City Council Meetings on Farmers' Markets in Jersey City.

This Wednesday, Oct. 8th, there is going to be a City Council Meeting regarding the Farmers' Markets around Jersey City. The meeting is open to the public and a number of new and/or revised ordinances regarding the hours, locations, and procedures of the markets are up for discussion.

The good news is that most of the ordinances seem to be in favor of streamlining and making the application process easier for market managers, of expanding the locations of where the markets' can be held, and creating policies regarding vendors, services, etc. that will be the same across the board for all the markets, making sure that everyone has the same access.

There are, however, a couple of gray areas that could cause some issues for some of the markets. For example, the hours are pretty specific in their timing which could change hours of operations for some markets and there may be more overlap. Additionally, according to this article from the Hudson Reporter,* there are concerns about the markets taking up too much room in the parks, thereby negating the purpose of having a park, and about the length of the season which some feel should end at Thanksgiving and others feel should end in December.

I've also heard rumors that there are some concerns about food trucks or ready-made food stalls taking business away from brick-and-mortar stores, but am not sure if those will be addressed at this meeting or not.

I personally love the markets and think that a lot of these suggested ordinances will really help to encourage market growth. They promote community and provide (hopefully) easy access to fresh produce and specialty items. Jersey City is also committed to making sure a large percentage of the vendors at each market accept FMNP and WIC vouchers, creating better options for a lot of the population. I feel they deserve our support and that the needs of the community need to be considered when making any decisions.

To show your support for the markets and have your voice heard, make sure to go to the meeting on Wednesday.

*Please note that the date listed in the article is incorrect. The meeting is Wednesday, 10/7, not Tuesday. Additionally, there is conflicting information about when the markets will run until, but there is no official decision on this.