Federal Way market on track financially; WIC farmers-market program to end statewide Sept. 30

Federal Way’s seasonal farmers market is operating near its budgeted break‑even point for May through August, but city staff and council members said a recent change in state federal funding could reduce food‑benefit redemptions and affect vendors and customers in October. Bill, the city staff member who presented the update, told the committee vendor attendance averaged 37 paid vendors per week and total vendor sales for the first 17 weeks were $403,000, an average of about $23,000 per week. He said booth rentals and commissions for the period totaled about $52,000, or roughly $3,000 per week—about $25.50 ahead of budget each week.

The update noted that the market is relying on the annual “Taste of Federal Way” event and advanced ticket sales to hit the year’s budgeted attendance target of about 700 restaurant attendees at that event. Bill said ticket sales and nonprofit advance sales were running “very well” and that the market aimed to land at breakeven once those receipts and day‑of sales are counted.

Council members pressed staff for more detail on staffing costs and the full cost of city support. Paul McDaniel and others asked for an October spreadsheet that will show year‑to‑date figures, a breakdown of staffing hours contributed by finance, IT and parks, and an estimate of “effort percent” (hours) contributed by employees assigned to the market. Bill said staff will present a detailed, spreadsheeted year‑to‑date accounting in October and will include hours attributable to departments’ contributions to make the program’s net cost transparent.

The presentation also covered food‑benefit redemption at the market. Bill said the market distributed about $54,000 in food benefits from May 10 through Aug. 31 (an average near $3,400 per week), including EBT, WIC, FMNP, Healthy Kids and senior vouchers expanded by the mayor and council. He reported that the state’s FMNP (the WIC farmers‑market nutrition program) is expected to end statewide on Sept. 30—one month earlier than previous public messaging had indicated—and that staff are evaluating whether other programs, such as a cash‑value benefit (CVB), will fill part of the gap. Bill said roughly 11 vendors at the market typically rely on WIC/FMNP redemptions for 15–25% of their income and that the loss of FMNP redemptions could materially affect vendor revenue and low‑income customers’ access to fresh produce.

Council members debated whether the market should continue through October if vendors and food‑benefit recipients are absent. Council member Jack Dovi suggested staff and market organizers assess the first few October weeks and consider shortening the season if vendor participation falls off; council members Susan Honda and Jack Walsh emphasized that October markets historically draw fewer farmers —because product availability declines and many small producers take indoor or church bazaars—so attendance and vendor mix can be much smaller than late‑summer peaks.

Bill also described planned operational improvements for next year: a modern point‑of‑sale system for non‑federal token payments, pre‑registration for vendors, and electronic vendor payments that will reduce token reconciliation and cashiering workload. He described cross‑departmental coordination—finance, IT, parks and market managers—doing weekly accounting checks and praised market managers and departmental staff for support. Several council members asked staff to explicitly account for whether market duties produced overtime for any employees or were absorbed in normal work hours; staff said they will itemize hours and overtime estimates in the October report.

The committee did not take formal action on the market update; councilmembers asked staff to return with a full October year‑to‑date spreadsheet that includes departmental hours, overtime, and more granular vendor and voucher redemption data.

Ending: Bill said staff will return with the requested spreadsheet and an updated projection after the Taste of Federal Way event and as the state’s benefit picture clarifies.