Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Food, Food Distribution Centers, Infrastructure, Markets, NAPMM, Project for Public Spaces
With thanks to Ben Vitale of the Central New York Regional Market:
I wanted to record a synopsis of my experience at the National Association of Produce Market Managers (NAPMM) Conference I just returned from in Philadelphia (more posts on this to come soon). Quickly the highlights of the conference included:
1) Meeting produce market managers from all over the country who collectively help manage the food chain that provides fresh produce for a majority of North America
2) Touring the nearly completed Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market (PWPM), a state-of-the-art 700,000 sq ft and $218,500,000 wholesale distribution center that will move from its previous Philadelphia location to this new mega-building.
3) Observing conversations amongst the various managers about the variety of market facilities they manages (architecture/operations), the major issues facing these markets, and their role in the food chain.
4) Participating in round-table discussions between NAPMM members, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Project for Public Spaces (PPS), the Wallace Center, and various other interested parties, about the existing and emergent possibilities within food markets to develop what the USDA and PPS are calling ’food hubs.’ These facilities are interested in ”not only selling a wide variety of healthy foods, including local produce, but also creating a place for community-centered activities to take place like healthy clinics and day care centers.’
Given the thesis of this blog, this conference easily holds the spot most essential resource I have yet to uncover. Although it comes a few weeks late in the thesis schedule this surge of information and future contact opportunities will prove to be incredibly helpful in my explorations of the mysterious and complex architectures of the food chain.
A few photos below, much more to follow soon!
In the meantime imagine a facility, a single space, a giant refrigerator that has a bigger building foot print than all three of Philadelphia’s pro-sport stadiums, cost less than 1 of them, employees more people, and generates more income annually for the local economy. I guess I am wondering how these facilities havent entertained or captured and kept our attention. That being said perhaps now they can.
Google Earth image of the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market
View of the market's 1300 foot-long central concourse
View back to Philadelphia from a market window
Photo from the floor of the central concourse
NAPMM members touring the cooled storage rooms
Exterior view of the 'backside" docking facades of the market
Workshop sessions with NAPMM, USDA, PPS, and the Wallace Center.
