Research Report: U.S. Farmers Markets—Essential Business Survival in Disrupting Times

In this paper, we evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on farmers market (FM) sales across the United States during the 2020 operating season using survey responses from 420 market managers. Using a multinomial logit model, we evaluate how certain market characteristics are associated with increased probabilities of market organizations gaining or losing revenue in 2020. We find that SNAP sales changes, market location, and COVID-19 intensity impacted revenue outcomes. State COVID-19 policies for FM and the existence of FM assistance organizations had less of an impact.