City Council asks farmers to Vote Yes or No
This entry was posted on 3/9/2006 9:08 AM and is filed under Market Rules.
Of course I support the market being a producer only market. In the most general sense all vendors should be selling what they grew or made in our market. Certainly some verification of this must happen if there is a question raised.
A visit and sign off by an Extension Agent once a year will indicate that some sort of farm exists but will not in any way prove that what the vendor has at the market to sell was grown by that farm. If this approach helps customers feel some sense of security and verification that is nice. Will it solve your problem of complaints and questions of where product came from each Market? - I don't think it will.
On one side: People will still think my tomatoes are too beautiful to be home grown in April, even though you have seen my greenhouse and seen them growing. On the other side: Farmers will still find it suspicious that someone has machine washed and waxed cukes. Customers will still ask you why there are California Strawberries at the City Market, or watermelons with a Florida sticker on them.
What do you say then? What does the Extension Agent say about his prior sign off?
How do we require on one part that the market be all nice and home grown and local - yet in another part vendors must have full health department approved kitchens and USDA inspected meats with approved labeling, proper temperatures, and inspected scales etc.? How far do we go? Years ago I was almost thrown out of the market because I wanted to keep my lettuce refrigerated and I brought my refrigerated truck - I was told by a City employee "real farmers do not need refrigeration - you are too commercial you must leave.."
I provide water bottles to my customers who ask for it for a token $1 to cover the cost of having them there, the Health Department told me they had to be sealed containers from an approved bottling plant - the market says it's not my water I can't have it - is this the same as buying waxed cukes from a wholesaler and reselling? What does Extension Agent inspection have to do with this question?
Not only producers but local producers is what I see the customers expect. I think they should be local - like from our surrounding counties - if I have an ownership in a South American plantation, or a brother in Florida, or in Eastern Shore is that ok? Where do you draw the line? I have a farm in Floyd is that stuff ( walnuts, wood products, ginseng, wild craft...) allowed at the Market? Do I need the Floyd Extension Agent to sign too?
I don't think this is a simple yes or no question.
I do think when we rush into things we may find in the future it was not such a good idea....
In the future I hope that there will be meetings and discussion with the vendors to create a set of rules the vendors have agreed to (at least large majority in principle) before they are submitted to and approved by the City Manager.
Michael Clark
