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Vendors and public commenters press market staff on aggressive soliciting; city program to pilot $500 in market tokens
Summary
Vendors and a longtime market vendor said aggressive soliciting and panhandling at the Ann Arbor Farmers' Market has become more frequent. Market staff urged vendors to call the office for incidents, highlighted staff de-escalation training and said a city program, Supportive Connections, will pilot at least $500 in market tokens for clients to spend at the market.
Debbie Marks, a market vendor and Ann Arbor resident, urged the Farmers Market Advisory Commission to take a tougher approach to what she described as escalating, aggressive soliciting at the market, saying it had become “worse than it’s ever been” and in some instances physically threatening to vendors and customers.
"The drug addicts are being very aggressive soliciting people at the market," Marks said during the meeting's public-comment periods,…
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