Carson City Farmer’s Market safety standards exceed grocers making it safest place to shop for produce
While it was a question as to whether the Farmer’s Market this year would be able to go on in the world of COVID-19, now it is showing that its safety standards are outdoing grocery stores, making it the safest place to shop for produce in Carson City.
Every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. the Farmer’s Market sets up shop in the parking lot on Curry Street behind McFadden’s Plaza, and they are setting rigorous safety standards for their patrons.
Patrons come in through two entrances, which are staffed by Farmer’s Market volunteers who watch over a hand-washing and hand-sanitizing station and make sure that patrons are wearing masks.
Once inside the market’s boundaries, patrons are asked to socially distance and are not to touch any produce. Instead, each vendor has a team that will select produce for each customer before ringing them up.
At one fruit stand, vendors know how important it is to be able to feel the fruit for prime ripeness, and so plastic gloves are handed out for patrons to select their own.
While other grocers in the area are under the same mask-required mandate ordered by Governor Steve Sisolak, there are no restrictions on what customers can and cannot touch within the grocery store, unlike at the Farmer's Market.
According to Market Manager Breana Coons, patrons are being cooperative under these circumstances.
Coons personally makes sure safety practices are in place each and every Saturday.
“I go around the market to ensure things are going smoothly and patrons and vendors are adhering to our requirements,” said Coons. “We want everyone to feel safe when the come to our market.”
In addition, without market standards like live music, people are coming to the market, grabbing their produce and heading out, which helps keep numbers within the market low.
“We have about 1,300 people come through our market (each week),” said Coons. “It may sound like a lot, but people are really adhering to the 'Shop and Go Philosophy,' which only puts about 80 people in the market at our busiest hour.”
Despite the safety precautions, however, COVID-19 hasn’t spared the market the loss of patronage businesses around the country are facing. According to Coons, the market has seen a 40 percent decrease in shoppers this year.