Pre-Orders, Senior & High Risk Groups Shop Early, Extended Hours, SNAP Match & More
Dear Cobblestone Customers,
These are unprecedented times and we want to maintain safe options for our community to access fresh, local, sustainable food. Cobblestone Market Management has been working diligently to make market plans that comply with both the most up-to-date mandates as well as the vigilant safety practices being defined by the CDC, and we are pleased to share where we are, as of now, for the coming week.
Cobblestone will be open and set-up outside at 1001 S Marshall Parking Lot this Saturday, March 21 with extended hours of 8:30am-12:00pm.
SNAP / EBT Recipients Receive up to $10 in Market Match Money
THE GOOD NEWS
As shared by the NC State Extension Offices, “COVID-19 is not a foodborne illness. It is extremely unlikely that someone will catch it through eating. The virus is most likely to cause illness through respiratory transmission, not eating. The routes to be concerned about include being in very close proximity to many people or coming in contact with high touch surfaces.”
The market is limiting close proximity and coming in to contact with high touch surfaces by:
Moving outdoors to an open-air market with significant distance between booths
Limiting market volume by extending market hours and promoting pre-ordering, alternate pick-up locations and home deliveries
Providing Senior [customers 65 +] and High-Risk Customer Shopping Time between 8:30-9:00am
Social distancing between customers in lines, and conversations/interactions at a distance
Asking vendors to practice increased hand hygiene, use gloves when handling money, and handle, package items for customers, and leave items on table for pick up
Rounding pricing to the nearest dollar to remove usage of coins
Regularly sanitizing high touch areas within the market area
Using non-porous tablecloths
Other farmers markets across the state are implementing similar methods to ours. Debbie Roos, Chatham County Extension Agent, considers “farmers’ markets to be essential to our food system and hope(s) they stay open. All the markets (she knows of) are working so hard to adapt to this fast changing environment and implement new guidelines and policies to keep vendors and customers safe and “flatten the curve” on coronavirus.”
Clinical Microbiologist (and Carrboro Market shopper), Dr. Peter Gilligan shared with Debbie Roos: “I actually think the farmers’ market is a safer place to shop – because it has sunlight and fresh air – but we have to have social distancing and that’s something people aren’t used to. So I’ve been going around and suggesting to people when they are waiting in line in particular that it’s important to maintain social distancing: if you put your arm out and you can touch someone then you are too close.”
We agree with the position of the Farmers Market Coalition that “farmers markets are necessary for the livelihood of tens of thousands of farmers and for food access for millions of consumers. Farmers markets should be addressed in the same manner as grocery stores, pharmacies, and other essential public services as decisions are made regarding containment protocols.”
Cobblestone Market Management will continue to consult with the NC Dept of Public Health and keep informed on the best ways to provide safe access to locally produced goods and provide retail opportunities for our small farms and local businesses to safely access you.
We also encourage folks to sign-up for individual farm newsletters to learn of CSA openings, on farm pick-up and home-delivery options. We will include more information on this and pre-orders on our website and social media outlets as well as in the CFM Newsletter later this week.
In conclusion, our gratitude spreads far and wide to all of our vendors, YOU the customers, and the greater network within our NC food system - which we know will continue to support one another near and far in the weeks ahead.
Margaret, Ariana, Salem, Misty and Maeve
The Collective Team of Cobblestone Farmers Market and Beta Verde, LLC