You asked why some district health departments charge a fee for certain participants in Connecticut farmers' markets and others do not.

The law allows district health departments to charge a permit fee for farmers' market participants who require one. The state Department of Public Health (DPH) has advised and continues to advise district health departments to waive the permit fee, according to DPH's Joe Mendyka, Legislation and Regulations Analyst, Office of Government Relations. However, some districts still charge for it.

Under the state Public Health Code, farmers who process (e. g. , cut or peel) the food they sell at farmers' markets are considered “temporary food service establishments” and thus must obtain a permit from the district health department, if a local ordinance requires one. (Farmers who sell only unprocessed produce at the markets are not typically regulated by district health departments and would not require a permit, Mendyka said. ) The code also requires a health department official to inspect temporary food service establishments (Public Health Code §§19-13-B42 (s)(1) and (t)).

The law authorizes towns jointly to form district health departments and gives a district, in addition to the powers to contract, borrow money, and acquire real estate, “such other powers as are necessary to properly carry out its powers as an independent entity of government. ” This

includes charging certain farmers a fee for a temporary food service establishment permit (CGS § 19a-243). (The attached OLR report, 2008-R-490, http: //search. cga. state. ct. us/dl2008/rpt/doc/2008-R-0490. doc, has more information about health districts. )

By law, a "farmers' market" is (1) a cooperative or nonprofit enterprise or association that consistently occupies a given site throughout the season and operates principally as a common marketplace for a group of farmers, at least two of whom are selling Connecticut-grown fresh produce, to sell Connecticut-grown farm products directly to consumers, and (2) where the participating farmers sell farm products they produce to generate a portion of household income (CGS § 22-6r).

The following link to the Department of Agriculture's Connecticut Farmers' Market Reference Guide provides further information on farmers' markets: http: //www. ct. gov/doag/lib/doag/marketing_files/complete_ct_farmers_market_ref. _guide_4-1-2009. pdf.

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