Open-air markets and local producers: where to buy fresh food

A growing network of agroecological and itinerant markets connects family farmers to João Pessoa's neighborhoods.

Besides the fixed markets, João Pessoa has a network of open-air and agroecological fairs that serves as the main channel between small producers and the population. The best known is the Feira da Agricultura Familiar, which sets up on Wednesdays, from 1pm to 7pm, at Parque Parahyba I, in Bessa, and on Fridays, from 6am to noon, at Praça Chateaubriand Arnaud, in Manaíra, bringing together fruit, vegetables and family-farming products.

Downtown, the organic fair Oca Natural operates Monday through Saturday, from 11am to 2:30pm, at Avenida Almirante Barroso, 303, while Ecovárzea brings producers together in the early hours of Friday morning at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB) — one of the city's oldest agroecological fairs, organized since the early 2000s. Cecaf, in the José Américo de Almeida neighborhood, operates on Thursdays and Saturdays, from 5am to noon, on Avenida Hilton Souto Maior.

The city hall, through Sedurb, also promotes the Feira Móvel do Produtor, an itinerant format that has already visited neighborhoods such as Mangabeira, bringing crafts, typical food and corn at popular prices — in one of the editions, a "hand" of corn was sold starting at R$ 25. The initiative is presented by the municipal administration as a way to support local cooks, artisans and producers.

For those seeking a variety of fresh products outside the waterfront's tourist circuit, these fairs are the most direct entry point into Paraíba's family-farming production.