(Thursday, March 26, 2015) – Mayor Warren, State Leaders Herald Public Market Success

City of Rochester News Release

(Thursday, March 26, 2015) – Mayor Lovely A. Warren welcomed New York State Commissioner of Agriculture and Markets Richard A. Ball and State Commissioner of Health Dr. Howard A. Zucker to the Rochester Public Market today and thanked them for the State's support of Market programs and facilities.

"We know that the success of our neighborhoods, our schools, and our city as a whole starts with healthy citizens, and therefore starts with healthy eating," said Mayor Warren. "We are grateful to the State Departments of Agriculture and Markets and Health and our advocates in the state Assembly and Senate for supporting the Public Market’s extraordinary work to connect low-income families with healthy, fresh, affordable food. Our partners at the Friends of the Public Market also deserve recognition for their excellent work administering these successful programs.”

The Commissioners visited Rochester to recognize National Nutrition Month and highlight State programs that improve access to healthy food. The Rochester Public Market is a national leader in many of the programs supported by the State. A large component of the success can be attributed to the Friends of the Public Market, a volunteer organization that administers many of these programs.

Agriculture and Markets supports Rochester Public Market’s Token Program, which enables SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) food stamp benefit recipients to obtain healthy fruits and vegetables at the Market. In 2014, $619,000 in SNAP benefits were redeemed at the Market; which accounts for a full 3 percent of all SNAP benefits redeemed at all 5,000 participating U.S. farmers markets. This total includes $46,000 in funds from the New York FreshConnect program, which provides SNAP customers with an additional $2 for every $5 in SNAP benefits used to buy food produced on New York farms.

In addition, with support from the State Department of Health, the Public Market teams with Foodlink and Friends of the Market to offer “Just Say Yes to Fruits and Vegetables,” a program that brings nutrition education directly to Market shoppers

Mayor Warren also acknowledged the State’s support for renovations and additions at the Market slated to break ground in the fall.

Agriculture and Markets contributed $1.8 million, along with $2 million from the Empire State Development Corporation and $500,000 from the State Dormitory Authority marshaled by State Assemblyman David Gantt. The $7.25 million project will include a new covered outdoor shed that will house 48 additional vendors, and will replace the indoor shed with a more efficient structure that offers improved amenities for vendors and shoppers.

When complete, the renovations will include:

A new winter shed:
• B Shed, the Market’s only enclosed vending space, will be replaced with a new 13,000 square foot building. It will provide vending spaces that better meet the needs of farmers and merchants, including better utilities and climate control, storage, cooking and product preparation facilities.
• In addition, this new shed will provide more comfort and accessibility for shoppers and superior energy efficiency. The state-of-the-art structure will be more spacious, naturally lit, climate-controlled and consistent with the Market’s existing architecture.

A new outdoor shed
• A new outdoor, covered shed will add 48 vending spaces and be constructed between the existing outdoor sheds and the row of buildings that now house coffee shops, bakeries, a cheese shop and other Market businesses. This new outdoor shed will be designed to look like the historic, curved “A Shed.” Once built, it will be temporarily enclosed and heated to house the existing “B-Shed” vendors during the construction of the new enclosed shed.
• This project will also include construction of an additional restroom facility, which will double the number of restroom stalls available at the Market.

New Food Stands
• The famous and favorite food stands flanking the existing winter shed — Scott’s, Cherry’s European, Juan and Maria’s Empanadas and Zimmerman’s — will be replaced with more efficient, modern structures.

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News Media: For more information, contact Press Officer Jessica Alaimo, 428-7135.
 

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