, but he's got lots to share. We're so excited to hear what's going on with you, all the new things that we can be excited about. And equally, learn a little bit more about what your goals are. And learn from Tanner, equally, who is new to me. But equally really excited to have you here to be part of this conversation, to learn how the different places in the world around the continent are looking at food accessibility, access and business.
I'm going to kick it off with Andy. And Andy, if you would just reintroduce yourself to those listeners and viewers that are tuning in, maybe it's their first time, or they just need a little reintroduction.
Andy Naja-Riese: Well, thanks for having me back, Justine. I'm Andy Naja-Riese, the CEO of the Agricultural Institute of Marin. We're a non profit organization based in the Bay Area, and we operate Farmers Markets food access, education and policy work to create a healthier, more equitable, earth friendly, local and regional food system.
Justine Reichman: Tanner is new to the community here, and I had a little chance to talk to Tanner before, and what an amazing background. I was very intrigued from the get go, so I'd love for you, Tanner, if you would, to just introduce yourself, a little bit about your initiative, and what you're doing in Hawaii?
Tanner Keys: Sure. I'm currently the Cooperative Agreement Manager for the Islands of Remote Areas Regional Food Business Center. We worked with Robbie in Alaska, the US Pacific islands, other territories US Virgin Islands, as well as Puerto Rico. We were focusing on three key areas: coordination, technical assistance. I managed the Hawaii Farmers Market Association for a couple years. And during that time, also as the President of a local Farmers Market fence security project in Hawaii Island. And I came to Hawaii initially to work on an AmeriCorps project. I was naturally based. It's kind of replaced over the years. It's just kind of my food security, kind of tribe started when I was in that Peace Corps, and that's when I found out about food corners, and just been one thing after the next until the day.
Justine Reichman: Awesome. Well, that's great. All the backgrounds lead us to the Farmers Market here. What's different, though, is our geography, different levels of affordability in different places, utility, etcetera. And I really would just love for us to better understand the landscape and what that means in all these different parts around the country. I'd love to just start off talking about the different geographic locations and how that impacts your access to create access to these better free foods, the organic farms and all of that, and what that looks like? What does the landscape look like?
Andy Naja-Riese: Sure. I'm happy to go first. I can speak to our experience in California, and what makes California unique in some ways is that we actually have what are called, it's a statewide program called Certified Farmers Markets. And in the 1970s, California created state regulations that would essentially allow farmers to sell their products without having to go through standard packing, labeling and distribution requirements. So this created a model known as Certified Farmers Markets where the farmers who sell their products at a Farmers Market have to get a certificate from the California Department of Food and Agriculture and their County Agricultural Commission. And on the certificate, they list all the crops that they're growing. Or if they have eggs or honey, they would identify that too. So in California, we actually define local as within California, and we have a large state with 58 counties and different growing regions. And there's about in the state, I think there's over 600 Certified Farmers Markets. And at AG Institute of Marin, we run nine Certified Farmers Markets. So we have seven that are year round markets across Marin, San Francisco and Alameda counties. And then we have two seasonal markets.
"When you show up to the Farmers Market, you know that you're buying from the farmer that grew the product, to make sure that's not coming from a wholesaler." —Andy Naja-Riese
And I think what makes it really special in California is that we have the year round growing season, and people can shop the seasons and get a variety of different produce in the winter months versus the summer months. And we also have very different growing regions as well, based upon different climate conditions and micro climates. So having apples from the North Bay where I live, those types of apples are very different from apples from El Dorado County and Apple Hill. There's different climate conditions, different soil. Likewise, with a product like avocados. We have avocados in Southern California, but we also have avocados as far north as the Hayward hills, and the varieties are very different as well. So we really focus a lot on year round access. And then also, California has a lot of regulations. That's one of the things California is known for is a very large regulatory environment, which can be a challenge for small farmers. But it also helps, we believe, to create a level playing field. So that way, when you show up to the Farmers Market, you know that you're buying from the farmer that grew the product, to make sure that's not coming from a wholesaler. So some of the things about California.
Justine Reichman: Awesome. I appreciate you sharing that. And it's interesting because I came from the East Coast, and the produce that we got there was very different. Union Square market was very different. The accessibility to those different products was very different. And the focus on locality was not quite as prevalent as it is here, in my experience, because it just didn't have the same access counter, if you would. Tell us a little bit about Hawaii, the climate there, or the access there, and maybe some of the similarities that you can find from California or Hawaii, or the differences.
Tanner Keys: Yeah. I was just thinking about the elements. I think both Hawaii can kind of share with California and Alaska, is that we obviously have a year round climate. So year round growing. But the same as Alaska is that we do really face the challenges of logistics. Inter Island shipping is difficult. There used to be a barge. There's no longer a barge. But something that has been a big conversation, especially with our larger food hubs and food producers is, how do we improve? Basically, inter Island logistics, inter Island commerce, especially around agriculture, because each of these islands is incredibly unique to their Farmers Markets needs. Each of our counties, or each island has its own. If you're trying to get a certain fact that they have, each county has a different approach to it. So there's a lot of sovereignty for each of the counties and how they manage their Farmers Market's. Thinking about access, and even now, there's a lot of, I guess you could call gray market, unregulated Farmers Market, just gatherings of people selling food. And that's been completely fine.
In Oahu, there's a lot more people. The city and county saw a need to create something a little bit more formal. And so back in the 70s, they had created the people's open market, which was a city and county run kind of Farmers Market. And that was really successful for decades. It was where people, whether it's vegetables, fruits, but you could also get live shellfish, live fish. It was very much, and this was facilitated in the city and county parks. That was until recently died down. We really had to analyze what are the big changes in the past 5 to 10 years, why these people's open markets have declined? And I think it's part of a larger scope of the changing environment in Hawaii. All of these Farmers Markets are going to be smaller, and we've been working with a lot of them to make it more accessible for food because we have some of the highest food prices. At the end of the day, that food is going to be cheaper at a grocery store. Local food tends to be more expensive. And so we've been working with a lot of Farmers Markets to open up that access just because at the end of the day, the demand is so much higher than the supply. We faced a challenge for farmers that have access to land to be able to produce as much, to be able to produce at scale.
We work at implementing SNAP, implementing WIC, our Double Bucks program. And so local food, you're able to get half off. And so we're just trying to find ways of opening it up for how we subsidize our farmers, basically. Those have been efforts of the past couple of years. But I think a unique thing to Hawaii is, and maybe I think Alaska experiences this too, is the impact of the tourist industry on Farmers Market's. And what is the culture around Farmers Market for the community versus tourism? Because there's a really strong distinction. And so Oahu obviously gets the most tourists, and so that you can definitely see over the past years, especially, what markets have been established and supported for the tourist industry versus how to find and funnel local food while making it accessible. Having a snap wicker and double box is huge and hugely impactful to communities. We have some of the highest snap usage because food's so expensive, and so that's been going on the past couple years. We were, I think, one of the first states to take on WIC at the Farmers Market. And so that's utilizing it so Farmers Market's can actually use WIC cards at the market.
Justine Reichman: I want to go back to something, and I really appreciate all of what you shared about the geography, the location, the differences, and even the access using WIC and SNAP. But before we move on, I want to go back to something that Andy had mentioned about being certified and the organic role, because I don't want to glaze over it. And I think it's interesting, and I think it's important. And I know Andy, you had talked a little bit about what we have here in California that there's a lot of regulations around that, so maybe you could just touch on that, and then we can hear from Robbie and Tanner on what that looks like for them, and what role it plays in the Farmers Market's.
Andy Naja-Riese: So California, we have the Certified Farmers Market program, and Farmers Market's need to become certified by the County Environmental Health and County Agricultural Department, as well as by the state. And then again, the farmers that want to sell at the market would have to receive a certified producer certificate listing all of the products that they're selling by location. And so there's a lot of paperwork that goes into this process, and the certification piece is different from the organic certification. So certified Farmers Market means that the producer, you have two or more farmers gathering at the same location to sell their produce to the public, being distinct from the organic certification. So in California, the last estimate, I think, is 5 to 7% of farmers go through a third party certification to become organic. And so meeting certain requirements that's set by the National Organic Program. We do find that among smaller farmers, and including farmers that sell at Farmers Market's, we do see a higher likelihood of them being certified organic as well. And so as an example, at Ames markets, we find that about 50% of the farmers are either certified organic or they're in the process of going through a three year transition period. So it takes three years to meet the organic requirements to actually have the organic label. And so that's something that I think has been largely in response to the consumer demand for organic within our community.
There are other producers that may use organic practices. But if they don't go through the certification, they actually can't say that they are organic. Likewise, these requirements also apply to value added producers or food makers. They need to have certified that they're doing organic production in a certified organic kitchen. So with all that said, there's a lot of paperwork, there's a lot of requirements, but it does help producers from a marketing standpoint where they can say that they're certified organic, and it does respond to a demand from local chefs or local shoppers. In the Bay Area at least, we do see a large demand among consumers for certified organic produce, and we do see this across income levels as well. So across different shopping groups that there is a high demand for organic, California also has set a goal to double the amount of farmland that's certified organic as a key to climate mitigation strategy. So we're seeing more farmers getting certified organic, and there's different programs that help farmers to transition from conventional to certified. But again, you don't need to be certified organic to sell at a certified Farmers Market, but it is something that can help you increase your sales. Maybe offer a premium, and that additional sale can then be put back into your practices, farm worker housing, things like that.
Justine Reichman: And Tanner, I'm curious, where do you guys fall into all this?
"The challenge is to find affordable, local food.” —Tanner Keys
Tanner Keys: I'm trying to think of a lot of organic growers who are certified, but getting people to fly out here to do it, a lot of folks, the majority of Hawaii's farmers are in five acres or less. A significant portion. So a lot of them are small farmers, and adding to the scale. And most folks that are going to have any sort of certification, they're also in the grocery stores. They have multi channels. For example, they're accessing the market, and they've scaled to that point where it makes sense for them. But yeah, the conversation, people will say, no spray. I think the term local really is the incentive to buy just because it is difficult to buy local food. That is the challenge. The challenge is to also find affordable, local food. And so I think in addition to that, these Farmers Market are in communities, and food is such a big part of the, I say Hawaiian culture, not only just like native Hawaiian culture, but it's a big part of the culture of Hawaii. It's very ingrained. So the way that people relate to food is like the way that they relate to their farmers. And so if they're going to a Farmers Market, they've made that choice, that they're going to have a different relationship to food. And that is a decent population of people. And so I would say it's great. And usually they can say, we do this organically, or we do no spray. Non GMO is a really, really big thing because we have Monsanto out here with quite a few plots, and so people are familiar with GMOs. They're just like, we don't want GMO food. However, I liked the idea of certification. And we've talked about it with a few different folks at a state level of developing our own certifications, especially if it's primarily regenerative, or if it's primarily grown, if it's a product, if it's a value added product, like 60% of that product is made here in Hawaii. And so there's been definitely talks of, how can we create a certification program that is communicated well within Hawaii so that we have control over, that we can actually make it feasible?
Justine Reichman: And I'm curious about the produce in Hawaii. I know Andy expressed that while we have a lot of options to think about, California is really big. We've got a lot of different micro climates. So we have a lot of different fruits and vegetables that come up. What would you say are the top ones for Hawaii that are grown there that when people are shopping locally, you'd want them to know about, or that they do know about?
Tanner Keys: The normal type of banana. We have all sorts of different varieties of bananas here. We have apple bananas. We have native wine cooking bananas. We have all these different varieties that you just like. When you just eat a cavendish here, it's like, I can't eat a normal banana anymore. Opportunities like that, we have what are called white pineapples, which are just way sweeter. Very, very different from the pineapple that you get. Those are really seasonal and pretty well guarded by the people that have them. I would say, local things that you can get here that are unique to it, those are little treasures. But it is tough because, great, I see all this fruit. I'm going to assume it's from here. And you're like, we grow lots of stress, and so that's a really big thing to check in with. It's locally grown fruit. But bananas are actually a really huge crop here. You can see a lot of it grown, replacing a lot of what used to be sugar cane areas. People who tend to do white pineapples are also much more diversified. The thing is that a lot of folks here, most of them are going to be diversified farmers, like really diversified farmers. Very few folks are doing single to two different crops. Very few people do that.
Justine Reichman: How does that compare to California and Alaska?
Andy Naja-Riese: Well, I would say in California, everything's at a different scale. But in California, more than 80% of our farmers are considered small family farms, and so they're generally growing less, fewer than 180 acres. But Farmers Market farmers, we have farmers growing products on two acres, three acres, up to 10 acres. It all depends upon the crop. But we're definitely seeing similar to what Tanner is saying, more diversified farming operations. So when I mentioned that we have these certified producer certificates, the variety of products that farmers are growing has really continued to change over time, and we're seeing more integration of crop systems with livestock operations as well. And the other thing too that we're seeing is more, I would say, vegetable farmers also growing flowers, which is really helping for pollinators, and it also helps as part of your diversification. But it also helps our farmers in the winter months when it is a slower growing season to have more crops available for sale. It helps to create more jobs, too.
But the thing that's interesting and I would say with California is, or even here locally where we are in the North Bay, so in Marin and Sonoma, our top commodity after hay is milk. So organic milk and poultry, those are our top products. And actually, we produce half of the state's organic milk in Marin and Sonoma County, so it's quite a large production within our region. We're home to Strauss Family Creamery, which works with about a dozen small organic family farms. And there's a lot of challenges impacting the dairy industry right now. Especially the organic dairy, there's been an oversupply of organic milk, and that's impacted the pricing. So there's a lot of challenges, I think, with respect to the dairy industry right now. But I think the other piece too, what's been really important is within California, because we're such a diverse state as far as geographies and cultural backgrounds. So even within our Farmers Market's, at AG Institute in Marin, we have nine markets, and our markets in Marin County are very different from the markets in San Francisco or the East Bay. And our markets in our East Bay have a much larger concentration of farmers that are Southeast Asian, Hmong, Laotian. California, especially the central valley after Minnesota, has a very large Hmong population, and there are many multi generational Southeast Asian farmers that are growing traditional crops like bitter melon, bok choy, moringa that they do sell at the Farmers Market. And what might work be popular at one geographic community might not be as popular at a different geographic community. And I think, like for me, the thing that I feel like there's so much similarity between all of us is that each community should define what's relevant to them. So every community has different values, and every community should have different choices. And that's why I think local food is so important so that local communities and local farmers can decide what's most important to them. And how do they want to connect the people who grow our food with the people who are seeking nourishment.
Justine Reichman: Of course, Tanner, I do want to get back to you and hear what it's like for you in Hawaii. Are there any other resources that Tanner or you, Andy, have that you tap into?
Tanner Keys: We connect a lot with the Washington State Farmers Market Association. They had been in existence since the 70s, really talking to folks of what they've done. It does change just when you come up to government compliance and support, and that does change the ball game a little bit. But in determining different projects and how to do things, it really was conversations with other associations or states. We were doing the wicket Farmers Market's. We were in the first, but we worked in conversation for you with who else was doing.
Justine Reichman: It exciting to at least get the conversation going to what's next for the Farmers Market's there, and then equally learn about what you guys are doing, respectively, Robbie and Tanner, and to see where it aligns, where you guys are going differently, and what we can learn from each other to implement in different places around the country? Because I know that when we last spoke, you were in a different phase. So we probably talked about Rollin' Root, we talked about some of those things. But if you would just give us a high level, maybe just the impact you're hoping to generate from doing this, and what it's taking a little bit about that journey?
Andy Naja-Riese: So I think for us, we want to make sure that small farmers and food makers can keep doing what they do best on the farm and in the kitchen, and Farmers Markets are so core to their livelihood. We also know that not everyone can access Farmers Market's, and we want to make sure we can overcome those transportation and affordability barriers. So we did launch a mobile Farmers Market the Rollin' Root, and we currently serve 14 different communities across San Francisco and Marin County where people might be living in assisted living, or a low income senior housing sites, or places with limited access to food where we work with our local growers to help facilitate direct access to their produce at these different sites. That's been really important, along with Tanner and Robbie said, programs like SNAP and WIC. We have a market match in California. So we match, we double people's bucks through market match, and that's a jointly funded program through the state government and federal government. I would say that the two things that I think are really important for us is, number one, protecting these vital programs like SNAP, WIC and Market Match from cuts that are happening left and right. We know that the federal government has been looking for ways to reduce costs, but they're also looking for ways to make people healthy and connect farmers with low income communities. And programs like SNAP, WIC and Market Match are really essential. It's the way that we're doing that and helping people to stay healthy.
So in California, aim and our partners, though we have an alliance called the Alliance of California Farmers Market, and we're really trying to do as much advocacy as possible. We've helped to secure state funding to keep the market match program going. But I think, we, in California, and I think nationally as a Farmers Market and local food community, will have to really speak up for Farmers Market's and low income food assistance programs. The second thing that I'm really excited to share is that we've been running Farmers Market's, and our largest market has over 200 spaces for producers, and we've been doing this in a parking lot at the Civic Center for years without any permanent infrastructure for 42 years, and we're just weeks away from signing a 40 year lease agreement where we'll have access to a permanent site for our Farmers Market's that will provide overhead protection. So rain protection in the winter, and shading in the summer, along with permanent amenities to really demonstrate the dignity for our farmers, and food makers, and communities to access local food for future generations, and it will be a permanent Farmer's Market combined with a learning center.
So alongside the permanent market amenities that we'll have, we'll also have a teaching kitchen, classroom and demonstration garden, so we can teach community members, children, backyard gardeners about how to cook with local food, and how to grow food. And also train farmers in ways to remain competitive in local sales and marketing. So we're really excited about building our Center for Food and Agriculture. And one of the things in California is there was a climate bond that was passed by the voters proposition 4 in the 2024 ballot, and we were able to get funding in this ballot measure as part of sustainable agriculture for permanent infrastructure for Farmers Market's. So we're really amazed that we were able to obtain funding. It will be competitively awarded to benefit the entire Farmers Market community to pay for everything from overhead canopies to restrooms, to traffic management, to cooking facilities to help support our large scale local food system within the state. So I'm really excited about that.
Justine Reichman: Thank you for sharing that. And for me, I know that that's real inspiration, because I think that it takes things to the next level. It makes it a formal structure. It can't be moved anymore. Nothing's going to displace you. And the farmers are going to have a place to go sell their food, and the consumers are going to have a place to go get their food as well as learn more about it. I don't know about you guys, I find that inspiring. But I'm also curious in your parts of the country, where are you guys going with your Farmers Market's? What are you hoping to achieve? Maybe Tanner, you want to kick it off in Hawaii and let us know?
"The health of our Farmers Market is really dependent upon the health of our farmers." —Tanner Keys
Tanner Keys: Yeah. I think there's two really large things that are looming over the culture of farmers markets. I want to go back to the explosion, at least for us, the explosion of food hubs and the niche that they've served. Because we had a lot of farmers markets close because of the pandemic, and a good portion of them did not open back up. And for a lot of folks, the access to local food has been a big push by my organization, but we have a lot of food nonprofits in the state that are trying to figure out, how do we deliver and open up access to local food? And the food hubs, they've had huge fundraising efforts, and the capacity has just exponentially increased over the past couple of years. The health of our Farmers Market's really dependent upon the health of our farmers, and that's been a really big question for us. Because whether it's amendments, whether it's access to land, access to water, I'm sure California understands water rights issues. There's a lot of challenges for the farmer.
Justine Reichman: Tanner, can I just ask you as you go more into this? You've mentioned food hubs a lot and some of them, and I'm sure we're familiar with the term, but I want to make sure that when we're talking to our audience, we make sure that they're in the loop. And if you could distinguish between a food hub versus a Farmers Market so that everyone knows what we're talking about?
Tanner Keys: I think at least in our scope, we're seeing food hubs as small food aggregators. You think about a food processor, maybe you've seen them, especially on the continent, you'll probably see large processing factories, where they're making value added products. For us, let's say one of our food hubs buys 300 pounds of bananas from four different farmers, then they make banana chips. So they're able to take a lot of those overhead costs from farmers, whether it's marketing, distribution, compliance, and kind of loop it all into one thing, and they kind of serve specific areas. But especially on Oahu, they're able to serve the entire island, but it does take a lot of that burden off of the farmers, so they can focus on farming. And for a lot of farmers, even going to the Farmers Market, that's a day off of work. And so they've had a really strong impact of opening up time and capacity to engage customers, to engage different types of customers. Especially institutions, which are really big for Hawaii or like, okay, we're these food hubs, farmers market or one single farmer may not be able to engage a hospital or a school, but these food hubs are able to. And that creates kind of that a better price, usually for those farmers to sell to these food hubs because they have more consistent and forward contracting. The next thing I was talking about growing food is the medicine movement here in Hawaii, and really working with hospitals and insurance, and especially Medicaid to basically get prescriptions for food, especially local food. And so getting that Medicaid, getting those federal dollars to basically pay for local food, and it's been a challenge, especially with the news about Medicaid recently. But when we're talking about folks who need nutritious local food--
Justine Reichman: That speaks to me, and I get excited when I hear something like that. Because I believe that food and nutrition is fundamental to how we live, but healthfully and happily, and I think it matters how your food is grown. I think it matters that you're eating things that have certain nutritional aspects, so I love that you guys are doing that.
“Food and nutrition are fundamental to how we live, but healthfully and happily, and I think it matters how your food is grown. It matters that you're eating things that have certain nutritional aspects.” —Justine Reichman
Andy Naja-Riese: So in California, there's actually a statewide food as medicine coalition. And so they're working with a few different groups, like the series community project and full well to really help link federally qualified health centers with local food and medically tailored meals. So there's a lot of work that's happening. Like Tanner mentioned, there's a lot of uncertainty with Medicaid funding and what's going to happen, but there's definitely a movement that's taking place in the state. The other thing too that we do, so we work with one of our local partners, a fresh approach. They're in Contra Costa County, and they run a program called Veggie Rx. And it's pretty cool the way it works. So they work with a number of hospitals, and patients at the hospitals will go through a series of cooking and nutrition education classes. And then at the end, they actually receive a prescription for fruits and vegetables, which they can redeem at our Farmers Market's or Rollin' Root mobile market. So I think it's a really important way to help introduce people to local food and fresh produce, to try to shift our healthcare system away from the reliance on traditional pharmaceuticals, to help think about ways to change people's diet. But I think we can do even more with this, but I am concerned about what will happen with state funding and federal funding with Medicaid. Because for a lot of people, if we want them to get access to healthy food, someone has to pay for it. It would be the Medicaid program, but there's definitely more opportunity.
Justine Reichman: And as you're talking about this, I'm thinking about something, and I'm thinking that I've heard so many times that people say, going to the Farmers Market's so expensive, or it's more expensive. I completely agree with that. I know that I go and buy corn or tomato, and I think they're less than when I go to my local shop, my local grocery store. And I've heard often that when you're going to the Farmers Market, I'm going directly to the farm, and I'm paying him. And so therefore, he gets a greater share. That resonates with me, but I also am pathetic. I'm aware if somebody says, wow, well, it's just so much more expensive. Can you guys talk to that a little bit?
Andy Naja-Riese: Yeah. I can start. That's something that comes up quite a bit. Well, number one, it's really important to focus on, people are looking for high quality produce from their local farmer. I think that's really essential. And oftentimes, if I hear someone say, like, why is that so expensive? The counter is like, well, why is that other thing so cheap? Because of cheap food, there's a cost, whether it's your health, planetary issues, exploitation of low wage workers, people of color. So I feel like there's a lot of those challenges that are associated with cheap food, but I think that we've done some looking at comparing grocery store prices to Farmers Market prices. And actually, we just had a group of students. They did their senior project from Marin Academy, and they compared five organic products at the Farmers Market compared to local grocery stores. They actually found that the products at the farmers market were cheaper than what was for sale at the grocery store.
Justine Reichman: This is a great start for our conversation, and I hope that those listening today, we've been able to answer some of their questions and give them some greater insights. So I just want to thank you guys all for tuning in. So for those that want to learn more, can we include your websites so that people can float around, dig in a little deeper to get more information? Andy, how about you?
Andy Naja-Riese: So we encourage you to visit our website, agriculturalinstitute.org,
Justine Reichman: Perfect. And Tanner?
Tanner Keys: Our organization is hawaiigoodfoodalliance.org.
Justine Reichman: We'll make sure to put those in the show notes as well. And again, I just want to thank our guests and our listeners for tuning in, because this community is so amazing. They're so curious, and they want to make more informed changes, and it's folks like yourselves that come on that help us give them access to that information, so I'm just very grateful. So I want to thank everyone for tuning in. For those that are watching the podcast today or listening to the podcast, I should say, it's available on Spotify, or iTunes, or wherever you listen to podcasts at Essential Ingredients. It's available on YouTube, on the Essential Ingredients channel. And for updates and access to some little behind the scenes and additional information, you can follow us on Instagram at essential.ingredients, so look forward to seeing you here again next week. Thanks again.
