Download the Napa Farmers Market 2023 Impact Report
Dear friends,
I am thrilled to share with you our first Impact Report. The Napa Farmers Market has been operating since 1986 and we’ve grown tremendously, especially in the last five years. Our mission remains the same: to be the bridge between farm to fork, to create opportunities for small farmers and businesses to thrive, to create space for our whole community to gather around the exquisite joy of local food.
When COVID-19 changed the world, it inevitably changed our farmers market, and, surprisingly, the pandemic changed us for the better. Thanks to support from Napa County Public Health and my previous experience in pandemic preparedness and response, the Napa Farmers Market remained open as an essential food business. This marked a crucial shift in our community’s perception of how we operate. No longer were we a leisurely outing, we became recognized as a critical source for fresh, local food, sometimes even besting supplies at groceries stores in the early days of the lockdown.
In the post-pandemic world, the Napa Farmers Market has continued to flourish in our current location at the City of Napa West Street parking lot in the heart of downtown. In December 2023, the Napa Farmers Market board of directors appointed me to the newly created position of Executive Director. I am honored to lead our farmers market into the future as we continue to grow our mission of increasing access to local produce, specialty food, and artisan craft, 100% hand grown, harvested, and made with love.
You may have noticed that all our farmers have “We grow what we sell” signage at their stalls. This is part of the long list of California Department of Food and Agriculture requirements for farmers selling at every California Certified Farmers Market. The intent is to make it clear as day to customers that this produce is coming directly from a small farm, not a wholesale warehouse.
As a nonprofit organization, while the Napa Farmers Market does not grow or make products for sale:
- We grow family farmers, small businesses, and the local economy.
- We grow equitable access to local food.
- We grow community around local food.
- And most importantly, WE GROW TOGETHER!
Thank you for your support of the Napa Farmers Market. I welcome your feedback on our first Impact Report, please let me know what you think and how we can improve for next year. Enjoy!
See you at the Napa Farmers Market,
Cara Mae
Cara Mae Wooledge, MPH (she/her/ella)
Executive Director, Napa Farmers Market
