People shop at the Grant Park Community Farmers Market with social distancing measures in place on Sunday.
Lily Oppenheimer / WABE
With most major American cities under shelter-in-place orders to curb the spread of COVID-19, grocery stores are one of the few places left to see more than 10 people in the same place. And no matter how many times employees wash their hands, customers can still squeeze and smell produce.
But as shelves are emptied, and major grocery chains are seeing disruptions in the supply chain, Georgians can always fall back on local farmers.
Hayes says the Grant Park Farmers Market, currently hosted on Sundays by Eventide Brewing, is still drawing crowds and taking social distancing measures seriously.
“Before anyone can enter the market, we have hand washing stations,” Hayes says. “At every booth, we have hand sanitizing stations and gloves. Each vendor that handles produce also has another person at their booth that handles money, so there’s no cross-contamination between the two.”
Katie Hayes, executive director of Community Farmers Markets across Atlanta, says the Grant Park Farmers Market is still drawing crowds and taking social distancing measures seriously.
Last week, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issued a 14-day stay at home order, where all residents are allowed to leave home for “essential” services. Those include grocery stores, doctor’s visits and farmers markets.
