From bustling municipal markets to neighbourhood farmers’ stalls, food markets connect residents with fresh, seasonal products seasoned with proximity and trust.
Particularly in Mediterranean cities, food markets are more than places to shop. They are an essential part of daily life, social interaction and cultural identity. But markets’ presence goes beyond Southern countries.
The transitioning role of markets
Reducing dependence on global markets and strengthening local food systems are critical to ensuring food security and stabilising prices. This is what the latest IPES-Food report, The New Geopolitics of Food, highlights.
For instance, farmers’ markets can stimulate local production and offer direct access to sustainable, locally sourced food. Wholesale markets, meanwhile, anchor urban food systems by organising supply chains, redistributing surplus food and increasingly acting as ‘food hubs’ that integrate logistics, sustainability and social inclusion.
But how can cities leverage these assets effectively? And what role do local governments play in enabling markets to fulfil their potential? The experiences of Florence, Barcelona and Dublin offer three distinct yet complementary perspectives.
Florence: connecting markets and communities
“We are working to understand the food situation in Florence to enhance best practices, connect them and create the conditions for collaboration between public and private sectors,” explains Arnaldo Melloni, official from the Municipality of Florence. “Our idea is to organise a physical place where private companies, associations, NGOs and citizens can meet together to improve the quality of the food policy in our city,” Melloni adds.
Our idea is to organise a physical place where private companies, associations, NGOs and citizens can meet together to improve the quality of the food policy in our city.
Farmers’ markets in Florence are designed to serve local neighbourhoods, with a catchment area of around 700 metres — roughly a 10-minute walk. However, challenges remain. Tourism-driven demand in the city centre limits the viability of such markets, while some areas experience oversupply and others lack access altogether. Affordability is another concern, particularly in marginalised neighbourhoods.
To address these issues, the city aims to transition from fragmented, bottom-up initiatives to a more coordinated and inclusive system. Moreover, to map the city’s food system, identify key stakeholders, market dynamics, and opportunities for improvement, the city is working closely with the University of Florence.
Melloni also emphasises the importance of accessibility. “The idea is to put the farm market close to the inhabitants because if you have to go by car or public transport, it’s not easy.”
Alongside farmers’ markets, Florence’s wholesale market, Mercafir, plays a key role in the city’s food strategy. The municipality envisions it as a central food hub “focused on good, fair and available food,” says Melloni.
Mercafir already embodies many principles of sustainability. It redistributes surplus food to charities, recycles 43% of its waste and hosts Food Bank Tuscany, which collects 5,000 tonnes of food annually to support around 120,000 people annually. At the same time, it promotes local supply chains and experiments with sustainable logistics, including electric vehicles for last-mile delivery.
Barcelona: markets as engines of sustainable consumption
Another Mediterranean city, Barcelona, offers a mature model of integrating markets into urban food policy.
Beyond their economic function, farmers’ markets are key instruments for promoting sustainability by enabling direct sales from producers to consumers, using renewable energy sources and adopting sustainable waste management practices. Also, organising educational initiatives such as cooking workshops and school visits to help foster healthier and more sustainable eating habits.
“There are local organic farmers who sell their products directly, indicating the origin and distance of their farms,” explains Elisenda Martínez Batalla, Coordinator for Restaurant Affairs at Barcelona’s Department of Commerce, Restaurants and Food. “These markets offer fresh, seasonal, and organic products such as fruit, vegetables, dairy, meat, oil, legumes, bread, and processed goods like jams, honey, etc.”
These markets offer fresh, seasonal, and organic products such as fruit, vegetables, dairy, meat, oil, legumes, bread, and processed goods like jams, honey, etc.
Currently, Barcelona is working to scale up its market system by expanding the network of farmers’ markets (11 markets are currently distributed among 5 districts, mainly central urban areas) and reducing administrative barriers for producers. “Farmers’ markets are under shared governance, that is, between public administration and social entities,” explains Martínez Batalla. As obstacles, she mentions a lack of stable legislation and self-organisation, and logistics limitations. To help, the municipality organised, under the food strategy, an event where butchers could meet each other.
As part of its recognition as World Capital of Sustainable Food, the city has implemented the Barcelona Feeds Proximity strategy to improve access to local, sustainable and affordable food while ensuring fair remuneration for producers.
At the heart of this strategy lies the Green Commerce initiative, which repositions municipal markets as hubs for sustainable consumption. Across the city’s 38 public markets, businesses are encouraged to specialise in local, seasonal and organic products, supported by a clear labelling system that helps consumers identify sustainable choices and an app that facilitates citizens’ shopping.
“The label specifies the price and the origin,” says Martínez Batalla. To date, there are 550 establishments participating.
On the other hand, 43 municipal markets are deeply embedded in neighbourhood life and distributed across the city, “offering fresh, seasonal products such as meat, fish, vegetables and bread, often coming directly from farms.” Mercabarna is the main wholesale market of the city.
Dublin: rediscovering markets in a changing context
In contrast to Mediterranean cities, Dublin’s food markets are less deeply embedded in everyday urban life.
“A lot of the problem with markets in Ireland is the weather. There are very few times during the year when it’s comfortable for people to be out at stalls outdoors,” explains Cliona Kelliher, officer at Dublin City Council’s Climate and Urban Resilience Department. “We do have a few food markets in Dublin, but culturally, they wouldn’t be as well established as in Barcelona, for example.”
Weather conditions are a major barrier, but also limited public space, competition from supermarkets, and relatively low levels of policy support constrain their development. As Kelliher notes: “The sustainability aspect of food markets is not a specific focus of institutional support, and this is an area that has lots of potential for exploration in the future.”
Yet markets remain an important part of the city’s cultural heritage and are gaining renewed attention within broader sustainability strategies.
One of the most prominent examples is the Temple Bar Food Market, established by farmers and producers and now operating year-round thanks to covered infrastructure. Markets are regulated under the Casual Trading Bye Laws, which require vendors to obtain licences specifying location and operating times.
At the same time, there is growing recognition of their value as social and economic spaces. “The Casual Trading Act is currently being amended,” Kelliher adds. The Act grants temporary licenses to farmers who are assigned to a particular location and time. “We want to provide more locations for markets because it is recognised that they’re a nice social space.”
The Edible Dublin Food Strategy, part of its climate action plan, signals a shift towards stronger engagement with food systems. Planned investments, such as the redevelopment of the historic Victorian fruit and vegetable market, aim to create new food hubs that combine local commerce with tourism and community uses.
Markets as anchors of sustainable urban food systems
We do have a few food markets in Dublin, but culturally, they wouldn’t be as well established as in Barcelona, for example.
Many markets also go beyond simple transactions, fostering stronger connections between consumers and producers. Initiatives such as farm visits, direct sales and educational activities help build awareness of food origins and production methods, encouraging more responsible consumption patterns.
Wholesale markets, in particular, are evolving into multifunctional food hubs. At the same time, markets contribute to urban resilience by diversifying food supply channels and reducing dependence on global systems. This is especially relevant in the face of economic shocks, climate disruptions and geopolitical instability.
A renewed role for cities
Food markets are no longer just relics of the past; they are key assets for the future. Yet realising their full potential requires active municipal engagement. Cities must address barriers such as uneven access, administrative complexity, infrastructure gaps and limited financial support. They also need to ensure that markets remain inclusive and affordable, particularly for vulnerable communities.
Ultimately, markets offer a unique opportunity to align economic, social and environmental goals within urban food systems. By fostering proximity, supporting local producers and creating vibrant public spaces, they embody the principles of sustainable urban living.
Encouraging and investing in food markets is therefore not just about preserving tradition, but about shaping healthier, fairer and more resilient cities for the future.
The cities above presented their food markets at the Eurocities WG Food meeting & MUFPP Regional Forum EU ‘Beyond the market stall – Reimagining food markets in cities as key infrastructures’, which took place in Florence on 21-22 May 2026.
The meeting followed the national policy dialogue organised by the CLEVERFOOD project on 20 May, which allowed Italian cities to exchange ideas on the role of markets. More information here. The agenda also included the Urban Food Policy Training session, organised by the Urban Agenda for the EU Partnership on Food, focusing on the role of farmers’ markets in sustainable urban food systems.
