Loose Leaf Notes

-The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on May 14, 2020.

The Floyd Farmers Market at the Community Pavilion opened for the season on May 2nd from 9 – 1 pm.  Opening on schedule as an essential service, market organizers made several adjustments for keeping vendors and patrons safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following state guidelines to social distance and restrict groups to no more than ten people, market organizers were able to monitor foot traffic by providing one well-marked market entrance and one exit to and from the market. “I thought it went really smoothly,” said Melissa Branks, about the opening day. Branks, who manages the market for SustainFloyd, reported that there was no difficulty with social distancing. “We had a rule of only 10 customers at time and we didn’t have the need to enforce that.”

Organizers reduced the number of vendors in order to space out tables. Nine vendors sold locally grown veggies, locally raised meat, freshly baked bread and farm eggs.  An online pre-order shopping service is also available for customers and provides a further assortment of items, such as hand-turned bowls, vegetable starts, jellies, herbal tinctures and more. Pre-orders are made between Monday morning to Thursday night at floydfoodhub.luluslocalfood.com and can be picked up at the Saturday market, curbside or at a convenient local location.

Vendors and some customers wore masks, as recommended by state coronavirus guidelines. Masks made by the Mask Brigade of Floyd group were provided free to the customers who wanted them, Branks said.

At the next Farmers Market, on Saturday on May 9, vendors and customers were not only wearing masks; they wore hats and winter coats.  But the cold, windy weather didn’t deter shopping. Miriam Brancato stocked up on freshly-baked bread from Big Indian Farm. “I cut is up, freeze it and have it for weeks,” she said, adding that her cookie purchase (that she pre-ordered) goes faster and doesn’t need to be frozen.

The vendor for Big Indian Farm said that between the Floyd and Blacksburg Farmers Markets, they received and filled 60-70 pre-orders for the day, with the majority of sales going to the Blacksburg Market, where her husband was vending.  She noted that they have experienced a dip in Floyd sales, but added, “We actually did pretty well here.”

Bessie Weber of Kester Clark Farm brought 15 dozen eggs and sold out by noon. “The people who come, come to buy,” she said. “It’s been slower, as far as people go, but the sales have been good.”

The outdoor Farmers Market, which is in its 10th year of operation and is open every Saturday from May to November, continues to provide a Snap-Match token option for EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) shoppers. “They can shop for fresh food and double their shopping dollars,” said Branks.  Shoppers can also shop for fresh food at the Riverstone and EcoVillage Farm stores, which are open during the week.

“People have been very appreciative that we are up and running and that they have the ability to shop from the farmers,” Branks said. – Colleen Redman