Salts: Well, we do sell to so-called yuppies also, and value their patronage, though it’s true that they rarely buy much quantity. They like exotic produce but usually buy one of this and can you give me just a pinch of that. We find that so-called ethnic customers buy and use fresh veggies greatly in excess of their percentage of the total farmers’ market customers - and patronize farmers’ markets more than do Anglo-Americans. Perhaps 50-60% of our current farmers’ market customers are ethnic, and the proportion of ethnics in the population is growing rapidly. If present trends continue, the Census Bureau projects that non-Hispanic European Americans will be a minority by the year 2050, with the nation 25% Hispanic, 10-12% Asian-Pacific Islander and 16% black.

Salts: Yes. I will have a glossary in about 20 languages for elementary farmers’ market terms such as greetings, "yes," "no," numbers, etc. It doesn’t include all 2500 languages of the world, but some of the basic ones like Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Chinese and Vietnamese.

Salts: Our marketing is approximately 50-60% farmers’ markets, 20-25% ethnic and vegetarian restaurants, 15-20% CSA, 5-10% on-farm sales, booths at festivals, etc. Our product mix is perhaps 25-30% "standard" veggies (even Chinese like sweet corn); 25-35% "heirloom" old-fashioned varieties (tomatoes, sweet sorghum, wild blackberries, etc.), and 50% ethnic veggies, mostly Oriental but with generous and increasing dashes of Middle Eastern, Italian, East European, Asian Indian, Southeast Asian, Mexican, etc.

We try to offer both products and services that the Super Megamarkets and Fast Food International can’t. We offer very fresh, carefully harvested, great-tasting, old-fashioned or ethnic produce, often with "weird" appearance or short shelf lives, served up with a generous side-dish of advice, multicultural socializing, and just plain old personal friendship. 

Our heirloom veggies tend to draw a lot of vegetarians, gourmet hobby cooks, older people ("Why my grandma used to grow that in her garden! I haven’t seen that in years!"), and curious passers-by ("What IS that!?"). Actually, heirloom veggies could be considered just another sort of "ethnic" veggies - the veggies of our own fast-vanishing traditional American culture.

People are often loathe to buy "weird" veggies at first, so we give away a lot of free samples, plus recipes or suggestions for use. We are building a steadily growing clientele of "addicts." "Why you WERE right! That crazy fuzzy tomato / red okra / guinea bean / (or whatever!) tasted great! Can I get three pounds this week?" 

©  New World Publishing. Reprinted from "The New Farmers' Market," New World Publishing. All Rights Reserved, except with written permission from New World Publishing; 11543 Quartz Dr. #1, Auburn CA 95602. Source: www.nwpub.net

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