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  • From: "Toni Hawryluk" <tonihawr AT msn.com>
  • To: "Homestead mailing list" <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Homestead] here ya go, Gene - it's a "positive" - I think ?
  • Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 18:38:45 -0700

http://famulus.msnbc.com/famulusgen/ap09-18-074403.asp?t=apnew&vts=91820041818<http://famulus.msnbc.com/famulusgen/ap09-18-074403.asp?t=apnew&vts=91820041818>

WEEKLY FOOD & FARM: Farmers' markets want government to help with
repairs

By MALIA RULON
ASSOCIATED PRESS


WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 - Bill and Vickie Thomas find in Columbus, Ohio,
what they never will see at their farm: a million potential customers a year
at the North Market, a farmers' market. It's that traffic level that has
allowed them to hold on to their family farm.

''It gives us a so-called store where there's lots of people,''
said Thomas, who grows apples, peaches, plums and blueberries in Philo, about
an hour east of Columbus.
''When you sit ... at the farm and wait for them to come, it
just doesn't happen,'' he said. ''Farmers' markets are what's keeping small
farmers alive.''
The number of such markets nationwide grew 79 percent between
1994 and 2002, and more than 3,100 are in business now, the Agriculture
Department says.
Some are more than 100 years old and in need of repair. Federal
money to do that or construct new markets is now available to cities with
fewer than 50,000 people.
Elsewhere, many farmers, market owners and larger cities say
they are too cash-strapped to do needed repairs on their own.
Ron Paul is leading an effort in Portland, Ore., to build a
year-round indoor market. He said a seasonal farmers' market has thrived in
the city for 10 years. Community leaders want to build a permanent bazaar
that could offer a variety of items related to food, from fresh produce to
cooking utensils.
Paul estimates about $15 million would be required to complete
work so a public market could move into a renovated historic building. ''We
are just absolutely crying for an increase in federal assistance for this,''
he said.
Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, wants the next major farm bill, which
Congress will write in 2006, to include a new program that would provide up
to $50 million a year to build new farmers' markets and refurbish older ones.
''The survival of family farmers in our country is going to
depend on their ability to market to the consumers, most of which live in the
suburbs and cities,'' Kaptur said. The former urban planner is the senior
Democrat on the House Appropriations agriculture subcommittee.
Donita Anderson has started four markets in the Cleveland area
since 1995 and says she has requests from 25 other Ohio cities that want to
open them. ''Our farmers sell out everywhere they go,'' she said.
Other directors of farmers' markets say federal help is needed
to revitalize older markets, some of which are in decaying urban areas.
''On the outside, our market looks really nice, but on the
inside, it really has a lot of things that need to be done like pipes and
roof repairs,'' said Eileen Nowak, president of the board of directors for
the Broadway Farmers Market in Buffalo, N.Y.
The 116-year-old market in a poor neighborhood attracts 300,000
people during the two weeks leading up to Easter. Nowak envisions the market
becoming a bustling attraction during the rest of the year.
''We feel that without the market thriving, the neighborhood
won't thrive,'' she said. ''We've got so much potential, but unfortunately
money is an issue.''
Dan Madigan, executive director of the Farmers Market
Association of Toledo, Ohio, said his annual budget for operating expenses,
advertising and repairs comes from the $400-a-year rental fee it charges 50
members. That leaves no money for upgrades.
''We want to install radiant heating to allow the farmers to
continue selling through the winter'' in the 172-year-old market, Madigan
said. ''We also have some plans in place to change the market configuration
and ease parking concerns, but right now there isn't the resources.''


On the Net:
Agriculture Department background:
<>http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/<http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/>




© 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.



  • [Homestead] here ya go, Gene - it's a "positive" - I think ?, Toni Hawryluk, 09/18/2004

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