Home-cooked meals are having a moment, and coronavirus fears and precautions discourage a trip to the supermarket. Some things remain unchanged, however: the weather still dictates turnout at farmers markets.
“This is not conducive weather for the public,” vendor and Greenfield resident Conrad Dumas said at the Peterborough Farmers Market on Wednesday afternoon, as blustery wind left many vendors hanging onto their EZ-Up tents to keep them in place.
The market stuck to its planned early start and opened on April 1 this year, and visitation had been about the same as early last spring, Dumas said. It was too soon to tell what impact the COVID-19 pandemic would have on attendance or sales this year, he said, but the pandemic has certainly impacted selection and market protocol. Available products always change seasonally, and many regulars haven’t ramped up production for the season yet, Dumas said. However, some vendors have had to stay home in some recent weeks after a glut of direct orders left them without enough product to take to market. Ledgetop Farms of Wilton had no produce to spare last week, and an egg vendor from Greenfield has been approached by so many customers that he’s been selling his entire stock directly, Dumas said.
Cindy Collar runs Quarter Moon Farms in Hancock, and wore a garlic printed facemask to match the black garlic she brought to sell. This is the first time she is available to sell at the Wednesday market, Collar said, because she’s usually working as a dental assistant. She said she’d continue to sell until she returned to work.
All vendors wore masks and gloves on Wednesday, and only brought pre-wrapped products. A whiteboard in the center of the Community Center lawn listed the new rules for attending the market: one patron per vendor at a time, let the vendor put up your order, minimize touching, and protect yourself, other patrons, and our vendors. “– and no samples,” Rich Stadnik of Pup’s Cider and Houndstooth Brewing said.
Several vendors had a system to minimize or eliminate touching money. Ledgetop Farm’s Tom Mitchell said that, in addition to wearing a mask and gloves while handling produce, he washes the cash he receives between markets to minimize the risk of transmitting germs back to customers.
The Peterborough Farmers Market runs Wednesdays from 3 to 6 p.m. The Fresh Chicks Local Outdoor Market, which runs Mondays at Monadnock Community Hospital, has delayed its start until June 1. The Francestown Community Market pushed its opening day to May 1 from April 10, Town Administrator Jamie Pike said, and they’d likely push it back further if the state’s stay at home order is extended. Its regular hours are Fridays from 4-7 p.m. The Jaffrey Community Farmers Market is not scheduled to start until June, and organizer Stephanie Porter said they are waiting to make a decision on May 14 about whether, or under what circumstances, to run it. Its regular hours are Wednesdays from 4 to 7 p.m. The New Ipswich Farmers Market has not yet set a start date due to the pandemic, representative Shawn Talbot said. The Rindge Farmers and Crafters Market has a scheduled opening date of Thursday, May 14 from 3 to 6 p.m., and is currently taking applications for vendors.