Troy, New York, like many northern cities, is trying to renew itself after a period of decline. Coffee shops, brew pubs, and art galleries have located on the ground floors of old brick warehouses and factories. Urban pioneers are renovating and moving into lofts and houses in areas that were run down not so long ago.

On a Saturday morning in summer, the revitalization of Troy is most evident down along the Hudson River, where the Troy Waterfront Farmers’ Market is bustling with energy. “The farmers’ market has definitely put Troy back on the map,” said Amy Halloran, special events manager for the market. “Troy is a struggling industrial city in a post-industrial world. The market is helping to change the reputation of this city.”

Started just four years ago, the Troy market illustrates how farmers’ markets can benefit both local farms and the communities they serve. It shows how a good market can serve as an incubator for new businesses, make established farms more financially secure, and bring people and dollars into a neglected downtown area. Troy’s experience also carries some lessons for other communities about what needs to happen to make a fledgeling market successful.

New market needed
The Capital District of New York, which includes Albany, Schenectady, Troy and several smaller cities, has a population of more than 1 million people. It had several farmers’ markets, but some allowed reselling, and the best markets were full with no room for new growers. A professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute got the idea that Troy needed a producer-only market. He got together with Tracy Frisch at the Regional Farm and Food Project and they formed a task force to develop a new market. A group of students from the college identified 25 potential sites and presented them to the task force, which eventually chose a parking lot at the Troy Marina.

The market opened in mid-May of 2000 with 20 vendors. Attendance at the market ranged from 100 to 350 shoppers per day that first year.

“It was a cold year, and people came and didn’t see tomatoes, didn’t see anything but green stuff, and were disappointed,” said Tracy Frisch. “We had a lot of disappointment at the beginning. At least two of the vendors dropped out; one had far more stuff than the market could handle.”

In the second year, 35 vendors signed up, and the number of customers gradually grew to an average of 500-700 per week. Amy Halloran, a Troy resident who is not a farmer, was hired as the market manager.
“In the third year, the market exploded,” Amy recalled. “We had 40 vendors and we went up to a high of 2,500 customers a week from mid-June to mid-August.”

This year, the number of vendors went to 52 and attendance stayed steady at about 2,000 to 2,500 each Saturday. A survey of customers in August showed that, based on the median spending customers reported, the market is doing about $30,000 in business each Saturday, for a total of $750,000 over its 25-week summer season. Some produce farmers say they can make $2,000 a day there.

Last year, the Troy market organization started a winter market in a glass-enclosed building called the Atrium in the heart of downtown. The winter market is open the other six months of the year, giving growers a year-round venue for selling their products. “It’s not as good as the outdoor market, but nobody stopped coming last year. It did well enough that people are growing produce in greenhouses for this winter,” Amy said.

Keys to success
The most obvious reason for the market’s success is that growers hung in during the lean first two years. Interestingly, that was possible because many of the vendors were part-time farmers who didn’t depend on the income.

“Definitely there were some people who couldn’t be there when it wasn’t financially viable,” Amy said. “We were lucky enough to have a lot of people who had second incomes.”

Several of those part-time growers have become full-time growers to accommodate the growth of the market. And some larger scale full-time growers have since joined the market. Seth Jacobs of Slack Hollow Farm said he was having trouble finding enough markets for all the produce he was growing. Now he attends the Troy market and his wife, Martha Johnson, attends the Saratoga Springs market. “Doing the two markets is both really hard and really rewarding financially,” Seth said.

Seth believes that another key to the Troy market’s success is that it doesn’t limit the geographic area growers must come from. Some vendors drive two hours or more to get to Troy. “It’s hard on them, but it’s great for the market” because it increases the variety of products offered, he said.

He also thinks that the level of community involvement in Troy has led to a better run market. Volunteers do things like set up the market organization’s tent, help non-profit organizations set up display tables, and assist with cooking demonstrations. Two or three volunteers also do all the market’s bookkeeping, and community members serve on the market board of directors.

“In Troy, there’s as much community energy as farmer energy,” Seth said. “There’s a familiar set of problems when farmers run their own marketplace – it’s hard to be objective when it’s the place where you’re making your living.”

A selection committee of the market board determines which vendors will be chosen to sell there, based on the needs of the market, Amy said. The committee tries to keep a reasonable amount of competition among vendors of similar products, so that everyone makes money. It also seeks out products that are under-represented at the market, such as locally made cheese.

Volunteers and events
The Troy market keeps a full schedule of activities and special events as part of its appeal to shoppers.
“The events have been a really important part of making the market a place to go and just hang out,” Tracy said. “Some of it has absolutely nothing to do with farming but it gets the market in the newspaper and makes it a festive place. Once people come and see people they know, they want to come back.”
Every Saturday brings three or four different activities. There’s always music at the market, children’s activities and a tent for community groups to explain their services and programs. Often there are cooking demonstrations. Here’s a typical description of the day’s events, this one from September 20: “Come celebrate the harvest at the market. Bagpipers start the day at 9 a.m. Chez Sophie Bistro uses market foods to tantalize your tastebuds at 11. Rug Hooking demonstration all day long. The fabulous Ivy Vine Plays bring their puppets to Troy at noon, and the Masque Fest happens next door to the market. Susan Odell Taylor School for Children features a kids’ activity 10-1. Habitat for Humanity is under the market tent. Don Gaylord plays Music @ the Market.”

The constantly changing menu of activities “has allowed for the market to become a destination other than shopping,” Amy said. And that, in turn, has created loyal shoppers.

Looking ahead
For the past two years, Troy Waterfront Farmers’ Market has been named the best farmers’ market in the Capital District by a regional newspaper. As the market’s fame grows, it is pulling customers from long distances. Farmers are increasing production to meet the market demand. Someday, the market’s organizers would like to have a pavilion for the summer market. They would like to open more markets, and start a consortium of farmers’ markets to work together on promotions.

But that’s down the road. Right now, both farmers and organizers are still trying to catch their breath and create a strong infrastructure. It’s been a good start, and the future is looking bright.

For more information on the Troy farmers’ market, visit the web site www.troymarket.org.