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Greenbelt Farmers Market leaders ask council for help reaching Greenbelt West and possibly expanding footprint
Summary
Market organizers told council they had 53 applicants for 34 slots this year, asked about earlier season starts and better outreach to Greenbelt West residents, and discussed footprint limits and options to rotate vendors or run occasional expanded markets.
Greenbelt Farmers Market leaders updated the City Council on vendor demand, storage needs and outreach to Greenbelt West during the budget work session.
Lede: Market President Scott Fifield told council the market received 53 applications this year and accepted 34 vendors, with some accepted on a biweekly rotation because of limited footprint space.
Why it matters: Organizers said demand has grown and several long-term farm vendors are aging, which motivated the board to bring in new farm vendors; at the same time, some prior vendors could not return due to limited space. The market asked whether the city has objections to starting earlier than Mother's Day, or to occasional footprint expansions on selected weekends.
Details and options discussed: Council and market leaders discussed several practical constraints: vendor availability in early spring (farm vendors often have limited produce in April), parking and public-safety issues if the market expanded into Roosevelt Center or Centerway, and possible inspections required for new footprints. Market manager Julie Claire will continue to coordinate logistics with city staff. Council members suggested rotating vendors on alternate weeks to accommodate more applicants and recommended stronger outreach to Franklin Park/Greenbelt West residents.
In-kind and storage issues: Market organizers thanked the city for interim storage space provided when pool-area storage became unavailable during construction and again noted substantial in-kind support from public works, recreation and police departments. They also noted partnerships such as a Co-op "round-up" program planned for June that may support SNAP programming.
Ending: Staff and market leaders said they will follow up on potential footprint changes, outreach strategies to Greenbelt West, and whether limited weekend expansions could be scheduled without impacting parking and public-safety functions.
