Five new members have joined the City Committee focused on developing the Madison Public Market. Sarah Larson and Ashley Robertson were appointed to the Public Market Development Committee (PMDC) as citizen members. Larson is the Farm to Business Prgram Director at REAP Food Group and Robertson is an artist and entrepreneur who founded West Label Art, as well as an urban planning consultant at Vandewalle & Associates. In addition, the PMDC added Adam Haen, Julie Winzenried, and Carrie Sedlak as non-voting technical advisors. Haen is the manager of the FEED Kitchens, Winzenried is the owner of Stellas Bakery and a member of the Dane County Farmers Market Board, and Sedlak is a program manager for the FairShare CSA Coalition.
These five will join the Committee's eight current members. As the design and operations plan for the Public Market are finalized over the next year, the City created additional seats on this committee to add more business expertise and food systems connections to the group. These five individuals will bring a wealth of expertise, ideas, and energy to the project. Their mix of experience related to food, art, and entrepreneurism will be extremely valuable to the Madison Public Market effort.
With representatives from REAP, the Dane County Farmers Market Board, FairShare Coalition, and the FEED Kitchens, these new members also bring deep connections to key organizations and will help facilitate strong collaborations as the Public Market moves forward.