farmers’ market musings

Mary Kelley
What do you think is the most frequently asked question at our
Farmers’ Market information table during the market seasons?
Will the corn be here by the Fourth of July?”
No, not that one.
Will the tomatoes be here before the Gravenstein Apples this
year?
Nope.
“Where is the nearest ATM?”
Yes, that’s the one we hear most often.
In a society built more and more on plastic, the farmers and the
market still function on a cash basis. I often hear people say that
they spent s-o-o-o-o much at the Farmers’ Market. I have come to
realize that what they are really saying is “I spent a lot of cash
today.” They notice what they are spending when they pay with cash;
when people use credit cards, the expenditure doesn’t hit them in
the same way a thinning wallet might. There is a disconnect when
purchases are put on a credit or debit card. When we purchase food
with cash, we feel it immediately, but it has been proven we also
make more deliberate choices that are better for our health.
Oreos Vs. Beans
The recent Wellness Letter from UC Berkeley printed that “paying
for your groceries with cash rather than a credit or debit card may
be better for your health.” They site a series of studies in which
researchers from Cornell looked at how payment methods affected
healthy or unhealthy choices. They found that shoppers who used
credit cards made more unhealthy choices, for “vice” items such as
Oreos, than people who used cash for “virtue” items, such as beans.
People who shopped for groceries with cash thought about which
foods would provide them with the most nutrients and energy, such
as beans, and made choices based on health.
One reason is that people “often buy unhealthy food on impulse”,
and credit cards make it easier to make impulsive purchases. The
researchers explained that it is “psychologically less painful to
pay with credit cards, possibly because of the abstract and
emotional inert nature” of plastic. On the other hand, “parting
with a hundred dollar bill is a very vivid and concrete action that
can make you think twice about impulsive buying.”
We have some of the least expensive food in the world, partly
because, as Wendell Berry writes, consumers barely pay for the
farmers’ cost of production, and not at all for the farmers’
long-term maintenance of the health of the land. Food in America is
relatively inexpensive compared to other items in an individual’s
budget. Most people spend more on cable television, entertainment,
dining out, and other luxuries than they do on food. Yet, some
still complain about the price of food, especially when the
purchases are made with cash.
Maybe it is time to make access to cash more available at the
Farmers’ Market. The Davis Market set up an ATM with a small
transaction fee attached; it paid for itself in two markets.
Perhaps the additional funds could be dedicated to expanding our
matching funds program for food stamp recipients. If cash will
encourage people to purchase virtue foods, then an ATM would be a
worthwhile addition to our market.
Mary Kelley is the manager of the Healdsburg Farmers’ Market.
The market is dormant for the winter.