Aggrevated at Farmers Market customers complaining about prices

[Slinkytoys]

Oh heck, why not take it a step further......if people would get an education and good job before having kids, they could afford better food. Sheesh. It's a free country. If we want better food, we have access to it. If we want cheaper mass produced or GM food, it's available. There will always be Haves and Have Nots. There will always be those who care about what they feed their families. Some who do what they can when they can. It's our free country, where we have the ability to exercise our options.
Slinky

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
I just quoted this to remind folks what the OP was about.

IMO, customers are more likely to appreciate and buy fresh farm products, even if they cost a little more, if they know more about how the food is produced, and if they know that extra care has gone into producing it. But no, it doesn't help to chastise or lecture a customer. Friendly, helpful info is more productive. Some customers won't care that you went to all that trouble. But some will understand, and whether they choose to buy or not, they'll at least not be so fast to criticize vendors, and may be less inclined to bad-mouth the market to others. They may even defend the market.

If I go to the trouble of hauling my produce to the market, setting up the tent, tables, display, etc., (all of which I had to pay for myself, in addition to farmer's market dues for the season) I'm going to charge more than I do if somebody stops by the house and wants to buy some eggs or some produce. If I just have to grab some out of the fridge, or out of the basket, stick it in a bag and hand to to them, that just saved me a lot of work, time, and hassle. If I have a lot of extra, the customer will probably take home as much as I can convince them to take.

There are farmer's markets that have allowed people to sell goods that they have not grown themselves, or that were even even produced locally. Some of them charge as much or more than the ones that restrict sales to local and home-produced goods. This doesn't help matters, to have premium prices charged for the same stuff you'd get at the supermarket.

At our FM, we are encouraged to look up current average prices of produce, there's a chart on the USDA KY website, and use it as a guideline. NOT as a set price chart, but as a rough guide to give is an idea of what would be a realistic price range for our goods. It's suggested in the FM guidelines to set prices some where between wholesale and supermarket prices, for comparable goods. If you have organic heirloom tomatoes, you'd look at what they go for retail and wholesale. You wouldn't set your price for organic heirloom tomatoes by the price for conventionally farmed hybrid tomatoes. I've seen some prices at the FM, that I thought were excessive. Some others, I thought were a bargain.

There will always be some who don't care, as long as the price is low. Some can't afford to care. Others are willing to pay more for better quality. Some people sell what should be high quality goods, but they turn out not to be. This doesn't help either.

I agree that it's a good thing that we have choices. I feel blessed to currently have the option of not buying chicken at Walmart. There have been times in my life when I was grateful to have anything to eat at all, I wasn't complaining of the quality at that time, nor was I concerned about how it was produced. It's amazing how being hungry and broke reduces your fussiness. I'm not rich, far from it, but I'm reasonably comfortable, and thanks to growing part of our own food, and hunting, we always have plenty to eat, and some extra to share. That feels good, and I'm grateful for it.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Quote:
I read a study that free range chickens aren't happier after all. The stress associated with free ranging due to keeping a watchful eye out for predators is the same for a chicken sitting in a cage with few worries. They did this by measuring the chemical associated with stress in birds.

I know there are days when my ducks refuse to leave the barnyard and venture out onto the pond. They will huddle under the safety of the brush around the coop. These are the times I see there are predators in the area such as bald eagles, hawks, etc.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-468565/Battery-hens-happy-birds-roam-outside.html

I would have to disagree to that... I think a lot of stress is suppressed in factory birds do to the antibiotics and medications that are given. I would like to see the same test given right before slaughter...

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Quote:
Get together and make a plea to the local farmers market and demand they take food stamps. Our farmers market takes the card swipes it and gives you back tokens to pay at the market. Green for food stamps and red for debit/credit. Changes can be made, you just can't sit on your hands and expect them to be made.

We had people that kept demanding that we take food stamps.... well with a little research... our market decided that if we do want to make a change in local food production it has to be with low income housing too as it makes up the majority in a lot of areas around the nation. I think it's awesome when someone comes up with food stamps, three kids, and no father. If that mother of three can do it, so can many others on welfare. It's all about priorities.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Quote:
I read a study that free range chickens aren't happier after all. The stress associated with free ranging due to keeping a watchful eye out for predators is the same for a chicken sitting in a cage with few worries. They did this by measuring the chemical associated with stress in birds.

I know there are days when my ducks refuse to leave the barnyard and venture out onto the pond. They will huddle under the safety of the brush around the coop. These are the times I see there are predators in the area such as bald eagles, hawks, etc.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-468565/Battery-hens-happy-birds-roam-outside.html

Canard? Is that you? Welcome back.

Even if I accept the conclusions of this particular study (a quick google reveals alternate studies that come to different ones about battery hens), what it says that birds in battery cages live with the same amount of stress as birds in high predator areas, without the benefit of doing all the things birds like to do, like scratch in the dirt and chase bugs.

Still sounds like free range birds are happier, to me.

 

[honeydoll]

Well, this thread has been about alot of different topics. I have not read it all so if this has been said, I'm sorry. I think the FM being open to all income levels is a great idea. If they take food stamps it widens your customer base. Make it as excessable to as many people as possible. I cannot always afford the prices at one, and sure it's dissappointing to not be able to buy something for my family I would like. But that's life. When I can I do. Prices are higher and I understand why. I wouldn't get mad at someone with a higher price but on the same note , sometimes it does mean I can't buy an item there. When I became educated about the cost of owning my own chickens, realized what a "factory farmed" chicken was and the such it really changed my attitude. At the same time, I don't know enough about the factory farms to really have an educated decision there. I am studying that still. This is probably the state of mind you find alot of people. Either not fully understanding what goes into raising a chicken, why your cost is higher and things like that. Education is key, but someone will only learn what they choose too. Offer the info. and let them choose to learn it or not. As far as complaints, I bet that is frustrating, but realize they probably come from people that have no clue what really makes your chickens "different" in a better way.

 

[Olive Hill]

I didn't read the full 14 pages, but in addition to Jeff's initial advice back on page one (which is great stuff that I agree with whole heartedly) I would add that some of the discussion in the latter pages of this thread could be extremely helpful in determining some of the source of the complaint and deciding how to best deal with that. Take agnes_day's response here:

Quote:
This is such a telling response. It's the very epitome of the complacency that has bred the mega food industry that we currently have. It's just the way things are. People don't want to be confronted with the prospect that their choices may actually be the REASON things are the way they are, but it's something that needs to be addressed. How can you best do that with YOUR clients? What one person responds well to the next person will not and on and on down the line. Learn to understand and communicate with people of all types and you learn to market effectively.

 

[agnes_day]

or maybe, they really don't care.

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
Some don't. Sounds like maybe you're one of them. I'm not going to try to change your mind, but if you don't care how animals are raised, or how your food is produced, can you at least respect that there are others who do care, and that want to have other options?

 

[aprophet]

Quote:
It might be an east coast thing or a people ain,t got no money thing but most I run into do not care about anything but price. I am in " the hood" more then I am in "yuppy del acres" so this may make the difference. The downtown markets I enjoy ain,t nothing niche about us

just real homegrown