Farmers Market Subcommittee Draft Minutes 09-03-2009Northampton Agricultural Commission Subcommittee on Farmers’ Markets
9/3/09
Present: Ed Shanahan, Florence resident; Claire Morenon, CISA/Northampton resident; Maureen Dempsey, Intervale Farm/Florence and Saturday Market vendor; Bruce Young, Land Use and Conservation
Planner; Dave Jackson, Enterprise Farm/Tuesday and Saturday Market vendor; Ben James, Town Farm and Tuesday Market vendor/market manager; Teri Anderson, Economic Development Director;
Andrew Carl, Round Hill Orchard; Rick and Julie Wisk, River Bend Farm; Cindy Tobin, Tobin Family Farm; Deb, John, and Hannah O’Leary, White House Farm; Carolyn Hillman, Hillman Farm.
Other members or potential members of the committee: Bill Letendre (Parking Commissioner), Gordy Thorne (A.P.E.), Judith Fine (Chamber of Commerce).
Officers and members of the Committee:
The subcommittee will wait for full membership to be established before voting on the subcommittees’ officers. Ben James will serve as the temporary convener and facilitate meetings
until the committee can vote for the official chair.
Representatives of the city will not be voting members of the committee.
Discussion
Committee members and others present discussed rationale for creating subcommittee, after some farmers/vendors raised questions about the purpose of the subcommittee.
Committee members and others present discussed tasks assigned by Ag Commission (reprinted as follows).
Collect feedback on the city’s current farmers’ markets from customer, managers, vendors, city officials, local business owners, and other relevant constituencies.
Conduct research on other cities’ farmers’ markets.
Create a set of recommendations to put before the city council in regard to what further directions the city’s markets should take.
Agreement was reached that first agenda item for full subcommittee would be potential amendments to Subcommittee tasks, particularly task #3.
Committee members and others present agreed upon constituencies to be represented in the committee, as follows.
Farmers representing each market
Farmers representing different scales of operation
Customers/community members
Northampton Ag Commission
Northampton BID
Northampton Chamber of Commerce
Downtown retailers that sell local farm products, local restaurants that use local food
City Government: Economic Development/DPW/Parking
Arts community
CISA
Florence Civic & Business Association (?)
Timeline and Meeting Schedule:
Original goal was to begin surveying market customers this season. That is being revised to give the committee time to reach full membership with input from markets, examine tasks, and
develop the survey carefully.
The first tasks of the committee will be to finalize membership and to review the tasks and revise them as necessary.
Next meeting will be the first week of October, exact date TBD.