Dartmouth’s farmers market reopens with covid precautions
Jun 19, 2020
New Bedford resident Kimberly Marques stops by the Silverbrook Farms stand at the first day of the Dartmouth farmers market. Photos by: Christopher Shea
Jim Cormier of Hearth Artisan Bread stretches during some downtime.
A sanitation station at the market.
A customer browses some produce at the Silverbrook stand.
Some spaced out tents.
Market-enthusiast Bodie sits down while looking at a tent he wants to sniff.
Dartmouth’s Farmers Market got its 15th season underway this Friday, with a few modifications to allow for social distancing.
Located in the parking lot of St Mary’s Church, the popular Friday afternoon market features locally grown produce, baked goods and handmade products such as soap — all of which must now be browsed from a distance.
“This year’s a bit different, but it’s still a great place to get some quality food,” organizer Susan Murray said. “It’s nice to be back, that’s for sure.”
Murray is a vendor with Flying Carrot Farm on Elm Street and has been managing the event for the past few years. She said that this year’s organization took some extra steps, as she had to make sure the market followed public health guidelines.
“It was a long process and a little overwhelming at first,” she added. “In the end, I think we’ve created a market that is very safe for people to come to.
Precautions in place include both vendors and customers being required to wear face masks to shop, spaced out stands, one-way traffic flow, and a request to not touch the produce — a rule Murray said some follow better than others.
“There have been some people who have come up to push through the tape to touch stuff,” she said. “But I’d say the majority of people did great at following the rules.”
For those who stopped by the market, many said they felt it marked the return of something closer to normal.
“It’s nice to get back out after being home for so long,” New Bedford resident Kimberly Marques said. “Being able to have some sort of routine, even if it’s just going to the farmer’s market, is great.”
For vendors, they were just happy to have an additional way to get their products out to the public and interact with other people.
“It’s been nice to see some frequent shoppers,” Andrew Thornhill of Silverbrook Farm said.
Olive oil and balsamic vinegar vendor Tony Melli agreed.
He said it was important to continue to get local produce out there and to support the farms, and he is ultimately glad the market was able to happen during this pandemic.
“I didn’t want this market to disappear,” he said. “I love this market.”
