Pictured: The Dane County Farmers Market in May 2019.
There’s nothing better than waking up on a weekend morning, hopping in your car, and heading out to your local farmers market to grab fresh Wisconsin goodies. But, such as the case with many things in the era of social distancing, an event that encourages large gatherings of people is just not plausible at the moment. With that, farmers markets all over the state have had to either cancel, move to an online platform, or get really creative.
Kristin Krokowski, the Director of the Wisconsin Farmers Market Association, says she hasn’t seen many markets cancel. “Only a handful,” she explains. For the most part, farmers markets are doing their best to remain as a place for farmers to sell their products to the public. “Most have created and plan and have gone through and figured out” how to continue operating “in a way that’s safe for people.” Krokowski says that markets want to continue on as a service to the community but the last thing they want is to be a source of spread for COVID-19.
The best way to do that is to “pull back on the social aspect of the market,” Krokowski explains. Farmers markets serve a social function as they are a way to catch up with neighbors as much as they are a food source. “For now we’re trying to pull back” on “the things that make people linger” as a way of discouraging people from gathering. Some markets have shifted towards online pickup while others have converted to drive-thru farmers markets.
Krikowski encourages everyone to continue to frequent their local farmers market in a safe way as many farmers rely on the revenue from the market. Plus, the food is a fresher alternative than a grocery store. As Krikowski mentions, many products you find at the market were picked that very morning, giving you a larger time frame to consume the product. When bought at a grocery store, you might only have a few days to eat it before it goes bad.
To hear Josh Scramlin speak with Krikowski on the Mid-West Farm Report, click the play button below. More information on your local market can be found by clicking right here.
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