Fiscal Note
No appropriation required.
Title
Honoring the 50th Outdoor Market Season of the Dane Co Farmers’ Market (4th AD)
Body
WHEREAS, the Dane County Farmers’ Market is celebrating 50 years of operations for the outdoor market season; and
WHEREAS, the Dane County Farmers’ Market was founded in 1972 as a collaborative initiative between the City of Madison, the Central Madison Committee of the Chamber of Commerce, and Dane County Extension and began with only 5 farmer vendors on the Capitol Square; and
WHEREAS, the Dane County Farmers’ Market has grown to be the largest producers-only farmers market in the country with 223 farmer vendors as of 2022; and
WHEREAS, the Dane County Farmers' Market is a year-round market. While the original event, Saturday on the Square, is still the largest draw for customers and vendors, DCFM also operate the Wednesday Market on MLK Jr. Blvd, a Holiday Market at Monona Terrace and a Late Winter Market at Garver Feed Mill. With this schedule, DCFM is able to provide year-round selling opportunities for members and year-round local shopping opportunities for community members; and
WHEREAS, the Dane County Farmer’s Market with help first from the Friends of the DCFM then from Community Action Coalition (CAC) and now run in-house, has provided SNAP services to the community for over a decade; and
WHEREAS, the Dane County Farmers’ Market accounted for over half of all SNAP spending and exactly half of Double dollar program spending within the Double Dollar program network in 2019. In 2020, even though the DCFM operated on a smaller, modified scale, still more than $29,000 in EBT and DD were spent at the DCFM. In 2021, ~$110,000 in EBT and Double Dollar program was spent at the DCFM. About ~$42,000 in Double Dollars benefits and ~$66,000 in EBT benefits; and
WHEREAS, the Dane County Farmers’ Market is an event that residents of Madison, Dane County, and even outlying counties and states gather to celebrate and support local food, fellowship, and the confluence of urban and rural life; and
WHEREAS, the Dane County Farmers’ Market is consistently used as an example as to why the City of Madison is one of the best places to live in the US. With institutions such as UW, featuring DCFM as a reason Madison is a great place to live and study and organizations including Destination Madison promoting DCFM as a great reason to vacation in Madison; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and Madison Common Council recognize that the Dane County Farmers’ Market has made a genuine impact on the residents of Madison and Dane County and the community at large, and express their gratitude and continued support.