Farmers markets go on with extra care
A RAFT of changes are coming to the Toowoomba Farmer’s Market in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Shoppers last Saturday turned out in droves to pick up some fresh produce and gourmet treats and organiser Robyn Ayles said for the most part, they were quite respectful of social distancing measures. There were a few people still treating it a bit flippantly, but Ms Ayles said that won’t be the case this weekend and going forward, the market would be doing everything it could to help people stay stocked with the necessities without breaking their social distancing. This weekend’s market will go ahead, but regular shoppers will notice plenty of changes. “We’re doing even more this week to keep everyone safe,” Ms Ayles said.
“Last week was stage one and this week we will be encouraging everyone to come to the market and leave, with no standing around. “Everything will be take away including the food, so people can grab their breakfast and take it home to eat. “There will be no cash transactions and we’ve put in place extra staff to get the queues to go quicker. “We’ve expanded the market more so there is more space between stalls and people can stay apart.
“We’ve got extra fruit and veg stalls coming so that will also spread out customers. “We’ve also decided to remove all seating to discourage people from staying.”
She said there would also be hand sanitising stations and signs up discouraging people from using the porta loos unless absolutely necessary.
As of Monday, people will be able to visit the Toowoomba Farmer’s Market Facebook page to find out more about a click and collect service, so in coming weeks they will be able to order the things they would normally buy at the market, at the same price, and collect them from a stall in the car park.
The market runs from 7amnoon at Cobb and Co.