Council recognizes Farmers Market Week through August 10 

Charlottesville City Council has officially recognized a non-profit group that operates a farmers market that competes with the one run by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. Market Central has expanded from an organization formed to help bolster the city-run market to one that now operates year-round independently. 

“Market Central was established in 2003 as a non-profit that educated the public about farmers markets and supported customer food access by providing a transaction point for low-income customers to use their SNAP dollars to buy from the market,” said Brian Pinkston while reading a proclamation declaring Farmers Market Week in Charlottesville.

For many years, Market Central worked alongside the city to improve the market run by Charlottesville in a municipal parking lot but the non-profit began to put their efforts elsewhere.  

“Whereas Market Central originally hosted by the Charlottesville City Market in April to November, Market Central branched out in 2018 to develop a winter market from January to March at the Ix Art Park to provide a site for farm sales and local food access,” Pinkston said.  

Market Central was able to get permission to stay open during the pandemic and now the organization operates at Ix Park year-round. A representative accepted the proclamation and explained it is part of a nationwide event. 

“It’s the 25th National Farmers Market Week put on by the Farmers Market Coalition,” said the representative, who was not identified at the meeting. “The Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, also made the proclamation. Our governor did, and mayors and governors all around the country have done so, so we appreciate it that you have done it too.” 

The organization is hosting a Farmers Market Forum at 4 p.m. today in the JMRL Central Library in the Swanson Room. Representatives from the City Market will also be present at the event.  You can RSVP here.

The City Market operates on the surface lot owned by the Charlottesville Parking Center and rented to Woodard Properties. Woodard Properties had the winning proposal in a request from the city for proposals for a redevelopment project that would include the market. 

After receiving a rezoning approval from City Council in April 2018 for a ten-story building, Keith Woodard later abandoned the project after the Board of Architectural Review rejected changes made to the design. The Cavalier Daily had that story. 

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