Farmer’s Markets vendors respond to Community Action Duluth’s statements
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DULUTH, Min. – A group of vendors from Lincoln Park and Hillside Farmer’s Markets are responding to recently release of information from Community Action Duluth (CAD).
CAD’s board of directors released a six page document trying to clear-up what they called “misinterpretations, inaccuracies, and plainly false claims” that have been reported and talked about in recent days.
The statement from the vendors was sent by “SolFed Farm” but signed by “A collective group of vendors from the Lincoln Park and Central Hillside Farmers Markets”.
The statement said on September 24. 2025 they sent a letter to asking to meet with the board looking to learn how CAD planed to catch up on outstanding payments to all vendors, asking for communication on payment plans, and asking for a board liaison to communicate with vendors due to a breakdown of communication.
The vendors say the letter went unanswered.
The statement said they sent a second letter on October 23, 2025. They vendors say the next day, on October 24, Board Chair Shawn Pearson responded saying, “The Board has received the documents and will address them soon.” The vendors said that was the only communication they have directly received as of November 21.
The vendors letter then continued to say, “We learned the November farmers markets were cancelled without much explanation beyond a Facebook post. Yesterday’s press release from CAD was the first time we learned that the winter markets were cancelled entirely. Although it is true that CAD reduces outdoor farmers market events in the winter season for obvious weather reasons, they instead have shifted to be indoor winter markets for the past two seasons… Vendors and customers alike were relying on promises made of winter markets being available and this cancelation was made without consultation or explanation to the market community.”
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The vendors have asked to meet with CAD leadership as a group. They said, “CAD has simply refused to offer a group meeting at this time, instead offering individual meetings as the only immediate option with a possibility of a future group meeting – but no timeline of when that could potentially happen.”
The vendors also responded to the CAD claims saying Executive Director Classie Dudley has been unfairly targeted based on her race, gender and age. The vendors wrote, “While that may or may not be true, linking all existing and real accountability issues to Executive Director Dudley’s race, gender, and age doesn’t erase the professional accountability that our group of vendors have been asking for. Many vendors have never met Ms. Dudley and never knew who the Executive Director was. We have never seen her at the Farmers Markets. We are only focused on accountability and transparency, period.”
They continued to say claims in the CAD Board of Director letter are not true. The vendors letter states, “Many of the vendors in our collective group have not been paid up until August 25th as
CAD has claimed in yesterday’s press release. As of this morning, a few vendors verified they received a check in the mail this week that brings them up to August 25th, but that is the minority. Many are still waiting for invoices and reimbursements for most of August, all of September and all of October. Some are still waiting for payments owed to them prior to August.”
The letter ends with, “We will continue to request and be willing to meet with the CAD board and leadership to discuss as a group our concerns. We look forward to seeing how CAD plans to take responsibility and provide transparency because actions speak louder than words.”
