It’s not quite time for Naperville’s three farmers markets to open, but that hasn’t kept organizers from connecting vendors to their customers through pre-ordered curbside pickup and looking ahead to how markets could be different this summer.
The three markets in the city — the Naperville Farmers Market that pops up on Saturdays at 200 E. 5th Avenue, the Thursday 95th Street Farmers Market and the Wednesday Farmers Market at St. John’s Episcopal Church on Aurora Avenue — typically open in late spring but are already preparing for changes dictated by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our real goal for this season is to connect customers with producers that have products they’re looking for,” said Janie Maxwell, executive director of the Illinois Farmers Market Association.
Farmers markets are considered essential business in Illinois during the pandemic. The Illinois Farmers Market Association has already come out with guidelines for vendors and customers on how to make this year’s markets more transactional than communal.
“Farmers markets traditionally have been these wonderful community gathering places to look forward to,” Maxwell said. But as people are advised to stay at least six feet from others and go out only for the essentials, she said, markets have to look different, at least for the start of this season.
“We have to create a safe space, practice social distancing and enhanced sanitation and allow customers access to products they’re interested in and give vendors a place to sell them,” Maxwell said.
Some local farmers have already seen changes in demand for their food.
It’s not unusual for Koren Finnestad, owner of Drover’s Trail Natural Farms in Minooka, to sell baked goods, microgreens and other items in the winter in the lot where the Naperville Farmers Market at Fifth Avenue Station is open in the summer. She did the same thing last year, but this year her sales have quadrupled, Finnestad said.
“I’m making four times the amount of food this year than I was last year,” said said. “My regular summertime customers love to get stuff from us in the wintertime. Now they will order everything they possibly can from me before go to grocery store.”
Finnestad is finding the health crisis has stoked an increased demand for fermented drinks and foods like kombucha and kimchi. “All things with living things and probiotics,” she said.
They’re also looking for food that’s already prepared, including her baked goods that have five to seven ingredients each. Finnestad is also selling a lot of microgreens.
Drover’s Trail Natural Farms launched a new online store this week for customers to submit their orders and pay online. When they drive up on Saturday morning, customers pop their trunk and Finnestad puts their food inside.
Jeremy Mayne, who owns Mayneland Farm at 27W265 Bauer Road in Naperville, said it’s mostly been business as usual since the food industry is considered essential.
The difference this year is he now asks his employees to take their temperature before they leave their homes, and advises them to stay home if their temperature is above 98.7 degrees.
“Then when they come here, they immediately put on masks,” said Mayne, who provides his employees with face masks and gloves. “Then they maintain social distancing which is pretty easy to do in fields.”
Mayne said he hopes to open the farm stand in early May, starting with strawberries and asparagus, the latter which he’s already begun picking.
Unless Pritzker lifts the stay-at-home order, Mayne said he will probably open the season as a drive-thru, with one person taking an order and another person filling it.
“It will probably be similar to a fast-food drive-thru,” Mayne said.
That would be a break from the norm. Traditionally, customers park their car in a lot and are free to roam and look at the vegetables and fruits before making their selections.
“One of the main draws is everything is fresh, most are picked the same day,” Mayne said. “People come here for the freshness of produce we have.”
Customers can watch the Mayneland Farm Facebook page for information on opening days and hours.
The Illinois Farmers Market Association has recommended models for the coming season that put a lot of space in between customers and vendor stalls, Maxwell said. Sanitation procedures have also been enhanced. The organization has published resources for market managers, vendors and customers.
Markets are recommended to be more of a transactional experience during which customers come in, buy the products they need and leave. That could mean offering pre-ordering options and limiting food that’s prepared on site and attractions like musicians.
“The market flow is going to be a little different. Cutting down on transaction time is key too,” Maxwell said.
The Naperville Farmers Market at Fifth Avenue is still planning to open at the beginning of June, market manager Annamarie Bensfield said. But with information and guidelines changing almost daily, the market will accommodate for any guidelines or restrictions that come down the pike, Bensfield said.
That could mean limiting the number of people coming in, setting up markers on the ground to keep people distanced and offering curbside pickup, she said.
The farmers market is also held outside and generally provides space for customers to walk around, making it possibly more attractive than grocery stores, Bensfield said. And the food comes directly from farmers so customers know exactly who is handling their food.
The 95th Street Farmers Market is joint effort by the Naperville Park District and the Naperville Public Library. Organizers are planning to open the market again in June, park district spokeswoman Sameera Luthman said.
“We will work under the guidelines that are put in place by government and health organization officials, which may include the ability for individuals to pre-order and pickup items from the market. More information will be forthcoming,” Luthman said.
Organizers of the Farmers Market at St. John’s said a lot of their operations will depend on orders from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico.
“Opening June 2 is doubtful, but I am quite certain we will be open by July 1,” market master Jan Hummel said. “Whether we have a drive-thru market, whether we all wear masks and practice social distancing … too soon to tell.”