Mayor Paul Soglin discussed a survey seeking community input on a future public market in Madison at a press conference Monday.
Soglin said the city wants input from farmers, bakers or other potential vendors of a possible future public market in order to determine the best location for the market within the city.
“We look at this as being a very critical step in regards to providing a public market, or more importantly, public markets for the city of Madison,” Soglin said.
The mayor said a public market could attract visitors to the city and would provide a place for different people to purchase food products, many grown locally, at affordable prices.
“This is an opportunity to do something that provides access to great food and simultaneously help build a robust economy,” Soglin said.
Madison Food and Alcohol Policy Coordinator Mark Woulf said the vendor survey is the next logical step in the planning process for a future market.
“By reaching out to vendors and getting an idea of where vendors are, we would have a much better idea of what we’ll be looking at, what our timeline will be and ultimately, what type of market would be successful,” Woulf said.
Woulf said the city does not have a specific site in mind for the market, but will use input from the survey to help select the optimal location for the market.
Members of the Local Food Committee said in a press release they envision the market being located within five miles of downtown Madison.
The survey asks respondents where in the city they would like to see a public market, such as the West side or North side, but does not list specific locations.
“I think we know our neighborhoods well enough to be in the best position as a city to select the best site for our first market, and then go from there,” Woulf said.
