Uprooted, but thriving (Times Union)
This story by Deanna Fox appeared in the Albany Times Union on Thursday, February 4, 2021.
Above: Times Union print edition, Thursday, February 4, 2021, page D1 (Food section front), continued on pages D3 and D4.
In a Food section cover story, Deanna Fox reported on TWFM’s pandemic-era winter move from the cramped Troy Atrium to the former Price Chopper at 865 Second Ave. in Lansingburgh. The Times Union noted that Lansingburgh has a higher poverty rate and food-stamp usage than the city average, making TWFM one of the only prominent regional farmers markets to take a chance on a lower-income neighborhood. Board president Zack Metzger said middle-income regulars had not abandoned the market, with many shifting to online orders, but acknowledged it had lost some reach. Market manager Steve Ridler said most Saturdays drew about 1,200 customers, less than half a normal Saturday, with no more than 120 people inside at a time, and called it “function over festival.” Ridler said neighborhood residents were not coming in droves and that EBT/SNAP transactions were down from before the pandemic, and the story noted there had been no targeted advertising in Lansingburgh beyond signs on the building. Downtown Troy BID director Katie Hammond said the move had not severely hurt downtown businesses. Metzger said no decision had been made on whether the winter market would stay in Lansingburgh, but that the market did not want to harm either neighborhood.
“I think we shrunk a bit in terms of our reach.”
— Zack Metzger, TWFM board president, in the Times Union
Read the full story at the Times Union.
