Q: What site locations are being considered?
Q: What is the status of the fund raising?
Q: How did Seattle's Pike Place raise $1.6 million in tile sales?
Q: What are good models of public markets?
Q: What are the advantages of the market to agriculture?
Q: What are the advantages of the market to Oregon?



Q: What site locations are being considered?

A: The site is: Union Station on Broadway next to the Central Post Office.
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Q:
What is the status of the fund raising?

A: The May 2002 Dinner of the Decade with the James Beard Foundation was a fantastic event and raised over $55,000. The Beard Foundation generously donated their share of the proceeds, so all of the funds raised will go towards the construction of the Public Market.

The volunteer organizing committee and their counterparts at the Beard Foundation worked very hard to make this event one of the highlights of the year in Portland.

The Architectural Foundation of Oregon (AFO) has graciously volunteered to serve as the Public Market's bank until a non-profit organization specifically for the Market can be established. Money raised from smaller local events will be held for the Public Market by the AFO.

The September 2002 Picnic Basket Social was a great success. Over 170 people dined from baskets prepared by over 50 local restaurants. The baskets were all identical, so the surprise was opening one up to find out which restaurant had prepared your basket. Many restaurants and sponsors donated services and many volunteers donated time to make this event work. It worked so well that many attendees are asking that it become an annual event.


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Q: How did Seattle's Pike Place raise $1.6 million in tile sales?

A: Over 46,000 named or numbered tiles cover the floor of the Main and North Arcades, Desimone Bridge, and Flower Row. In the mid-1980s you could pay $35 for one inscribed tile as part of the Market Foundation's "Be a Legend in Your Own Tile" campaign. $1.6 million was raised to pay for the project, plus $100,000 for the Market Foundation.
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Q: What are good models of public markets?

A: The Seattle Pike Place Market and Vancouver, B.C.'s, Granville Island Public Market provide valuable models for a public market in Portland. We want to match their vitality, while keeping the primary focus on connecting local growers & food producers to local customers.Others include Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market and Baltimore's Lexington Public Market
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Q: What are the advantages of the market to agriculture?

A: From an economic point of view, a public market is an outstanding small business incubator. Farmers sell produce at retail rather than wholesale, and improve their cash flow by diversifying into crops they can harvest in several seasons. For example, New York’s Greenmarket, which is open year-round, has created a whole new market in greenhouse-grown vegetables for winter consumption
A: Allows small farmers to conveniently sell to restaurants and institutional markets by providing a central location, cooler space and loading docks. These lucrative markets are difficult for small farmers to pursue because of logistical problems with storage and delivery.
A: Serves as central clearing house for an information network to keep restaurants and other customers up-to-the-minute on the availability of fresh products
A: Protects family farms from development by keeping them profitable.
A: Keeps community dollars in community hands, rather than exporting them to agribusinesses outside Oregon or, increasingly, outside the United States.
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Q: What are the advantages of the market to Oregon?

A: Creates a showplace for Oregon agricultural products, to build recognition of Oregon as a "brand-name" source of high-quality foods and wines.
A: Provides a beautiful facility for entertaining out-of-state and international visitors and promoting Oregon products.
A: Establishes common goals between urban and rural residents, who are generally considered antagonists rather than allies in Oregon politics. Enhances Oregon’s reputation as a place where people with different interests can find common ground.
A: Reinforces Portland's reputation as a city that approaches urban planning creatively.
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