1. Feeding Philadelphia: The Market for Fresh
Food and the Places It Won’t Go
Research in Progress
By To Nhu Thanh Huynh
Mentor: Andrew Deener, Ph. D

2. To Nhu’s Summer Bucket List
• Learn how to swim
• Cook something edible
• Gain an in-depth understanding and
hands-on experiences on different types
of qualitative research

3. To Nhu’s Summer Bucket List

5. To Nhu’s Summer Bucket List
• Learn how to swim
• Cook something edible
• Gain an in-depth understanding and
hands-on experiences on different types
of qualitative research

6. Research Agenda
1. Historical transformation of fresh produce market
2. Morality of food production/distribution
3. Wholesaling, retailing, and the USDA politics of fresh
aesthetics
4. Reconnecting farm to city through alternative markets
5. Organizational responses to overcoming limited fresh food
access

7. Specific Questions
1. Historical transformation of fresh produce market
• What types of commercial markets were historically created for
produce and how did they arise?
• What happened to grocery stores in Philadelphia over time?
2. Morality of Food Production/Distribution
How were the concepts of “farmer’s market,” “healthy food” and
“fresh food” represented in popular culture?

8. Research Significance

9. Research Significance (Cont.)

10. Research Significance (Cont.)
• Food Desert, not Dessert
• “Urban areas with 10 or fewer stores and
no stores with more than 20 employees”
(Hendrickson et. al, 2006, p. 372)

11. Source: Philadelphia Department of Public Health, the Food Trust

12. Research Approach
Historical Ethnography
Analysis based on principles
of grounded theories
Ethnography
History

13. Specific Questions
1. Historical transformation of fresh produce market
• What types of commercial markets were historically created for
produce and how did they arise?
• What happened to grocery stores in Philadelphia over time?
2. Morality of Food Production/Distribution
How were the concepts of “farmer’s market,” “healthy food” and
“fresh food” represented in popular culture?

14. Methods
1. Search newspaper archives (mostly
20th century) for concepts such as
‘farmer’s market’, ‘fresh food’,
‘supermarket’, and ‘grocery stores’
The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, LA Times, Philadelphia Tribunes,
Evening Bulletins etc.
2. Work with other secondary and primary
sources in library archives and online
databases

16. Preliminary Results
Source: ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851
- 2007)
Key word: Farmer Market
Total hits: 5506
Year
1859-1864 1965-1889 1900-1949 1950-1969 1970-1989 1990-2007
Number
of articles
3 28 412 1324 1693 2048

17. Preliminary Results: Newspaper
Representations
• Farmer’s market has been long seen as a
tool for community development

19. Preliminary Results: Newspaper
Representations (cont.)
• The stories of grocery stores and farmer’s
markets were a part of a narrative about
industrialization and (de-)urbanization in
America

21. Preliminary Results: Newspaper
Representations (cont.)
• The notions of “fresh” and “healthy” food
were culturally constructed
What’s so chic about a country pumpkin?

22. Preliminary Results: Newspaper
Representations (cont.)

23. Preliminary Results: Newspaper
Representations (cont.)

25. Acknowledgements
• Andrew Deener, Ph.D
• Joanne
• Elizabeth
• LDI staff: Hoag, Megan, Renee