The Municipal Farmer's Market as an Urban Service

The following paper attempts to describe and to evaluate the urban farmer's market as a potentially beneficial urban service. The farmer's market as a means to sustain farming activity in the region contiguous to the city is assessed. Its benefits for low-income urban consumers in the form of access to lower food prices is also reviewed. After a general survey of the status of these markets in the U.S., the case of the Seattle, Washington Public Market District is described in detail. An analysis of some recent data for this case shows that the municipal market may indeed prove a useful though limited expedient in support of the objectives noted above.