NORWICH — The Norwich Farmers Market will open a week from Saturday with major new limitations in place because of state-mandated precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the Route 5 market opens May 9, only farmers and food providers will be allowed as vendors to serve customers.
“If it doesn’t go in your mouth, you can’t bring it,” Steve Hoffman, manager of the Norwich Farmers Market, said, deferring to guidelines set by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets.
Not even flower sales will be allowed, he said. But there will be the usual representation of vegetable growers, meat producers, cheesemakers and other food vendors.
The guidelines were drawn up with input from the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont last month after the industry protested the state initially classifying farmers markets as nonessential businesses.
Hoffman said that when the Norwich Farmers Market opens next weekend people will notice some differences.
The first is that there will be no crafts booths, picnic tables, live music entertainment or eating of food — including drinking coffee — on-site.
“It’s not going to be as festive and fun but we do have a pretty dedicated customer base and we’re going to try and find a way to promote the crafters who are not there,” he said.
In order to space vendors far enough from each other to encourage social distancing, about eight to 10 vendors will be relocated to the north side parking field on the left of the entrance drive. Vendors inside the market corral will be spaced one empty booth apart from one another.
Prepared food vendors must package their meals in to-go boxes for consumption outside the market, he said.
The Norwich Farmers Market, considered one of the most successful in Vermont, typically has space for 53 vendors with a mix that is 60% agriculture, 20% crafts and 20% prepared food. Hoffman said this year, at least in the beginning, he is expecting only about 30 vendors evenly divided between agriculture and food.
In normal years, the Norwich Farmers Market draws 1,200 to 2,000 attendees on any given Saturday.
Hoffman said people are going to be encouraged to call or email their orders ahead to farmers for pickup at the market, although he acknowledged not all the vendors have that capability. Shoppers are encouraged, but not required, to wear face masks and there will be a single access point for entry and exit.
The Norwich Farmers Market will be a less social affair than in previous years, Hoffman acknowledged, but it still is an important source of income for many small farms in the Upper Valley.
“I’m not even putting the picnic tables out. They are stacked underneath the gazebo,” he said. “I think they will be there for a while.”
The Lebanon Farmers Market will open Thursday, May 14, with extended hours from 3 to 7 p.m. and also in compliance with strict social distancing guidelines.
Patrons will be allowed to enter and exit only at flagged locations, face masks must be worn and Lebanon Recreation Department staff will track the number of marketgoers to limit capacity to 300 people at a time, according to a notice posted on the city’s website.
Shoppers are instructed to have a “look, don’t touch” approach while vendors will help select purchases. The city is also recommending that only one shopper per household go to the market and that prepared food should be eaten at home.
John Lippman can be reached at jlippman@vnews.com.
