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The farmers market looked – to be honest – sad.
Conditions are not favorable for growing food in the Faroe Islands. raked from the north atlantic Battered by strong winds and populated by thousands of sheep, the nearly treeless islands have poor soil and little space for planting. Potato and rhubarb are local staple foods.
But some residents had to import almost all their food from the rest of the Europe and beyond. Many products are stamped with the flag of Denmark, under which the islands are self-governing.
Efforts are being made to grow more adventurous crops like kale, which are considered sustainable elsewhere in the world, and to promote local products – from seaweed to meat and fish “fermented” by the salty air.
This work can be seen in the Faroese capital Tórshavn, where a small farmers’ market is held one Sunday a month for most of the year. In September, a few stalls next to the cloudy harbor offered meat, bags of kale and cabbage, and seasoned salt.
The price of vegetables was about 40 Faroese krona (over $6) per bag, reminiscent of the high prices of food in remote islands whose nearest neighbors are Iceland, Scotland and Norway.
Cups of soup made from fermented local radishes – and imported beans – were sold for 75 krona, or more than $11, along with a slice of bread.
The farmers’ market is part of Matkovin, a project set up by a local couple to promote food producers. It notes the growing international interest in Faroese cuisine, including a Michelin-starred restaurant and a network of home-cooked meals for tourists called “Hemablídni”.
“However, there is a divide between this romantic vision of Faroese food culture and the state of everyday things, where most of our food is imported from far-flung countries,” the project states. It states: “There are few Faroese foods available in stores, and we are never told where the producer of these foods is located. The Faroese food producer is invisible.”
Some Faroese said the COVID-19 pandemic and its shock on the supply chain raised serious questions about food security, with a major labor strike in the islands in May 2024 causing rationing problems.
The Matkovin project highlights a dozen local food producers of things like goose carcasses, pesto and liver pate, as well as bios that describe the challenges of the often craggy islands.
“Half of the year we live in the shadow side, as the sun sets for the last time at the Trollens of Michaelmas on September 29, and we do not see the sun again until St. Gregory’s Day on March 12. It is really very dark here during the winter months,” says the bio of Uppistova, a small farm on the island of Kalsoy, where AP bought eggs and rhubarb jam.
Meanwhile, a project called Welton is working to harvest a variety of vegetables from greenhouses on the southern island of Sandoy, although hardier vegetables such as peas and carrots are available.
“At Velten we believe it should be possible to eat Faroese vegetables in the Faroe Islands!” The project says.
The work builds on growing local pride in showcasing the islands’ more adventurous food offering, which has emerged from years of remoteness and hard living.
Michelin-starred restaurant Paz offers a tasting menu for “what the land and sea have to offer at any given time” for around $400.
Its menu is based on seafood, which drives the economy, and the local fermentation process by which fish and meat are hung in wooden buildings and left to cure in the sea air. Local people call it an acquired taste.
There is still a lot of work left. At a steakhouse in Claksvik, the sheep-growing islands’ second-largest community, a server was asked where they get their lamb.
“New Zealand,” she said.