Stabenow wants Eastern Market to expand sales days

**begingri** · April-14-11, 11:05 AM

David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau

U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow says she is working with officials of Detroit's Eastern Market to help them increase the number of days the outdoor and shed merchants are open for business.

Up to 40,000 people visit Eastern Market's Saturday market — a local food district with more than 250 independent vendors and merchants processing, wholesaling and retailing food. At the heart of Eastern Market is a six-block public market in business since 1891.

Businesses in the permanent shops and stores surrounding the weekend market area are open weekdays, but the sheds and open-air parts are not.

"Why should Eastern Market only be open on Saturday? Why not Sunday? Why not every day?" said Stabenow, D-Lansing, at an appearance at the Detroit Economic Club in Southfield. "They are looking at expanding."

Continued at: http://detnews.com/article/20110411/...#ixzz1JVvyh1AH

**trotwood** · April-14-11, 12:44 PM

Good for Ms.Stabenow. Great idea!

DetroitPole · April-14-11, 12:55 PM

Shouldn't she be more worried about banning Sharia law in Michigan? Lousy Democrats!

**Detroitnerd** · April-14-11, 12:59 PM

Well, at least when it comes to the actual local farmers and not the resellers, the farmers work six days a week growing the food. So, um, who's going to grow the food while the farmers are at the market every day?

I like Stabenow, but she really is out of her depth here. It is like she doesn't understand the difference between Eastern Market and a supermarket.

**Det_ard** · April-14-11, 01:06 PM

How senatorial.

**slick** · April-14-11, 01:08 PM

Makes you wonder if Ms Stabenow has even been to Eastern Market on a Saturday.
Wasnt it Mr Bush who was amazed by the scanners at the supermarkets.

where do these elitist get food?
maybe they are dined nightly by some lobbyist!

**oldredfordette** · April-14-11, 02:31 PM

It takes a republican to object to Ms. Scabmenow's proposal. It might be the only thing I've ever agreed with her on.

**JBMcB** · April-14-11, 07:43 PM

I have to agree with DetroitNerd - it's a *FARMERS* market. And as of late, not much of one. My uncle used to go religiously every Saturday morning. He noticed the quality of the produce had been going downhill, so he showed up a half an hour before opening last fall and noticed that at least half the stalls were cutting open bags of Dole celery and carrots out onto their tables. Now he shops at Randazzo's.

**rjk** · April-14-11, 08:02 PM

Originally Posted by begingri

U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow says she is working with officials of Detroit's Eastern Market to help them increase the number of days the outdoor and shed merchants are open for business.

I wonder if she could do something about increasing the hours at the Ivanhoe Cafe. I'd love for that place to be open on Saturdays.

Anyways, what's her role in helping to incease the number of days that EM is open? Either the people who run EM and the vendors think it's a good idea to open on certain days or they don't. Maybe she's going to help make new signs announcing the increased days/hours?

IMO a more interesting article would involve talking to the vendors and hear what they think about expanding the hours and days at EM. There the ones who make EM successful. You talk to these vendors and most of them are traveling a pretty long distance to get to EM.

**jackie5275** · April-14-11, 09:02 PM

Originally Posted by JBMcB

I have to agree with DetroitNerd - it's a *FARMERS* market. And as of late, not much of one. My uncle used to go religiously every Saturday morning. He noticed the quality of the produce had been going downhill, so he showed up a half an hour before opening last fall and noticed that at least half the stalls were cutting open bags of Dole celery and carrots out onto their tables. Now he shops at Randazzo's.

That's interesting and good to know. I wonder if the same thing is true in Royal Oak at their farmer's market.

**English** · April-14-11, 09:28 PM

With the new construction at EM slated to be something akin to Philly's Reading Terminal Market, I don't see the need for open air stalls any day except Saturdays. The WSU market operates during the same season on Wednesdays on main campus and alternate Thursdays on the medical campus, and there are plans to expand it.

Of course, I'd love to see smaller open air markets in other 'hoods, like Woodbridge, Corktown, and SW Detroit.

**mikefmich** · April-15-11, 03:36 AM

"Why should Eastern Market only be open on Saturday? Why not Sunday? Why not every day?"

Sunday would mess up my early morning photographic ventures in the area. :P

Everyday I think would be plain silly, but perhaps one more day midweek might be food for thought....no pun intended.

bartock · April-15-11, 08:14 AM

Originally Posted by JBMcB

I have to agree with DetroitNerd - it's a *FARMERS* market. And as of late, not much of one. My uncle used to go religiously every Saturday morning. He noticed the quality of the produce had been going downhill, so he showed up a half an hour before opening last fall and noticed that at least half the stalls were cutting open bags of Dole celery and carrots out onto their tables. Now he shops at Randazzo's.

No way. Not even close.

For the last 8 years I have noticed a gradual INCREASE in the quality of the produce [[as well as the price, in some circumstances) at the market. I don't think
"at least half the stalls" are cutting open bags of Dole celery and carrots on their tables...hell, they used to sell those types of bags 5-6 years ago when the Market wasn't nearly as busy. Now, if I recall, Shed 3 is ONLY for local growers.

Just amazing how something building momentum is so quickly derided by people claiming such a love for a place, and then a hatred or at least condescending fake criticism as soon as someone else comes along and notices. It is the exact same attitude they rip on suburbanites or whatever group of people for. I doubt there are many 15 year olds on this board, but it really is high school popularity mentality.

**SWMAP** · April-15-11, 09:17 AM

In the winter, EM sellers do buy cases of produce at the terminal and re-package it in smaller quatities to sell for the people who don't want to buy a case.

Of course, I would love to see some local spinach grown by farmers in their hothouses for sale in the dead of winter - but I can understand that it would be so expensive to produce and in such relatively small quantity that and it just would not be valuable for the farmer to then bring his small store of expensive spinach the Market and pay stall rent for a minimum of three months to sell it.

In the winter, some farmers are selling their own over-wintered root vegetables: carrots,parsnip, etc.Then in March, when its less expensive to heat a hothouse, local spinach and rhubarb come. Then comes egg-laying season and the first colorful eggs of the young layers. Westborn and Randazzo are wonderful , but those stores blur the seasons. EM celebrates the ebb and flow of season and weather.

It is overall, a great disservice to the Market to dismiss the marketplace of farmers and produce re-sellers as a second-rate scam.
.

**Detroitnerd** · April-15-11, 09:44 AM

Originally Posted by bartock

No way. Not even close.

For the last 8 years I have noticed a gradual INCREASE in the quality of the produce [[as well as the price, in some circumstances) at the market. I don't think
"at least half the stalls" are cutting open bags of Dole celery and carrots on their tables...hell, they used to sell those types of bags 5-6 years ago when the Market wasn't nearly as busy. Now, if I recall, Shed 3 is ONLY for local growers.

Just amazing how something building momentum is so quickly derided by people claiming such a love for a place, and then a hatred or at least condescending fake criticism as soon as someone else comes along and notices. It is the exact same attitude they rip on suburbanites or whatever group of people for. I doubt there are many 15 year olds on this board, but it really is high school popularity mentality.

Bartock, I think you are too brittle. I would say that the majority of vendors at the market are still resellers. Love the changes Carmody and company have brought to the market, but I think Stabenow doesn't understand that this is what is drawing people and it is mostly small farm production, where you can't simply take off every day and sell without somebody else doing the growing. When you take these *farmers* away from their *farm* then quality will drop. I think it shows that Stabenow doesn't know what she's talking about.

As for high school mentality and suburbs-vs-city stuff, I believe you may have gone off the deep end. Bad morning?

**Detroitnerd** · April-15-11, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by SWMAP

It is overall, a great disservice to the Market to dismiss the marketplace of farmers and produce re-sellers as a second-rate scam.

Maybe you and I are reading different message boards, or different posts.

In the old days, I, too, used to be excited to go get "fresh" produce at Eastern Market. Much of that, however, was a shell game. They'd rip open bags of industrially produced food and set it out for you in little baskets, like it was from the farm. Then you'd buy it, they'd keep the basket, and refill it with more industrially produced food. Took me some time to figure that out, and when I did, I felt punked.

I understand and appreciate that the Eastern Market people are emphasizing fresh, local and often organic food. I like the new changes at the market. But, unless they've seriously cracked down on this over the last year, this sort of reselling is quite common among many vendors. Is it not? And how does this denigrate the market? If you don't want resellers, you just go over to the shed that specializes in local, organic and fresh produce, right?

bartock · April-15-11, 09:58 AM

Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

Bartock, I think you are too brittle. I would say that the majority of vendors at the market are still resellers...

...As for high school mentality and suburbs-vs-city stuff, I believe you may have gone off the deep end. Bad morning?

eh, I'm a bit ornery today. Maybe it's the no meat thing.

Maybe I'll head over to EM for lunch today and get a slice of Supino's.

**Detroitnerd** · April-15-11, 10:02 AM

Originally Posted by bartock

eh, I'm a bit ornery today. Maybe it's the no meat thing.

Maybe I'll head over to EM for lunch today and get a slice of Supino's.

That's the spirit.

**SWMAP** · April-15-11, 10:11 AM

Eastern Market has both farmers and re-sellers. The farmers, I assume, can add to their local farmed booths with non-local stuff in the winter. But in growing season, the local farm producers are grouped together on the main aisles and the produce re-sellers are on the side aisles. I believe an exception is the mushroom guy. He may be grand-fathered into the first booth in Shed 2 because he has virtually been in the market all his life. He is expensive because he deals in only exceptional mushrooms [[i.e. morels) and similar produce, so he adds value to that aisle.

The little baskets that produce re-sellers use aren't to scam you. Its to make the produce that comes in cases more affordable to the average shopper. I can't use a case of anything fresh. most people can't - so they break it down. You can see the cases in the stalls. They aren't hiding it. it just makes sense.

i think that the re-sellers must be confusing to some people - but that is the reality of most markets.

I often read about NYC's Green Markets, a system of fresh markets that are maybe owned by the City. In recent years the green markets were run by a visionary manager, Nina Planck who tried to make a requirement that only locally-grown foods could be sold in the markets. She wrote this:

Greenmarket was failing in its mission ''to support local farms and preserve farmland'' in other ways. It was surprising to find that Greenmarket allowed supermarket blueberries in pies and Washington State black raspberries in jam. The cabbage in sauerkraut hailed from Canada, and there was no telling where cider came from because most farmers were not required to get their own fruit back from the press. Many baked goods sold at Greenmarket were produced by large commercial operations using frozen mixes and hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Planck lasted only a few months before she was let go as being too restrctive. Only famers is just too restrctive to the overall goal of Eastern market and EM is a market - not just a farmer's market.

**JBMcB** · April-15-11, 10:45 PM

Originally Posted by bartock

No way. Not even close.

For the last 8 years I have noticed a gradual INCREASE in the quality of the produce [[as well as the price, in some circumstances) at the market

I'm just going by what my uncle claimed. He's been a professional chef downtown for over 30 years and has been shopping at eastern market for most of those. I'd take his word on it.

Vox · April-15-11, 10:49 PM

I know that in the summer months there are real farmers at the Warren farmer's market. One guy there specializes in Asian vegetables, and grows them with his family on 40 acres of land. Some of this stuff I have never seen, but he's always willing to let me try some new stuff for stir fry. Bok Choy varieties, etc. Good stuff.

**Al Publican** · April-15-11, 10:56 PM

DetroitPole, where have you seen the moodkiller of Sharia law pop up around Mich? This small L libertarian will be at the barricades if prohibitionists of any type try to kill my happy hour.

**BagAJellyDonuts** · April-16-11, 07:08 AM

When is Debbie up for re-election?

Can't happen soon enough to get this clown out of office.

Yeah she's a Democrat so that means many of you will automatically vote for her no matter how silly her speeches are. But think for a minute, what has she really done in nearly two terms? Absolutely nothing except pose by a sign that read "dangerously incompetent". And that's about the only thing she's gotten right.

**stasu1213** · April-16-11, 08:30 AM

I think that Eastern Market had been given over to the corporations and government who had taken over the farming industry years ago. I think that it should continue to be a weekend event. I also think that Gratiot Central Market should close at 6 instead of five.The Gratoit facade of the market is due for a complete 21st century makeover

**lalynch** · April-16-11, 05:30 PM

the only problem is that there are already a handful of Sunday farmers markets with Canton Farmers Market. Redford Farmers Market and Lincoln Park Farmers Market in Wayne County. Warren Farmers Market in Macomb County, Grand Blanc Farmers market in Genessee County and Birmingham Farmers Market in Oakland County.

All farmers market with the exception of Eastern Market, Ann Arbor and Royal Oak struggle to find additional farmers. Farmers Markets are hot right now but there is a shortage of farmers. There is constant requests for farmers on the Michigan Farmers Market Association [[MIFMA) listserv.

Now open up Eastern Market on a Sunday and you'll either hurt these Sunday farmers markets or there will be little to no farmers at Eastern Market for a Sunday market since they are either resting at home or at these other farmers markets. Some of the farmers that sell at these Sunday markets sell at Eastern Market on a Saturday.