COVID-19 Precautions at the Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market

Posted on by E-G Market

As a valuable food resource for our neighborhood and the wider community, the Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market is designated as an essential business.

We’re pleased to bring you an opportunity to shop for groceries in an open-air environment and support local businesses—including farmers from our region! Shopping at a farmers market helps sustain our local economy. It also means fewer people will be in contact with your food.

Amid a time of uncertainty, we’re proud to be able to continue offering our market in the same place (2310 N Monroe) at the same time (Fridays, 3 to 7pm) and for a full 17-week season (June 5 to September 25, 2020).

We will be accepting cash, cards, EBT and WIC/Senior Checks this year (no personal checks, please). Our EBT Snap Market Match is a 100% match rate this year, which is up 80% from last year’s program. That means EBT customers will double their spending money when they shop at the market!

🍒 Changes to Market Activities 🍒

  • We love your pets, but this season we are asking you to keep them home. We will miss them dearly and are looking forward to 2021 when they can join us again. Service animals are always welcome. 🐾
  • We are postponing all our “non-essential” arts and crafts vendors until further notice. The usual number of farms, bakeries and prepared food vendors will be joining us and look forward to seeing you this season.
  • We will be eliminating public tables, benches and other public seating areas.
  • We are canceling all extracurricular activities such as onsite kids activities (KERNEL), story time, live music and special events.
  • We are discontinuing sampling, eliminating all common condiments and requiring all ready-to-eat food to be consumed offsite.

☀️ Our COVID-19 Safety Plan ☀️

You will probably notice some similarities in our plan that mirror other guidelines being used by markets in our region. As a proud member of the Inland Northwest Farmers Market Association, we stand proud in prioritizing the safety of our patrons and vendors.

  • We will have ONE designated entrance (at our the market info booth) and ONE designated exit for the market.
  • Hand-washing stations will be at the entrance & exit of market.
  • Booths will be spaced at least 10 feet apart from each other.
  • Markings will be made on the ground to suggest 6-foot distance to comply with physical distancing.
  • We will be posting signage for customers with recommendations for market behavior.
  • We will be posting signage for customers to find products and vendors at the market.
  • To minimize handling, we are requiring vendors (not the customer) to choose and package products.
  • Sick shoppers, vendors and market volunteers will be sent home and prohibited from the market.

💗 How You Can Help Us Be Successful 💗

  • Share this post.
  • Please stay home if you are sick.
  • Wear a mask to the market.
  • Use the hand-washing stations.
  • Come with a grocery list to shop.
  • Limit how many people from your household visit (ideally 1 or 2).
  • Offer to shop for your friends and neighbors.
  • Let vendors pick and package your groceries.
  • Do not eat at the market. Consume food offsite.
  • Wash items when you get home.
  • Share photos of what you got from the market. Tag us and the vendor on social media (Facebook & Instagram).
  • Leave positive and constructive Google and Facebook reviews.

THANK YOU for supporting LOCAL! With love from your 100% volunteer Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market!! 🍓🍞🍏🥚🍯🥧

Market Manager Opportunity

Posted on by E-G Market

The Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market is looking for a new manager to lead the market into its eighth season in 2020.

This is a unique and profoundly rewarding volunteer opportunity for someone — or several someones — to make a lasting impact on multiple fronts:

  • Helping fledgling or small-scale farmers get a vital foothold in the local economy.
  • Providing nonprofits and other organizations with an effective, face-to-face outreach platform.
  • Increasing access to healthy, affordable, locally grown food beyond the high-disposable-income demographic.
  • Hosting a positive, vibrant, community-oriented event in a space that would otherwise be empty.
  • Bringing together individuals, couples and families whose paths might not cross under any other circumstances.
  • Contributing to a more sustainable food system.
  • The list goes on.

The current manager has overseen the market for the past seven years. In that time, the vendor count has grown along with foot traffic, volunteers, community partnerships and regular activities/events. A new manager would be taking control of that established platform and all its possibility.

Lack of experience isn’t a disqualifying factor. What’s far more important is dedication, resourcefulness and vision.

This role also isn’t limited to one person. If you’d like to divvy up the managerial responsibilities and work alongside others as a team, that should be doable.

The current manager is committed to advising and actively volunteering, and there’s an existing pool of committed volunteers from the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council who are willing to handle specialized roles (e.g., music booking, volunteer coordination, kids’ activities) and assist with setup, point of sale and teardown during market days.

And, finally, there is the possibility of pay. There are potential funding sources and other resources that could be pursued should that be a priority of the new manager(s).

If you’re interested, pleased e-mail market@emersongarfield.org or call (509) 255-3072. You can also stop by the market on any of the next three Fridays in September (3 to 7pm, 2310 N Monroe) and come to the market info booth.

Without a manager (or managers) firmly in place by January, it’s unlikely that the market will be able to continue.

2018 Market Volunteer Opportunities

Posted on by E-G Market

Interested in volunteering at the Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market this season?

Our market is entirely volunteer-driven, which is why your participation could make the difference between something great and something amazing.

Here are the broad areas where we can use your volunteer assistance followed by a brief description of what’s involved. The commitment is flexible — there’s something for everyone and their busy schedules.

Bear in mind that there’s a how-to and existing resources for each of these areas, so you won’t be starting from scratch or going it alone. If something piques your interest, let us know and you’ll be given all the support you need to do it.

Scheduling musicians

Identify musicians who can perform each week at the market. Enter their contact info into a schedule. Ideally, be onsite during setup (2:30-3pm) to help them get them settled.

Vendor relations

Approach new vendors (typically farmers, bakers, ranchers, food trucks). Handle incoming applications. Make sure they’ve paid their fees and their questions are answered. Keep the process of application/payment/scheduling organized. We like to have about 25 vendors each week.

Social media

Post regularly on the market’s Facebook and Instagram pages with recipes, news, events, opportunities, photos, videos, etc. Create Facebook events each week to promote the market. Interact with vendors, customers, foodies, other markets on social media.

School market poster contest

This year it involves Garfield and Audubon Elementary. Get K-6 students to design market posters with the help of their art teachers, announcements in the Monday folders, etc. Collect and judge their submissions, notify the winners.

Print marketing

Get the market posters designed (maybe you know a graphic designer who can augment the school drawings?), printed and hung across town. Get market leaflets designed, printed and distributed.

Community partnerships/events

Got some ideas about fun community-centric activities you’d like to see? Use the market as a platform to put them into action! We like to involve churches, nonprofits, community centers, libraries, schools and other local organizations in the market. You would help identify and approach those organizations as well as plan and promote any special events, such as food truck rallies, our annual Craftwalk event, fun activities, themed market days, etc.

Cooking demos

Work with area chefs to hold cooking demonstrations using market ingredients about once per month.

Day-of volunteering

This means being onsite each Friday during the market season to help staff the market booth (info and payments), supervise the KERNEL kids’ activity, or set up and tear down. There’s already a place where you can sign up for individual shifts during the market season: http://bit.ly/EGFM-vols2018

Volunteer coordination and recruitment

Many hands make light work! If you can help bring more volunteers—family, friends, neighbors, classmates—into the fold, it means we can do bigger and better things with less individual effort. If someone wants to take the lead on organizing our volunteers, it would free core staff to concentrate on managerial stuff.

… so get in touch!

If one or more of those areas might be up your alley, or if you’d just like to learn more about what’s involved, just drop us a line and we’ll get back to you.