That's interesting, I wish I had seen that on PBS. I found some info at the Project for Public Spaces, link attached. They did some studies showing that farmers' market patrons are likely to shop at local stores after buying from the farmers' market, keeping more money in the local economy. Not exactly what you're looking for but hopefully somewhat useful.

Here is a link that might be useful: Project for Public Spaces

I will have to look through the internet a bit, but those numbers sound close.

I would recommend anyone to follow this guy, and read his books. I know on one of his you tube videos, he quotes similar numbers. "The town that food saved", would be especially relevant to this conversation, and market gardening in general.

http://benhewitt.net/about/

Here is the video. It's a long one, but full of info on local food.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w-oEORwatA

Stats on how much money leaves the community when shopping big box

http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2012/08/08/where-does-your-grocery-money-go-mostly-not-to-the-farmer/

Old report on farmer's markets , but interesting and still relevant.

http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2012/08/08/where-does-your-grocery-money-go-mostly-not-to-the-farmer/

This is a little bit of a passion of mine. I do quite a bit of research on it. Be glad to write something out, with statistics and sources, just shoot me an e-mail. Might help, might not, but I bet we could at least get the city council to admit their issues.

handymick@gmail.com

Sorry, same link twice. I am not sure how to make them be clickable. You can copy to your browser, though.

http://www.clintonlibrary.gov/assets/storage/Research%20-%20Digital%20Library/ClintonAdminHistoryProject/81-90/Box%2090/1756276-history-usda-archival-documents-chapter-1-00-agricultural-marketing-service-3.pdf

Profit margins on food, especially basic foods, are very small at grocery stores, so that sounds about right. That's why the milk, bread, and meat are typically in opposite corners from each other - so you have to walk by the cosmetics, greeting cards, and other retail items that have much higher margins.

I work in pricing at a Supermarket. The lowest margins are actually on soda and we have it displayed everywhere and wonder why. The reason is the soda distributors take the store managers on golf trips. Plus the soda vendors stock their own product. I can check cost on anything in the store and for produce that helps me decide if it is worth selling wholesale to the store.

Anyway, loved the link Mick. Sometimes I sell wholesale and get obviously less than at the market but the market takes a whole day of marketing and you still bring some home.
Our squash and pumpkin vendor at our store grew nice local squash and washed them and brought them in to the store with his own two hands. Obviously for not much profit because the young man now works for winter helping in our produce dept!

it may be to your advantage to get customers to tell the city council how important the market is to them.