In Barcelona, public food markets are social spaces that serve their communities in numerous ways that extend beyond simple commercial transaction or the provisioning of food. Markets have always been a vital part of the city, and have co-evolved with the culinary, social and consumer habits of the city. For this reason, throughout the past two months I have not only wondered how Barcelona’s markets have been immediately impacted by the strict lockdowns due to Covid-19, but I have also found myself considering how they will emerge from this crisis profoundly changed.
In the days leading up to the state of alarm, many stallholders reported an increase of sales, when citizens flocked to their neighbourhood food markets to stock up. As lockdown began, the municipal government quickly declared markets essential services and offered disinfectant and hygienic protocols to maintain the safety of workers and consumers. Yet, even though the 90% of stalls in food markets remained open as we settled into life in quarantine – albeit with shortened hours and strict sanitization policies – many appeared deserted throughout the day. I couldn’t help but worry that the conflation of these food market halls with public space, which has been so vital to their success historically, was now the main contributing factor to their emptiness (despite the fact that the Barcelona’s public food markets are more spacious and have wider aisles than most of the supermarkets in the downtown).
For some vendors, Covid 19 accelerated the process of moving towards online commerce, which they had been slow to do beforehand. While the use of one home delivery in particular has multiplied threefold since March 15th, some customers prefer to call in or send Whatsapp messages to vendors, preserving the social relationships at the heart of Barcelona’s market culture. Consumer trends have changed too: fish and meat sales have dropped, while the demand for basic produce staples such as apples, bananas and tomatoes have doubled, creating an imbalance amongst stallholders.
How will vendors at more touristic markets, especially La Boqueria, stay afloat? Will locals ‘take-back’ spaces long ago surrendered to high volumes of foreign visitors? With more people than ever before cooking at home, will a new generation of home chefs seek out the specialized produce and high-quality fish, meat and dairy products that are often only available at public markets?
Barcelona’s markets have survived and thrived over centuries precisely because they offer more than food for sale: for instance, the sense of community and the expertise offered by vendors cannot be replicated by online sales. Yet, they have also survived because of the municipal government’s unwavering belief in their importance to the city and their ability to adapt to changes in culinary, social and consumer culture. For now, we can continue to support our local vendors by choosing to shop at their stalls instead of supermarkets, but I am already longing for the day when we can once again congregate in our neighbourhood markets to share food, drink and conversation with our friends and neighbours in these vibrant social spaces that I am confident will weather this storm.
