Farmers markets figuring out new logistics
“This is uncharted territory ... One of our jobs is to get people to frequent our downtown area and East Lyme in general ... but it’s hard to figure out what’s responsible and what’s overdoing it.” RITA RIVERA, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, NIANTIC MAIN STREET
The unofficial motto of the Ledyard Farmers Market this season sums up the approach of many area markets as they prepare to open over the next month: “Get Fresh ’n’ Go.”
Normally a place for a meandering browse, a chat with a friend, or dinner at the resident food truck, area farmers markets are having to modify their layouts and operations to stay in compliance with state guidelines regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Farms and farmers markets have been protected as essential services since the first wave of executive orders from Gov. Ned Lamont in mid-March. The state Department of Agriculture issued a guidance document on April 21 outlining practices for market masters and vendors to use to reduce the possible spread of the virus, including limiting the number of customers in the market space, spacing out vendors and providing signage detailing the changes.
The Stonington Farmers Market, which runs year-round on Saturdays, has been operating out of the American Velvet Mill parking lot since mid-March. The market is usually held inside during the colder months and moves outside to the Town Dock during the summer. Kevin Bowdler,
market administrator, said that while the market has shifted to its summer hours of 9 a.m.-noon, it will remain at the Velvet Mill until some of the restrictions are lifted.
“That field [at the Town Dock] is much smaller than what we’ve got now, and we could not comply with social distancing,” he said, adding that the Velvet Mill also has bathrooms for handwashing.
Bowdler said the modified winter market went almost too well: demand was unusually high for March and April, and they had to rework their layout because the lines for each vendor started to run together. For now, the market will stay limited to farms and other food vendors, with no artisans, musicians or samples.
Art Costa, president of Thames Valley Sustainable Connections, runs the two Field of Greens Farmers Markets in New London, one at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital on Wednesdays and one at Williams Park on Fridays. Both markets don’t open until the first week in July, so he said they’re prepared but are waiting to see if phase 2 of the state’s reopening, slated for June 20, changes any current regulations. He’s also awaiting further guidance on how markets will be processing senior and WIC vouchers.
“Farmers markets are opening up, and people are anxious to have them,” he said. “Although we have to keep our distance now, there’s nothing like meeting your farmer or food producer.”
In addition to increased restrictions, the Ledyard market also had to plan for a new location; the upper level of the town green, where it normally is, was recently reseeded, so the market will be on the lower level of the green near the agricultural pavilion. Market master Pam Ball said that while vendors are understanding of the state and federal guidelines, a few have dropped out of this year’s market because the limits on sampling and touching make it too difficult to sell products.
A vendor herself, she said she’s offering preorders of her handmade soap and other body products on her website for pickup at the market, but it’ll be hard not letting customers smell her products.
There are going to be a lot of “nos” and a lot of little issues to work out with the new format, she said, but this way people can still enjoy local items, just at home.
Rita Rivera, communications director for Niantic Main Street, said promoting the Niantic Farmers Market has been a challenge under the current circumstances. She said this is the 10th anniversary of the market, which opens on June 18, but already organizers have had to cancel some of their special events, including children’s activities, to cut down on crowding.
“This is uncharted territory of trying to market something where people come but not everybody,” she said. “One of our jobs is to get people to frequent our downtown area and East Lyme in general ... but it’s hard to figure out what’s responsible and what’s overdoing it.”
Rivera said organizers were also going to start aligning the market with a new Third Thursday initiative, in which the market would stay open later in conjunction with downtown business events, but they’ll have to revisit it in 2021 or 2022.
While organizers of the Waterford Farmers Market announced in April that this year’s market had been canceled, posts on the market Facebook page are promoting its regular vendors so patrons can continue to support those farmers while the market is closed.
For a list of markets currently open, visit the state agriculture department website at https://bit.ly/2TvIMgt.