I am so disapointed with how this market is managed..Grant Park has a local coffee shop and bakery across the street, soap makers in the community, and other artisans...This market has refused to allow our local neighborhood (Grant Park) businesses to participate.

What? I thought that the market helped those businesses by bringing people down there. We shop at the businesses and the market every Sunday. If the local businesses are wanting to participate they shoul be allowed to if they want to.

miles:

Refused?
Where have you heard this?
Can you cite an article corroborating this 'story'?

Thank you all for bringing this issue up. The Farmers Market specifically exists to support local farmers and food businesses, and we support as many farmers and producers as we can, but there is limited capacity. We had over 100 applications for 40 spaces. We carefully select the highest quality vendors with sustainable business practices - and try to ensure that our vendor selection is fair and balanced. Our vendor criteria can be found online here: http://www.grantparkmarket.org/638-2/vendors/. Vendors are selected based on the completion of the full application, verification of all legal requirements, sustainability (including proximity to the neighborhood) and overall balance to local farm products until the market is full. We take this very seriously, and I would be happy to talk to anyone about the vendor selection process. Please email me with any concerns: info@grantparkmarket.org. Thank you.- Katie Hayes, GPFM Market Manager.