As New York City welcomes food professionals from around the world for the Summer Fancy Food Show, the World Farmers Markets Coalition is also taking the opportunity to strengthen something equally valuable: the relationships within our global community.
During their visit to New York, the Coalition’s President Richard McCarthy and Director General Carmelo Troccoli gathered with several of our North American members for a meaningful moment of dialogue, exchange, and collaboration. Bringing together organizations that work every day to strengthen local food systems, the meeting provided an opportunity to reconnect, share experiences, and reflect on the challenges and opportunities facing farmers markets today.
The gathering centered around the conversation “From Tents to Territorial Food Systems,” an invitation to rethink the role of farmers markets in today’s rapidly changing world. As communities everywhere face interconnected environmental, economic, and social challenges, participants explored how farmers markets can be recognized not simply as places of commerce, but as essential infrastructure for resilient territorial food systems.
The discussion examined how farmers markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) initiatives, public procurement, and other direct-to-consumer models can work together as part of a coherent strategy to reconnect producers and consumers, strengthen local economies, and build healthier communities. Rather than being viewed as isolated or niche initiatives, these approaches represent complementary tools for creating food systems that balance the needs of urban and rural communities alike.
For the World Farmers Markets Coalition, opportunities like this are fundamental to our mission. Beyond conferences and formal meetings, bringing members together encourages peer learning, fosters new partnerships, and reinforces the shared vision that unites our growing international network.
As our Coalition continues to expand across continents, moments of exchange such as this remind us that building stronger farmers markets also means building stronger relationships between the people and organizations working every day to support local producers, sustainable food systems, and thriving communities.
We thank all the members who joined us in New York and look forward to continuing these conversations across our global network.
