In August 2015, VAAFM gathered pricing information on over fifty local products found at thirteen farmers’ markets across the state and compared those prices to the price of similar products sold at five different retail establishments in Central Vermont, including grocery stores and gas stations. The products reviewed in this study included a wide cross-section of commonly purchased foods, including organic and non-organic produce, meats and proteins, and local products.
The results of the pilot study determine that commonly purchased foods can be affordably priced at farmers’ markets. A few key findings from “A Comparison Study of Product Pricing at Vermont Farmers’ Markets and Retail Establishments” include:
- 92% of certified organic produce available at farmers’ markets is competitively priced (within a 10% price range) with the same items found at retail stores.
- Local meats and proteins available at farmers’ markets are also competitively priced with retail establishments more than 57% of the time.
- When comparing local products, farmers’ market prices are competitive a majority of the time, and, in some cases, local products available at farmers’ markets are actually less expensive than the same local products available at retail establishments.
- Local, certified-organic products available at farmers’ markets are almost always (89% of the time) competitively priced with the same products available at retail establishments.
