Moscow Farmers Market commission reports $2.2M in sales, highlights youth vendor program and 50th-anniversary plans

JT Manning, the newly elected chair of the Moscow Farmers Market Commission, presented the commission's annual report to the council on Sept. 15, describing vendor makeup, outreach programs and plans for the market's fiftieth season.

Manning said the market recorded roughly $2.2 million in sales last year and cited attendance and vendor metrics the commission uses to measure impact: weekly adult and child attendance averages that, when extrapolated across the season, amount to several hundred thousand visits. He said about 74 percent of vendors come from the Palouse region, and the market welcomed 19 new vendors this year. Manning highlighted SNAP/EBT participation (noting the Moscow Food Co-op's role), the youth vendor and young-entrepreneur programs (for youth roughly ages 6—17, with parent oversight on-site), and community-engagement activities such as a poster contest and music on Friendship Square.

Councilors praised the commission's work, asked operational questions about the youth vendor program and vendor frequency, and discussed infrastructure needs for future expansion (power, communications and street/traffic negotiations for potential expansions north or south on Main Street). Manning said vendor waitlists persist and that topography and infrastructure limit growth in some areas.

The presentation concluded with an invitation for the public and council members to vote in an online poster competition and to participate in upcoming events including Halloween contests and a planned fiftieth-anniversary campaign.