Members of the Madison Food Policy Council discussed possible options for the location of a public food market Wednesday after the city’s Common Council declined to make a decision.
City council members agreed to refer the project to the Economic Development Committee for further study Sept. 2.
Council member Kathy Utley said public markets in other states such as Minnesota offer much more than strictly food.
“It really gave me an idea and understanding of what a public market is,” Utley said. “It’s not a grocery store. That is something that has to be communicated to people who misunderstood what the public market is.”
Many markets around the nation include much more than just produce, according to council member Satya Rhodes-Conway.
“Is it a place you expect people on a limited budget to get food? Probably not but the business plans are not yet determined,” Rhodes-Conway said. “I think probably the most important thing is the question of support.”
Food policy members shared their opinions on the best location and use of a public market.
Although the Common Council did not agree on the East Washington Avenue and First Street site due to congestion, food policy member Kyle Richmond emphasized the importance of providing a lucrative site for market vendors.
“The consultants said if you want vendors to be successful so that they’ll stay there and continue to sell and expand their business then we need to look at the most potentially successful area which they determined to be the East Washington area,” Richmond said.
Food policy council member Carmell Jackson argued that the public market should be divided into multiple sites for areas known as “food deserts” that would grant residents easy access to healthy food.
“I just feel we need to focus more on the lower income families that just don’t have the transportation or have one or two kids that have to go on a bus to get groceries,” Jackson said. “That’s a struggle.”
According to Jackson, the “food deserts” are located on the northeast and south sides of Madison where access to healthy food retailers is limited.
“If they have to take a bus, they’ll opt to go to a fast food restaurant which is on every corner,” Jackson said.
The Economic Development Committee will look into alternatives to the proposed East Washington site for the public market at their next meeting Sept. 17.
