Help Us Reach Our Goal

The goal is to raise $250,000 to help ensure a strong and stable launch.

Overall, the Day One Community Farm Fund is designed to help the new market succeed from the start for a longer season to help us bring new farms to grow the market—supporting local farmers, building community connections, and making fresh, local food more accessible to all.

“Building a market has never been just about canopies or vendor space for us,” said Ryan Reiter, President, Northwest Marketplaces. “It’s about the quiet, steady work of showing up week after week and letting a neighborhood reveal what it needs. This evolution into a traditional farmers market isn’t just a business decision, but a reflection of what this neighborhood is asking for. We hope it becomes a connective thread linking Belltown, Uptown, Capitol Hill, Cascade and Downtown through something as simple – and powerful - as gathering around fresh food.”

Get Involved Today

Contact Ryan Reiter directly at ryan@nwmarketplaces.com to get involved today.

Day One Community Farm Fund to ensure successful launch for participating farmers

Day One Community

Farm Fund

The Day One Community Farm Fund is a special first-year program designed to support the expansion of the South Lake Union Farmers Market on Saturday. The fund helps reduce risk for farmers and food producers by providing financial stability during the early weeks, while also making sure fresh, locally grown food reaches the surrounding community.

How it Works

The way it works is simple: businesses and community sponsors contribute to the fund, and that money is used to purchase food directly from participating farmers and market vendors. The food is then donated to local nonprofits and food access programs, helping people in need while also supporting small producers.

This creates a full-circle impact—sponsors support farmers, farmers provide fresh food, and the community benefits.

Support Farmers

To ensure a successful launch, organizers are introducing the Day One Community Farm Fund, a dedicated year-one initiative designed to provide financial stability to farmers and producers and directly reinvest local food into the South Lake Union community. Corporate and philanthropic contributions to the Fund will be used to purchase surplus food directly from participating market vendors each week. Those goods are then donated to approved community partners and/or distributed through local food access programs in and around South Lake Union, creating a closed-loop impact model and reinforcing a shared investment in a strong local food economy.

“The Day One Community Farm Fund is a practical way to stand beside farmers during the uncertainty of a new market while also ensuring that fresh, local food reaches more people in this neighborhood from the very beginning,” said Doug Farr, Executive Director, Seattle Farmers Market Association. “Farmers markets are powerful economic engines that strengthen neighborhoods, support small businesses, and keep dollars circulating locally, but you can’t rush community. Growth doesn’t respond to pressure; it responds to patience, trust, and consistency.”

The South Lake Union Farmers Market on Saturday represents more than a weekly shopping opportunity — it reflects a shared commitment to sustaining local agriculture, small businesses, and neighborhood life. As it prepares to open in June 2026, organizers invite sponsors, community partners, vendors, and neighbors to participate in building this next chapter together. 

“The places we love in our city only endure if we actively support them,” said Reiter. “Farmers markets, local shops, neighborhood cafés — they don’t survive on sentiment alone. They survive because we show up. Because we choose them. Investing in them is really an investment in the kind of city we want to live in.”