From the Bay Area to the Ozarks, and across the South, scores of farmers markets have adapted to the coronavirus outbreak with drive-thru formats.
The Red Stick Farmers Market was an early adapter, having already deployed social distancing and other public health measures at the mid-March markets. And by the end of the month, BREADA Executive Director Copper Alvarez announced the market’s Thursday and Saturday gatherings would temporarily take place exclusively in a drive-thru format, with patrons remaining in cars while proceeding through a single lane lined with regular vendors. The change kept patrons and farmers safer, while enabling the market to get back to its roots as a community food source.
“The farmers market has always been about giving the community a place to source food,” Alvarez says. “We might have grown to be more of a total experience with events, but at our core, connecting people to fresh local foods is what we’re about.”
Earlier this month, the market returned to its open-air, walk-up format.
Meanwhile, Markets like Calandro’s Supermarket and Alexander’s Highland Market made schedule changes, both reserving the first shopping hour of the day for high-risk shoppers.
Alexander’s offered a curbside pickup service where customers paid for orders online, and the bagged items were placed in their cars without any extra fees or upcharges. Shortened business hours at Calandro’s allowed for extra cleaning and restocking before the at-risk shopping hour the next morning.
Read the full story for more on how the farmers market and local grocery stores had to adapt when the stay-at-home order was first announced. This article was originally published as part of the ‘Restaurants fight to survive’ cover story in the May 2020 issue of 225 magazine. Subscribe to the free 225 Dine e-newsletter here to keep up with Baton Rouge food and events.
