Iteration, innovation, and collaboration: Supporting farmers markets' response to COVID-19

Abstract

he value proposition of farmers markets has been altered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival-like features of markets put on hold, the in-person social interactions reduced, the physical flow of walk-up markets changed. Just as previous crises 1 called upon markets to shift their operations to serve their community, the 2020 story highlights how once again, these low-capacity/high-functioning entities have been forced to reinvent themselves. This time, alternative models involving online pre-orders, drive-thru, and curbside product pickup scenarios have been rapidly put in place by individual vendors and market operators. Open-air and shed market vendor placements have been redesigned to allow for social distancing among both vendors and customers. Sanitation and public safety measures including gloves, hand sanitizer, and hand-washing facilities are now essential considerations. The specific challenges faced by market organizations to implement those changes that have been reported to Farmers Market Coalition (FMC) and to its state and network-level partners 2 include: • Market-day operational restrictions due to public agency mandates that change regularly, ignoring the realities of outdoor retail venues and forcing significant redesign.