People who attend farmers markets more often report higher levels of community participation and a sense of community – according to a new University of Wisconsin–Madison study of more than 5,000 U.S. adults published in Information, Communication & Society.

Community participation includes activities such as volunteering and interpersonal interaction, while sense of community encompases a feeling of neighborhood belonging and the belief that a person can address challenges together with their neighbors.

“This study provides direct national-level evidence supporting what farmers market advocates have been saying for a long time – farmers markets are more than just places to shop for local food and support local farmers,” says Bret Shaw, professor of life sciences communication at UW–Madison and co-author of the study. “They are places that bring people together and contribute to stronger communities.”

The study, conducted in collaboration with the Farmers Market Coalition, draws on a national survey that was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to examine what people throughout the U.S. do at farmers markets, and how attendance can contribute to individual and societal community benefits. The USDA counts more than 8,600 farmers markets operating across the country.

When analyzing the survey data, the researchers developed a five-point scale for both community participation and sense of community, with five being the highest for each. People who said they “never” visited farmers markets had an average community participation score of 1.69 and an average sense of community score of 2.64. On the other hand, those who visited farmers markets “very frequently” had the highest average scores, at 2.88 for community participation and 3.65 for sense of community.

In addition to looking directly at the key civic engagement measures, the researchers also examined how the communication channels that people use (e.g., national news, social media, community organizations) influence their reported levels of community participation and sense of community. For people tuned into broader media like national news or the social media platform TikTok, going to the market is linked to higher levels of community participation. For people paying more attention to information from community-based organizations, going to the market more often is linked to a stronger sense of neighborhood belonging.

“What’s interesting is that farmers markets seem to play different roles depending on the communication channels people are already using,” says Cheryl Shea, lead author of the study and a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Communication Arts at UW–Madison. “In both cases, however, the face-to-face element seems to matter.”

The results provide evidence that farmers markets are important ‘third places’ that directly benefit communities, and that they work independently and jointly with other communication channels to amplify different measures of civic engagement.

“We hope our findings will be useful for local leaders and the public in general in knowing that supporting farmers markets is a wise investment for community building in addition to their role in local food economies,” says Shaw.