Ithaca Farmer’s Market Receives Grant From New York Senator Lea Webb

Senator Lea Webb at the Ithaca Farmer's Market/Courtesy Senator Webb's Media Office

Senator Webb Visits Ithaca

Earlier this month, Senator Lea Webb paid a special visit to Ithaca announcing a grant of $125,000 to support the city’s local farmers market. The Ithaca Farmers Market received the grant on April 13, shortly after their spring season opened on April 6.  

“I just love how she has embraced the market. She supported us last year during our 50th anniversary and now she has helped us get this grant, so we’re very pleased,” said Monika Roth, Friends of the Ithaca Farmers Market president.

Senator Webb greets locals at the farmers market/Courtesy Senator Webb's Media Office

 

Roth added that the farmer’s market is the first project Senator Webb has funded while in office, and the market is honored to be the first project to receive these state funds in her district.

 

The large state grant will be used for improving the market’s infrastructure. “We have a giant parking lot we’re trying to fix; we have a pavilion that’s now 35 years old and starting to show its age. We have plenty of repairs to do,” Roth said.

 

According to Roth, the market is in the process of redesigning its parking lot, with construction drawings to be finalized at the end of June. “The intention of the parking lot improvements is to be able to have better and safer access for people walking, people in wheelchairs, people with strollers, and to make it a more accessible lot,” Roth said.

 

Specific improvements to the market’s parking space include the installment of electric vehicle charging stations, renovations to the market’s shed, updating the entrance sign, and repainting the roof. Roth said there are plenty of big-ticket projects we could apply this money to for improving accessibility. Due to the market’s busy summer weekends, Roth said she expects infrastructure projects to move forward later in the season.

 

Roth said she hopes the improvements funded by the grant will make it easier for visitors to park and enjoy the market through safer access.

 

Ithaca Farmers Market

 

Since 1973 the Ithaca Farmers Market has brought local produce and agriculture to the broader community on weekends outside their Cayuga lake waterfront pavilion.

Ithaca Farmers Market Pavilion/Courtesy Ithaca Farmers Market Website, used with permission

At the Farmer’s Market Coalition, “our overall role is to extend the community benefit of the farmers market,” Roth said.

 

The market features three categories of local vendors; agriculture, food, and artisan goods. “The market does a lot in our community, providing a space for small businesses and farmers to get started and grow their businesses,” said Roth.

 

Visitors will find fresh produce, arts and crafts, baked goods and specialty foods to enjoy such as local cheese or free-range eggs. This summer, the Ithaca Farmers Market will remain open from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturdays through December. Beginning on May 5, the market will run from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. every Sunday through late November. More information on the market and local vendors is available at their website