Minneapolis Revises Farmers Market Ordinance

The City of Minneapolis has revised an ordinance that protects the integrity of farmers markets. The updated rules include several important pieces:

• At least 60 percent of the vendors at farmers markets have to be food growers.
• The mini markets that were created in 2007 will be included in the ordinance and will be allowed to have a more flexible vendor mix than they had before, with one distributor (i.e., selling fresh fruits and vegetables that don’t grow in Minnesota) and one home processor (selling baked goods, jams, jellies, pickles, etc.). This will bring a wider variety of fresh and healthy foods right into neighborhoods.
• A new produce and craft market type is created, which can be up to 70 percent vendors of self-made arts and crafts and 30 percent selling food.
• Sampling by market vendors will be easier.
• Vendors other than those selling food for immediate consumption will be able to operate from unpaved surfaces.

“Farmers markets are an enormous part of getting nutritious, affordable food into Minneapolis kitchens, and we’ve just made them better at doing that,” said Mayor R.T. Rybak. “This change is part of Homegrown Minneapolis, which is a community and City initiative that is using many facets to create a local, healthy and sustainable food supply.”

“One of the key pieces of this change is that our rules will no longer be neutral on the local aspect of farmers markets,” said Council Member Cam Gordon, author of the ordinance changes. “Before, someone could organize a ‘farmers market’ that was all food distributors bringing in produce from California. Under the new rules, at least 60 percent of farmers market vendors will have to be actual farmers, selling the produce they’ve grown.”

The changes create significant additional flexibility for markets on vendor mix. If they want to have more artists and crafters, they can be a produce and craft market. If they want to have a mini market, they can now have meat, cheese, dairy, pickles/preserves, baked goods, and one vendor of imported foods such as bananas.

For more information on Homegrown Minneapolis, visit www.minneapolismn.gov/dhfs/homegrown-home.asp.

For the complete revised farmers market ordinance, visit www.minneapolismn.gov/government/laws.asp and search Food Code: Public Markets.