Your local market may be open, but you should take some additional precautions before you grab your reusable bag and visit on a Saturday morning. For one, you’ll need to do your homework and plan ahead, probably much more than you’re used to, and it won’t be a social hour. Just remember: It’s all in the name of keeping health and safety top priority for both vendors and shoppers. With that in mind, here’s what to consider before you head out to scoop up armfuls of beautiful heirloom tomatoes and juicy, ripe berries. “When shoppers see a map prior to getting to the market, they know where the vendors are and what they will be offering, and it allows for that constant flow,” says Cameron Campbell, a special events coordinator with the City of Greenville who oversees the market. At TD Essential Market, for example, event staff have turned the formerly open market into an enclosed one with only two access points, Campbell says. Staff control the number of people who go in and out, with the entrance and exit at the same location. With only 80 to 100 people allowed in at a time, depending on the time of day, shoppers are having to wait in socially distanced lines for their turn (and sometimes it takes a while, considering about 2,000 shoppers have turned out on Saturdays since the market reopened in early June). Standing 6 feet apart can also make it tricky to see exactly where the line is, so be patient and collaborative with fellow shoppers while you wait. “We really need customers to avoid touching produce,” says Katie Davis, a board member of The Market at Pepper Place and director of operations at Jones Valley Teaching Farm (a vendor at the market) in Birmingham, Ala. While it may seem odd, you’ll need to place your trust in vendors to pick out the produce you want; ask (nicely) for what you’re looking for. Then, hold your bag out and open it up for the vendor to gently place your items inside. (Davis says that, while environmentally friendly reusable bags are normally standard for shopping farmers markets, it’s OK to use single-use containers right now for everyone’s safety.) “It’s important to mirror those practices of the growers and the things they’re comfortable with,” Davis says. “If your vendor is wearing a mask, it’s proper and polite to be doing that, too.” “From the vendor, market, and customer perspectives, this has been a huge upset, because farmers markets are centers of community, as well as the place you go to get your produce,” Davis says. The bottom line right now: Though it feels anti-social, it’s important to maintain a “get in and get out” mentality. A simple show of gratitude can go a long way, too. “Being a grower is already a stressful job, and this adds a layer of uncertainty on top of [coping] with weather, soil, bugs, etc.,” Davis says. She suggests sending an email of thanks to a vendor you purchased something from or helping to promote vendors by sharing about them on social media to encourage sales.
