Farmers across the Boundary are taking different approaches to bringing food to market this spring, under a new regime of pandemic-related regulations that govern how and where people can gather, along with what can be sold.
The first market of the season in Grand Forks was held last week, for example, but was structured, spaced out and without artisans in an effort to comply with provincial rules.
According to the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), farmers’ markets are not currently considered a high-risk setting for the transmission of COVID-19, especially since they are usually held outdoors and there’s usually a limited number of people in one area at a time. But, the province is forbidding any entertainment vendors must be there to sell food and not other merchandise.
To follow the province’s instructions to have clear entrances and exits, Grand Forks organizers repurposed Gyro Park’s giant chess pieces to guide visitors through a one-way maze towards two distinct vending areas.
The Rock Creek Saturday Market, meanwhile, will have no need for chess pieces or hand-washing stations, such as were set up last Friday in Grand Forks. Instead, vendors have gone online. As of May 4, shoppers could order their fresh produce and preserves from several Boundary producers at www.localline.ca/rock-creek-market.