What a year 2016 was at Tacoma Farmers Market! Across our markets, we served 142,916 customers last season and saw $930,704 in total sales, $464,182 of which was from our farm vendors. These dollars spent by shoppers like you help preserve local farmland and grow the small businesses owned and operated by neighbors and friends.
The 2016 season also saw us collectively take big steps forward in achieving the vision of all people, regardless of income, gaining reliable access to fresh, healthy food. We issued more than $20,000 in SNAP/EBT tokens and matched over $16,000 of those tokens through our Fresh Bucks matching program, a 17% increase compared to 2015, for about 1800 shoppers. And our data for our Fresh Bucks program revealed that shoppers from 78 unique ZIP codes visited our markets! On the Eastside, our farmers market in the Salishan community provided over 300 seniors a share of local harvest by providing over $21,000 in incentive funding for fresh produce throughout the summer. Kids get to eat fresh too! We provided over $3,000 in Apple-A-Day tokens to children under the age of 16 which they used to buy $1 worth of fruit or veggies of their choice!
Our markets are a place for community to thrive, isolation to be banished, relationships to flourish, and friendships to be found. We are rich and poor, black, brown and white, standing shoulder to shoulder, vying for the best carrots, beets, and collards our local farms have to offer. We trade recipes and tips with perfect strangers and the farmers growing our food. Our markets provide a glimpse into what Tacoma could be, what we should be as a community: a community that makes room for all and where all are welcome.
We’re so happy more and more Tacomans were able to purchase healthy, local food last year. We would not have been able to do any of these wonderful things without the generous support of our sponsors and donors. Thank you and here’s to a wonderful 2017 season!
What seeds will you sow this year? Consider giving to the Tacoma Farmers Market today. Your gift helps us preserve and strengthen local farms, support healthy families, and build thriving communities. Just click here to help Tacoma grow.