In a new era of social distancing, farmers markets remain a personal way to get fresh produce and converse with the person who created the food.
New York is banning gatherings of more than 500 people. San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose all have bans of more than 1,000 people. Washington Governor Jay Inslee set the mark at 250 in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties (Seattle metro area). All the bans are tied to reducing the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Most of the country does not have to worry about a local farmers market reaching those proportions, even in good weather. The bans could become more significant as the weather warms if COVID-19 doesn't ease in its growth projection.
The Pike Place Market in Seattle covers a lot of ground. You can certainly find more than 250 people in nice weather. Pike Place has a lot of buildings as well as the open market so that might not be an issue under the Washington state ban.
The Ferry Building Farmers Market in San Francisco likely doesn't hit 1,000 but there are usually several hundred people across the front and south side of the building on Saturday mornings.
The Green City Market in Chicago doesn't go outdoors until May. Chicago's brand new mark is 1,000. The market draws a few hundred people at a time, nowhere near 1,000.
As the weather improves, markets might become a concern. Other Chicago markets start in May, especially in downtown Chicago.
Even if crowds are a concern, there could be bouncers, limiting access until other people leave.
Crowd bans reduced in size even further could impact farmers markets.
The farmers coming to the markets also have to deal with the potential of a coronavirus. That might unnerve some farmers from coming to markets.
BalanceofFood.com farmers market coverage
Here at BalanceofFood.com, we don't like scaring readers into something or away from something. That isn't our style. We worry about farmers and farmers markets. The hope is the conditions in North America will improve by May.
We also recognize that May is a long way away in terms of where the COVID-19 coronavirus will be in North America. We worry because farmers markets are a good habit that may be difficult to reclaim if lost due to a pandemic.
Short-term sacrifices are a concern. Long-term damage to farmers markets would be a greater concern.
photo credit: me
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