2nd Street Market has big changes in store
The outside area will open starting Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
When the popular market reopens Saturday, all vendors and shopping will be outside to avoid tight indoor spaces.
The 2nd Street Market reopens Saturday for the first time since mid-March, but with big changes.
The market’s indoor space is too narrow to allow for safe social distancing, so all vendors and shopping will be outside.
During warm weather months, market vendors typically sell produce, flowers and other items on the north side of the former freight house on Second Street.
The market on Saturday will have fresh produce, meat and dairy for sale, mostly on the south side of the building in the parking lot.
One meat and one dairy vendor will be on the northwest side of the property at the Second and Webster streets intersection.
Visitors will be able to park in the northeast parking lot area and in an overflow parking area on Webster Street at the Dayton Steam Plant.
Moving forward, the market will be open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the first half hour of operation will be reserved for visitors with compromised immune systems or who are 65 and older.
There will be restrictions on the number of visitors allowed to shop at any one time, and shoppers are required to socially distance and wear face masks. Visitors can buy face coverings from a vendor at the entrance.
Shoppers will not be permited to touch products, and they will not be allowed to use their own bags.
Visitors will be asked not to linger, to allow others an opportunity to shop.
Five Rivers MetroParks, which operates the market, says it is important to reopen to provide the community access to fresh and local food at a time when health is a major concern.
“While MetroParks is asking visitors to change how they shop,
what hasn’t changed is the ever-growing need to provide equitable access to fresh, local produce,” said 2nd Street Market Manager Lynda Suda. “The market is one of only a few locations where people can shop for fresh food in the downtown area.”
Many market vendors accept and match food stamp benefits, through a token exchange program offered on site, near the entrance to the outdoor market.
The benefit program is a partnership between MetroParks and Homefull.
The market’s prepared food and artisan vendors are not yet open.
But some local farmers and other vendors are selling products online, and their information is available at metroparks.org/localfood.
MetroParks asks anyone who is sick or who has been in recent contact with sick people stay home to avoid possibly spreading infection.
MetroParks asks that only one person per household visit the market, and visitors should remember that the inside of the market is closed, meaning restrooms and water fountains will not be available.
Contact this reporter at 937-225-0749 or email Cornelius.Frolik@coxinc.com.