Published 03-26-20
Submitted by GrowNYC
In his executive order last week, Governor Cuomo designated farmers markets, such as GrowNYC’s Greenmarkets, essential to the city during this current crisis. With many other food access points now closed, the need for our markets to supply fresh, healthy food is even greater and has resulted in more New Yorkers coming out to shop at our open-air markets.
To meet the growing need in the safest way possible, GrowNYC closed all our markets for two days to reconfigure them with additional safety protocols. These new measures build on other proactive safety steps we have taken (listed below). GrowNYC set the standard for safety, before and during this crisis.
New voluntary safety protocols include:
Dramatically increasing the footprint of our markets to allow for social distancing.
Spacing market tents apart at least 10 feet
Reconfiguring some markets to limit the number of customers shopping at any given time
Adding additional demarcations to keep shoppers at least six feet apart
All markets engage additional GrowNYC staff on the ground regulate customer flow and ensure social distancing
Previously established voluntary safety protocols included:
Disallowing customers from handling of any products prior to purchase. Only gloved staff can do so
Increased distancing of farmers’ stands at market
Suspension of all sampling by vendors
Requirement of all vendors to wear protective gloves
Availability of hand sanitizer at every market
Reconfiguring of markets, barricading food from direct public access, and demarcation of additional space for social distancing
All farm stands must use vinyl or plastic table covers for easy sanitizing
All Producers must sanitize their stands and equipment at regular intervals throughout the day
All GrowNYC staff and Producers must not work or attend markets if feeling ill
All staff processing cash/credit/debit/SNAP transactions must wear protective gloves
GrowNYC’s safety protocols are currently being used as a model for farmers markets across the country. As an “essential” food access point, we are committed to ensuring access to healthy, fresh fruit and vegetables in the safest way possible. We encourage the press to contact us to set up a tour to see our protocols in actions.
For more information, or for news organizations interested in covering GrowNYC’s safety measures, contact Catherine Crawford at 718-809-1603 or by email, ccrawford@grownyc.org