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!! ??????

Our Market Is Moving!

Posted on by E-G Market

The Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market is moving! Starting this season (which begins on June 10, by the way), you can find us in the parking lot of the Adult Education Center located at 2310 North Monroe.

This is amazing news for a number of reasons:

  • The market is now more visible and centrally located along North Monroe.
  • The new location is right next to the stop for the #24 bus line and the only lighted crosswalk on North Monroe.
  • We’ll have a perfect basis for collaboration with the Community Colleges of Spokane.
  • There will be even more room for vendors, music, activities and parking.
  • It’s only two blocks from the former site, so it remains just as accessible to our existing patrons.

The market day and times—that is, every Friday from 3-7pm—are unchanged.

The folks at the Adult Education Center and Community Colleges of Spokane who helped make this happen in incredibly short order deserve a huge thanks. We’re looking forward to working with them further.

We confess to leaving the parking lot of Knox Presbyterian with a heavy heart. They’ve been ideal hosts for the past three years — and they were unique in recognizing the mutually beneficial potential of our community-oriented farmers market from the very beginning. We still intend to honor their early involvement with waived vendor fees for Knox congregants. And we’re also working on ways to make sure that Korean food from Spokane Hope CRC, which shares the Knox building, is still available on select market dates.

In the meantime, please help spread the word by sharing this post far and wide! We worked our tails off for years to encourage people to seek out the market in the Knox lot, and now we’ve got to make sure all our loyal patrons are ready to move with us.

Vendors, Remember to Reapply for FMNP

Posted on by E-G Market

We’d like to remind all our produce vendors that all growers’ contracts for the WIC & Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) expired as of December.

If you want to accept FMNP vouchers for the 2016 season, you must reapply.

The returning grower’s application must be postmarked by April 1 to be considered; new vendors have until July 1. The Grower Application and Contract Agreement are available in English and Spanish from the following website:

http://www.doh.wa.gov/YouandYourFamily/WIC/FarmersMarket

Once you’ve filled it out, please mail your completed application to:

WA State Dept. of Health
WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program
PO Box 47886
Olympia, WA 98504-7886

FMNP benefits our patrons, our market and growers like you, so please don’t delay your application.

Vendors and Activities for July 10

Posted on by E-G Market

Have we got a fun activity lined up this week — garden photography! Award-winning photographer Chris Wooley of Head and Tails Photo is going to show you how to put your best flower forward when showing off your home garden on Instagram or Facebook. He’ll go over macro settings, bokeh, filters and other ways to make your flowers and other plants look their best. So feel free to bring your camera, any questions you may have, and any photos you want to show off.

The Kids Eating Right: Nutrition and Exercise for Life (KERNEL) pilot program is launching today too. Organized by us and Catholic Charities’ Food for All initiative, this marks the start of a weekly kid-friendly activity that focuses on healthy eating and exercise. It’s safe, free and lots of fun, so bring your children and grandchildren! This week kids will get to transplant a zucchini of their own and learn how to tend and harvest it.

SafeLink Wireless is going to be joining us at the market today too. Through the federal Lifeline program, they’re able to give qualifying individuals free mobile devices and voice plans they need to to connect to jobs, family and emergency services at no cost. If you think you might be eligible (folks on SNAP, SSI, TANF and other assistance programs are good candidates), please stop by the market today and find out more at the SafeLink booth.

Our musician today is Hannah Siglin, another market favorite. She sings and plays beautifully. Andrew Kunellis, a songsmith from the Oakland area who’s playing our market for the first time. (Hannah is actually scheduled for next week!)

And, yes, today there will be Korean food from Spokane Hope Christian Reformed Church to eat in or take out. You’ll find them in the basement of Knox. Just follow the sandwich boards — or the heavenly scent of authentic Korean food.

Oh, and there are still a few remaining dump passes worth $20 each for Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood residents. First come, first served.

And without further ado, here are the vendors scheduled to join us today:

Planning on coming today? Please RSVP on Facebook here! We’re a grassroots market and rely on our patrons to help get the word out.

Jenkins Java will have a Italian sodas and cold-brewed coffee to complement your Korean food. They also have non-homogenized milk from Spokane’s Family Farm. Gallons are only $4.50 — that’s less expensive than the same milk at most supermarkets.

WIC Clients and Seniors, We’re Now FMNP Authorized!

Posted on by E-G Market

Great news! The Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market has now been approved to take part in the federal Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) administered by the Washington State Department of Health​. The FMNP vouchers allow seniors and WIC clients greater access to the healthy, locally grown fruit and veggies that our vendors offer.

This approval is something we’ve been seeking ever since the market launched mid-season in 2013, and a big thanks goes out to Catholic Charities Spokane​ and the Spokane Regional Health District​ for working so diligently on our behalf during the application process. Along with accepting EBT as payment, FMNP authorization is a big part of our mission to increase food access in Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood​ and Spokane at large.

To find out if you qualify for FMNP vouchers in Spokane, visit your local WIC office. This short FAQ blurb has a little more info.

General info on FMNP in Washington is here. Our fruit and veggie vendors who aren’t yet FMNP authorized are encouraged to follow that link and apply (it’s free!) for authorization to accept the vouchers.