Former Market Commission Chair Fights For Better Baked Goods Rules At Market

In this posting, Fuzzbollah is allotting to former Market Commission Chair Luis Vazquez the Bully Pulpit. He proposes to speak before the Ann Arbor City Council, and protest at the 90th Anniversary of the Farmer's Market. Below is an open letter to be sent to City Council, the Parks Advisory Commission, and the Public Market Advisory Commission. If you wish to support Mr Vazquez's petition, please do so in the comments section below the posting.

Take it away Mr Vazquez:

It is said that one bad apple can spoil a whole barrel full.

The Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market is billed as a “producer only” market. Customers of the market rely on the notion that vendors are growing the produce, making baked goods from scratch, and hand-making crafts sold at the market. In fact, as the 90th anniversary of the Farmer’s Market is being celebrated, the city’s website contains the following statement “The Ann Arbor Farmers Market features locally grown food, plants, prepared food items, and handcrafts, all sold by the wonderful people who make them.” My concern is for the integrity of these statements and notions, and to bring to your attention rules that are not being followed that could damage the reputation of our Farmer’s Market.

Chapter 31 of City Code states the following:
2:94. Persons who may use.
The Public Market may be occupied by persons who are offering for sale articles of their own raising or production.

Market Operating Rules state the following:
V. MARKET OPERATIONS
1. Vendor Operations
A. Vendors shall use the Market in strict accordance with the Market Rules, and Chapter 31 of Ann Arbor City Code.
B. All food and products offered for sale at the Market must be grown or made by the vendor who offers the product for sale.
G. Vendors shall not misrepresent the quantity, quality, type or origin of food or products in any way.
H. All food and products offered for sale at the Market must be grown by the vendor, or made by the vendor in Michigan, Ohio, or Indiana.

I am directly approaching City Council with this matter because I have attempted to get redress of grievances through the proper channels and have been ignored. As a taxpaying citizen who has served over 5 years on the Market Commission, including 2 years as Chair of the commission, I feel I am getting the runaround from Ann Arbor’s Parks and Recreation Department.

In March of 2009, I contacted the Public Market Advisory Commission and asked them to consider and adopt a set of rules regarding baked goods (attached) that explicitly define what baked goods items are acceptable for sale at the market. When I was Chair of the Market Commission, we worked on such rules, but never got to the point of adoption of these rules as the Market Commission was dissolved in July 2007.

At the Public Market Advisory Commission meeting of April 21, 2009, I brought forth a complaint regarding vendor Kapnick’s Orchards after finding this vendor on the list of a baked goods supplier. I asked the PMAC and the Market Manager to inspect this vendor to verify the origin of their baked goods (not just their pies – all of their baked goods).

The Public Market Advisory Commission and the Market Manager have never replied to me regarding the consideration or adoption of the proposed baked goods rules, so I am appealing directly to the Ann Arbor City Council to adopt them.

Regarding my complaint about Kapnick’s Orchards, I never received a reply from the Market Manager, but did receive a reply from her Supervisor Jeffrey Straw, who states in an email “Our rules currently state that baked goods must be produced by the vendor but the definition of "produced" is not exclusively specific and therefore left to the decision of the market manager.”

I have no objection at all to vendor Kapnick’s Orchards continuing to sell apples and other produce that they grow. However, I vehemently object to any vendor having an unfair advantage over other legitimate baked goods vendors by using “thaw and bake” products, and putting a Kapnick’s Orchards label on them. There is evidence that Kapnick’s Orchards is not making or producing their baked goods they sell at our Farmer’s Market, and that deserves an investigation, not some bureaucratic baloney that the definition of a “producer” is so unclear or nebulous.

The Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market has already lost one legitimate baked goods vendor because of Kapnick’s deceptive baked goods practices. Big City Bakery owner Scott Newell found he could not compete with “thaw and bake” products being sold at the market and decided to not sell at the market anymore. Scott Newell’s business is located in the City of Ann Arbor, he pays taxes, and he also served on the Market Commission prior to it being dissolved. Scott wrote the proposed baked goods rules that are attached, and they deserve consideration and adoption.

I will be protesting at the 90th anniversary of the Farmer’s Market, and asking people for their signatures on a petition supporting adoption of the attached proposed baked goods rules. There will also be an opportunity for people to support the petition on-line.

Furthermore, I am asking City Council to consider discontinuing operation of the Farmer’s Market by the Parks and Recreation Department. My observations and experience tell me that Community Services Administrator Jayne Miller has dropped the ball in making improvements to the market’s physical structure (including years-long delays in basic maintenance) and market operating rules. I have absolutely no confidence in Jayne Miller, or Jeffrey Straw, to make the changes necessary for a successful market. They disregard citizen input, have contempt for community organizers, and make all of the decisions themselves regarding policies of the market. The most recent example is the imposition of increased stall fees. The Public Market Advisory Commission was not kept informed in a timely manner, opposed the stall fee increases, but was overruled by city functionaries – including City Council. If the Public Market Advisory Commission is so ineffective, and can be capriciously overruled, then why have a commission in the first place?

There is also citizen resistance to using any Parks and Rec millage taxpayer funds to make improvements to the market’s physical structure. I think it is tragic that after spending over $120,000 of Market Operating Fund money for a Master Plan, that City Council tabled indefinitely the proposals to build additional structures and water retention measures on the market site. Instead of the Farmers Market being a better revenue generator and a much more viable public space, we are stuck with a dull -looking, mismanaged, impossible-to-find-parking-nearby space.

A more suitable overseer may be the Downtown Development Authority, as they are more closely aligned with the business community in Ann Arbor. The market site is really a parking lot most of the time anyway. Perhaps the DDA can get Market Operating Rules revised in a timely manner, and enforced. The Farmer’s Market deserves a fresh start with the slate wiped clean.

City Council should seriously consider what is happening in our city regarding local foods. There is substantial interest in creating alternative farmers markets – the Zingerman’s lot on the westside of Ann Arbor, and the Liberty Lofts property come immediately to mind. The focus would be on artisanal foods, local foods, and organic foods. These markets have the potential of taking business away from the traditional Farmer’s Market. I believe businesses at Kerrytown would suffer the loss as well. If citizens and visitors cannot be assured of the origin of their produce and baked goods, then “we the people” will seek out alternatives.

The proposed Baked Goods Rules are as follows:

DEFINITION OF BAKED GOODS
Definition of seller: A seller is the producer of the item or items sold. There can be NO RESALE of pre mixed, pre formed or pre baked items not made by the seller. The seller must be the producer/creator of the item/ items sold as defined below.

If the item is a baked good then that item must be MIXED, FORMED and
BAKED BY THE SELLER in exact accordance with the following definitions:

Pies: No pre made thaw and bake or pre made thaw and serve pies are allowed to be sold at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market. Pie fillings must be mixed by the seller. Any canned fillings must have additional new ingredients which distinguish it from the original canned product added by the seller and the pie shell must have been mixed by the seller and formed by the seller. The pie must be baked at the business address given on the application which must be the true location of business and production of the item.

Cookies: No pre made thaw and bake or thaw and serve cookies are allowed to be sold at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market. Cookies must be mixed by the seller and formed by the seller and baked by the seller. Any pre mixed ingredients must have additional new ingredients added by the seller at the address location given on the application which must be the true location of the business and production of the item(s) for sale at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market.

Breads: No thaw and bake or thaw and serve breads are allowed to be sold at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market. Breads must be mixed by the seller and formed by the seller and baked by the seller. Any pre mix ingredients must have additional new ingredients added by the seller at the address location given on the application which must be the true location of the business and production of the item(s) for sale at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market.

All other baked items: No thaw and bake or thaw and serve baked goods are allowed to be sold at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market. All other baked goods items must be mixed by the seller and formed by the seller and baked by the seller at the address location given on the application which must be the true location of the business and production of the item(s) for sale at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market.

Other baked goods examples:
Brownies may be from a pre-made box mix only if new ingredients are added to said mix. Brownies must be mixed by the seller and formed (rolled, cut, etc) by the seller and baked by the seller, at the address location given on the application which must be the true location of the business and production of the item(s) for sale at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market.

Pizza must have crust mixed by the seller and formed by the seller and ingredients added and baked by the seller, at the address location given on the application which must be the true location of the business and production of the item(s) for sale at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market.

EXCEPTIONS: The thaw and bake rule can be waived ONLY if the seller mixed and formed and then froze the items themselves. No thaw and bake items are allowed to be sold at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market unless the seller froze the items they mixed and formed and baked themselves.

Example:
Breads can be mixed, formed, frozen, (baked or unbaked) then sold only by the seller who makes them.

Pros: Since most of the baked goods sellers at the market already meet the above criteria, they will be affirmed in the knowledge that the items offered for sale are unique and comply with Market Operating Rules, and also will gain the public’s trust.

Cons: Those vendors who violate these rules will be forced to either increase their costs of operation to comply with the rules (possibly increasing prices paid by the consumer), or they will have to forego the income they would otherwise make at the Farmer’s Market from baked goods.