Crescent City Farmers Market to Reopen Modified Walk Up Markets at Uptown Location, Weekly

NEW ORLEANS (press release) – On Tuesday, July 7, 2020, Market Umbrella, a local nonprofit that operates the Crescent City Farmers Market (CCFM), will be reopening its Tuesday Uptown market location with modified operations for walk up sales. This producer-only market will be held from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at 200 Broadway Street and will feature fruits and vegetables, seafood, breads and baked goods, and a variety of artisanal prepared and ready to eat foods (packaged for home consumption).

With the health and safety of everyone in mind, vendor stalls will be widely spaced and social distancing will be enforced throughout the market. All vendors, shoppers, and staff will be required to properly wear masks and/or face coverings, and frequently use hand sanitizer from stations located throughout the market. Free masks will be available for individuals in need. Market​ staff will be available to help customers socially distance and complete their shopping efficiently. To help promote social distancing, Market Umbrella will be utilizing OpenTable, an online reservation system, to help reduce wait times at the market. Customers can visit ​www.opentable.com​ and search for Crescent City Farmers Market to reserve their time slot for shopping at the Tuesday market. We ask that shoppers limit their group size to two individuals if possible so that they may shop quickly and limit socializing within the market. We also ask that shoppers leave their pets at home at this time.

To expedite shopping, customers can pre-order from vendors in advance ​from Friday, July 3 through Sunday, July 5 at midnight ​using the new CCFM online ordering system at ​https://app.sourcewhatsgood.com/markets/​ or by downloading the WhatsGood Marketplace app. For onsite purchases, vendors will accept ​cash (exact change encouraged) and ​contactless e-payment through services like Venmo. ​Vendors will also accept CCFM tokens which can be purchased at the welcome ​tent with credit, debit,

and SNAP cards. In addition to the token economy, Market Umbrella will continue to implement fresh food incentive programs such as Market Match, which doubles SNAP dollars spent at market up to $20 per day for the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables. Certified market vendors will also accept Farmers Market Nutrition Program vouchers for both seniors and WIC participants.

In March, Market Umbrella suspended usual market operations to address ways to mitigate the risks of COVID-19 for market shoppers, vendors and staff. While we recognized that an outdoor market is safer than a grocery store, farmers markets often act as community gathering spaces, and early in the pandemic, we observed customers not following social distancing guidelines.

“We are excited to reopen our Tuesday Uptown market to walk up customers. When we made the decision in March to suspend our traditional market operations, we did so with the health and safety of our customers and vendors in mind. We recognized that many of our vendors and shoppers are in a higher risk category for complications from Covid-19 and worked to pivot our operations to keep them as safe as possible while still connecting our community with local food,” says Kathryn Parker, Executive Director of Market Umbrella. “Now that more people have become accustomed to wearing masks and physically distancing themselves, we can successfully return to an outdoor walk up market model that will keep shoppers, vendors and staff safe with extra precautions in place.”

Vendors for the Tuesday, July 7 market will include:
● Accardo’s Louisiana Gourmet Produce with fresh tomatoes;
● Amanda’s Frozen Fruit Specialties with fresh fruit popsicles and juices;
● Cherry Creek Orchard with fresh Mississippi peaches;
● Des Allemands Outlaw Katfish with crawfish tails, crab meat, Des Allemands
catfish, and alligator meat;
● Indian Springs with fresh produce;
● Leo’s Bread with artisan pastries and breads;
● Mizell’s Farm with herbs, plant starts, decorative plants and flowers;
● Monica’s Okra World with fresh produce;
● No Hunger NOLA with pickles, jam, and other seasonal preserves;
● Paul’s Palate with fresh pesto and soups made with local ingredients;
● Pete & Clara’s Seafood with fish fillets and whole or peeled shrimp;
● Powers Beekeepers with local honey and bee pollen; and
● Suzie Q Sharpening Services with on the spot knife sharpening.

For individuals unable to attend the weekly Tuesday walk up market at Uptown Square, Market Umbrella will continue to host two weekly drive thru markets; one on Sundays at Parkway Bakery and Tavern and the other Wednesdays at Bucktown Harbor. Customers can make purchases for these pre-order only markets through the CCFM online ordering system or by downloading the WhatsGood Marketplace app. CCFM vendor produce is also available through partner Top Box Foods Louisiana for weekly home delivery. For more information, visit crescentcityfarmersmarket.org.