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New York City’s Farmers Markets Set New Safety Standards

New York City’s Farmers Markets Set New Safety Standards

(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- On March 5, as the novel coronavirus was starting to spread and the threat of a shelter-in-place order in New York City loomed, Michael Hurwitz, director of Greenmarket, took action. There are 26 open-air, farmer-driven markets throughout the five boroughs, and Hurwitz anticipated the need to quickly change the way they operated. The first rule he instituted in early March: no more samples. Sure enough, within two weeks, shopping for food would become a more urgent matter, as would the rules around how to handle and sell it,

Greenmarket, which creates a community of agricultural producers and New Yorkers who want locally grown, organic produce, had the potential to be upended by the pandemic. When Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a stay-at-home order on March 20th, the markets qualified as essential businesses, but going about their business safely, enforcing social-distancing, would be tricky. The markets are gathering places, with thousands of people in close quarters, handling food that’s not wrapped in layers of plastic. To get the fingerling potatoes, fresh eggs, and baby mesclun, you have to physically go to one of the markets. On a typical sunny spring Saturday, an average of 300,000 people would go through the market in Union Square, Greenmarket’s flagship location in downtown Manhattan. “On a fall weekend day, when it’s peak produce, that number might reach 400,000,” says Hurwitz.

Even with a fraction of that foot traffic, Greenmarket has kept going. Under the organizing entity of the non-profit GrowNYC, that promotes environmental programs around the city, Greenmarket has made it possible for participating farmers, all small-business owners—some of whom have been selling their goods in New York City for more than 40 years—to continue operating. The Union Square Greenmarket was established in 1976. In recent weeks, the organization has helped establish ground rules around open-air markets that now are being modeled in other cities, strictly enforcing safety standards, from social distancing to mask-wearing and, as such, continuing to foster that community of farmers and their devoted clientele.

“The Greenmarket has been very good to us,” says Steve Yoo, owner of Lani Farms in Bordentown, N.J. “They let us keep doing what we do. And they kept us safe.” Yoo is one of the roughly 240 small farmers and producers, predominantly from New York state, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, who drive to the city from their farms at least once a week to sell their specialties. About two-thirds of them are at Union Square throughout the year.

On March 7, in accordance with Hurwitz’s directive, vendors stopped offering samples. By March 14 stands were moved a minimum of 4 feet apart; by March 17 consumers were no longer allowed to touch the produce, which was sectioned off with warning tape. Products instead were packaged—a bag of potatoes, say, or a lettuce mix. A dedicated person handled cash transactions. Vendors started wearing gloves and masks. Social-distancing space was enforced between customers, marked off on the ground with chalk and with plenty of signage throughout. Purell stands were set up.

Today, Greenmarket controls the flow of visitors. At Union Square, no more than 175 people can enter at a time. It’s a marked contrast to the less-controlled scenes from just weeks before that elicited some criticism. Social media enables the market and farmers themselves to remind New Yorkers about  this food resource; it can also capture—and quickly spread—images of anyone not abiding by social-distancing and safety requirements. “GrowNYC has been a leader when it comes to providing the safest food access points during Covid-19,” Hurwitz says. “And we will continue to implement the protocols necessary to ensure New Yorkers' access to these essential products.”

Many farmers and producers say that being part of this collection of other small businesses, under the umbrella of an organization that’s working hard to keep customers and vendors safe, has helped purchases continue as they adjust their own business models. While almost all have seen decreases in sales, some say it’s not as bad as they thought. Many of the visitors who came before were tourists, who took pictures and left without buying anything. The people who wait on line to enter the market now are all shoppers, intent on buying top-quality produce whose origins they can trace.

“We’ve had to restart our business because the restaurant accounts disappeared,” says Paul Dench-Layton, owner of Violet Hill Farm. “But we made up for it quickly at the market. It’s more work because you don’t have the fixed orders. But financially we’re in a better place than we were.”

Here are some ways farmers and producers are adapting to better serve customers and deliver goods safely:

1. Start a CSA—with Norwich Meadows Farm

Owner Zaid Kurdieh says 60% of the business for his premium greens disappeared when NYC restaurant customers such as Gramercy Tavern, Per Se, and Blue Hill shut their doors. Now he’s creating CSA (community-supported agriculture) boxes of produce, adding in supplies from local artisans including bread and cheese. “Three weeks ago the demand was 40 boxes a day,” Kurdieh say. “Now its 150 boxes a day. If I could gear up, it would be more than that. We have the demand for 2,000 boxes a week.” As an added benefit, Kurdieh is employing former chefs from restaurants such as Marta in New York to help him assemble the boxes.

2. Adjust Packaging—with Trembly Apiaries

As their market sales have decreased, the small honey producers from New York’s Finger Lakes region have transitioned to online sales. Because honey is expensive to ship in glass bottles, the company has started replacing it with thick, food-grade plastic bags (4 pounds, $23). It’s much less expensive, and customers say they like it because they can refill their jars, a form of recycling. Trembly has also seen increased sales for their ambrosia honey, which contains bee pollen and propolis and has immune boosting properties. (Added tip: Healthy products sell.)

3. Go to Your Customers—with Violet Hill Farm

There’s a sign over Violet Hill’s display of sausages, egg, chicken, and rabbit: “To reduce risk, we are now also accepting pre-orders for pick up from CurbsideFarmer.com.” Owner Dench-Layton says his retail business has absorbed what he lost when restaurants such as del Posto and Blue Hill closed and stopped purchasing his products. He’s started delivering to neighborhoods and is considering curbside delivery in New York. But, he cautions, the business is more volatile. 


4. Expand Your Base—with Lani’s Farm 

Lani’s sells some of the market’s premium greens as well as kimchi and other pickles and preserves. Its business at the market is substantially down, by about 60%, says owner Yoo. They’ve supplemented that loss of income by, for the first time, allowing people to pick up boxes of produce directly from the farm. Customers order online, and a team fills the order and delivers it curbside.

The safe community that Greenmarket has implemented has proved surprisingly effective for both customers and farmers, who are used to a vibrant, multi-sensory environment that’s the opposite of the sterile one that exists now. Hurwitz says that the safety precautions that have been implemented are being copied at other places, including his local Queens pharmacy, which enforced distancing after Greenmarket shared its best practices.

“Our farmers have been incredible,” Hurwitz says. “They’ve pivoted from huge restaurant volume to consumers. It’s something to see.”

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