New York Times Op-ed: How New York's Greenmarket Went Stale

This op-ed by Nina Planck was published in the New York Times on April 24, 2004.

In 1979, when I was 8, my parents sent me to sell vegetables at roadside stands near our 60-acre farm in Loudoun County, Va… The next summer the first farmers market in the area opened, in the parking lot of the county courthouse… Since then my parents have earned a living from ''producer only'' farmers markets, where all the food is local and you are allowed to sell only what you have grown.

Working in Britain in the 1990's, I was homesick for local foods and started London's first producer-only farmers markets... Once the markets were up and running, I felt homesick once again -- this time for American local foods. So I returned to Washington, where I started a nonprofit farmers market, the first on public parkland in the capital.

Farmers markets -- and all they represent -- are dear to my heart. It was exciting, then, when the fabled Greenmarket… hired me last July as director… Unfortunately, not six months into the job, I was fired. And although this story is about food, it's not about sour grapes. It's about the growing demand for local apples, butter, beef and other fine foods -- a demand that is not being met by Greenmarket.

For many years, Greenmarket… set the standard for American farmers markets… But in the last 10 years, Greenmarket had lost its way… Greenmarket was failing in its mission ''to support local farms and preserve farmland'' in other ways…

When I arrived at Greenmarket, I hoped to address these problems. With the help of the young, hard-working staff, we began to clean up the markets, make the assignments fair and enforce the producer-only rule… Sadly, old habits die hard. These and other reforms were rejected... In December I was fired. I never understood why. My boss even said the Council on the Environment shared my vision for a vibrant Greenmarket. Perhaps I was guilty of too much enthusiasm….

But I also still believe that if Greenmarket is to survive, it must change… A New York institution, once great, is failing them. Perhaps it is time Greenmarket itself had some competition.