Chris Curtis spend 18 months in the early 90’s getting the first Seattle Farmer’s Market, in the U. District, organized and going.  Her work, and the work of many who came to be involved, set the stage for the large number of functioning farmers markets throughout the region and has helped revitalize small, sustainable farming throughout the state.  Chris’ organization, the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance, now works with seven neighborhood farmers markets throughout the city and 110 farmers who provide produce and products for those seven markets. 

After an afternoon of talking with Chris and going with her to the Lake City Farmers Market, however, it became clear to me that her primary role has been community organizer.  That’s what it took to pull together the people and support to bring that first, and likely the subsequent markets to where they are now – a beloved part of our communities, a nice way to do well by our farmers as we get delicious food and a way to retain and rebuild both local and/or sustainable farming.   

It was enjoyable following Chris around and watching her as she pointed out the activity, the special projects for the youngsters, the new WIC booth and the program that allows low income families to buy fresh fruit and vegetables at the market with their food stamps. 

Chris is well-liked and the people here at the Lake City Market are very appreciative of what she has done.   She stopped to talk with person after person as she worked her way around the market.  She introduced me to a few and shared information about this particular market and the changes it has undergone in this community.  She pointed out the small location where the market had been and compared it to the thriving place the market was now located.

Since we met a few weeks ago, I’ve learned that Chris and the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance has been profiled in the September edition of Sunset Magazine.  As we went to press, that was not yet in the online edition but it should be shortly. 

We will also be interviewing a couple of the farmers who participate in the farmers markets to get a better understanding of what this direct experience of marketing to their customers means for them and their farming practices.

Interview with Chris Curtis, Director of the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance (NFMA)

Q: What prompted you to begin this project?

CC: I was familiar with farmers markets from visits to the Bay Area.  In 1991, I was personally in a place of transition, having just sold a business in the University District.  My husband and I were looking to scale back our living and I wanted to do a community project. 

Getting a farmers market established in the University District seemed like a good thing to do.  I was a member of the Chamber of Commerce; I was well connected in the community.  That gave me a good base.

Q: What was it like getting it going and how has it grown?

CC: I worked as a volunteer, as did everyone involved.  There were a group of farmers who were hugely helpful and really smart.  It took a year and a half to get it off the ground.  But the timing was good.  It opened in June of 1993 with 17 farmers.

We now have seven farmers markets in our group.  (There are two other sets of farmers markets.  The othe Seattle alliance is the Fremont Sunday Market organization.  These markets are Ballard, Wallingford, Queen Anne and Mad-Cap (Madrona).  Another, not limited to Seattle, is sponsored by the Cascade Harvest Coalition.)

We now have 110 farmers participating and another 33 businesses that provide pasta, jam, cheese or food. 

I am very proud of how this has grown.  It has made it possible for a lot of these farmers to remain in business and preserve working farms in our area.  They are able to sell directly to their customers, which means they are able to make a living on what they do in the markets.  Our farmers represent 5000 acres of farmland.

Q: How did you go about setting up the additional farmers markets?

CC: The U. District was the only market for five years, outside of the Pike Place Market.  Then some people from Columbia City began asking for assistance in setting up their own market.  They liked the model; I consulted with them; and they opened in 1998.  West Seattle opened in 1999.

After a while, we realized that we needed financial support to expand to meet the increasing demand.  The time was right; everything was in place to get larger.  And, I could see that the effort was getting too large to continue to depend on volunteer labor. 

I talked with the Columbia City folks about pooling resources and going to the city of Seattle and/or King County to see about getting financial help.  Seattle’s Office of Economic Development undertook to help and have been doing so ever since.  We were able to move the expanding office out of my basement and they added four markets since the Alliance was formed – in Lake City, Phinney, Broadway and Magnolia.

Q: Where are the challenges now?

CC: The challenge over the last three years has been location.  The markets need a large staging area.  In both Columbia City and Capital Hill, developers have purchased the land and we’ve had to scramble to find another suitable location.  We are likely to have to figure out what to do about the University District market once the school is purchased. 

Here, in Lake City, we have been able to work with the city to close a street and use the park to stage once a week.  That has worked out fine and allowed us to expand. 

Q: How does the Farmers Market program support local farmers?

CC: Farmers markets give farmers the best opportunity to maximize profits.  When I asked one of my first farmers why he liked this program, despite having to get up early to come and sell after working all week to produce the vegetables, he held up two heads of lettuce.  “If I take this lettuce to the wholesaler, I might get .19 but if I birng this one here” he said, holding up the second head of lettuce, “I get $1.50.  It’s that simple.”

Farmers travel an average of 57 miles to get here.  But they are able to respond to market demand quickly, far more than if they have to rely on the wholesaler to tell them what the customers want.  Sometimes, they are even able to plant something new for harvest in the same season.

It’s that direct contact that has prompted many farmers to go organic and do what it takes to become certified as being organic.  It also prompts farmers to diversify their crops more because their customers want that. 

It’s been fascinating to watch.

And it was fascinating to see the market from Chris’ perspective.  She has done a great job of helping both Seattle’s consumers and local farmers in one fell swoop.