11:07 AM: That’s the view on the western approach to the entrance of the West Seattle Farmers’ Market, open – in a highly modified format – until 2 pm, first one in almost two months. The entrance is at California/Alaska, and the booths line the usual block north to Oregon from there.

Be sure to wear your mask – both sellers and shoppers have their faces covered. The booths are lining each side of the street, plenty of space to walk inbetween.

We were there less than half an hour ago; the nearest Junction parking lots still had many spaces – very different from a pre-pandemic market day. (One thing we didn’t see – the line, which commenter Elton advises to approach from the east side, via 42nd.)

Before you go, be sure to read about the modifications and policies (here’s the original reopening announcement we published last Wednesday).

Here’s the list of vendors. No prepared food for consumption on site – this is very no-nonsense, get what you came for, keep moving, exit at California/Oregon. A little humor seen along the way at one booth:

March 8th was the last WSFM before today; days later, Mayor Durkan ordered the markets closed as “permitted events” even though days after that, Gov. Inslee’s stay-home order labeled them “essential.” Many discussions with the city followed; two weeks ago, permission was granted for the U-District and Ballard markets to open, and then today, West Seattle.

11:53 AM: Just went back for a drive-by check of the line; see photo above – it stretches, distanced, along SW Alaska, ending just short of 42nd.

(Photo by Sarah Schu, Neighborhood Farmers Markets, from recent U-District market)

For the first time since March 8th, the West Seattle Farmers’ Market will reopen this Sunday – in a modified format, as has been the case with the University District market these past two weekends. Hre’s the announcement we just received:

The Neighborhood Farmers Markets has worked closely with the City of Seattle and Seattle-King County Public Health and other stakeholders and partners in each neighborhood to re-open safe, permitted farmers markets. The West Seattle Farmers Market will re-open on Sunday, May 3, and they are asking West Seattle residents to observe new rules.

Agriculture is the most essential act, and the farmers markets serve as the essential link between farmers and eaters. This weekend, we need you to help protect public health and our community by following new guidelines.

· Please consider taking the Farmers Market Shopper Oath.

· Sign up for the Ripe & Ready Newsletter, which will announce the list of May 3 vendors accepting pre-orders.

Market Modifications Include:

· Modified layouts to ensure 10’ between vendor booths to allow for greater circulation and distance.

· Market entrance at Alaska & California to control the capacity and foot traffic. You can expect a line to enter the market.

· Hand sanitizer will be provided at Market Manager tents, with public hand washing stations available in the market.

· There is no sampling or prepared food until further notice.

· No music, entertainment, cooking demos, or public seating areas.

Staff and Vendor Responsibilities:

All vendors and staff must wear protective facemask and gloves, separate cash and product handling, and ensure regular and proper handwashing.
All vendors will select and serve your produce and products.
Vendors and staff will politely ask you to keep moving so we can serve as many shoppers as possible.
Vendors and Staff will limit the number of shoppers in front of booths at any given time.
Surfaces and ‘high touch’ items such as tables, POS terminals, cash boxes, etc. will be sanitized regularly.
Market staff will be dedicated to conduct regular and ongoing checks for handwashing stations, proper bleach solutions, and sanitizing supplies in addition to our regular food safety controls.

Shopper Expectations:

Before the market:

Make a list.
Designate one shopper per household.
Service dogs are permitted otherwise leave your pets at home.
Bring reusable bags – these are permitted, but you will be the only person touching them.
Check yourself – stay home if you are sick or if you’ve been in contact with someone who is sick.

During your market visit:

Be alert! The market has major modifications and there are new signs to help you move through the market.
Do not touch the products, the vendors will help you.
Maintain 6 feet of space at all times. This is crucial! Look for physical cues like tape, chalk, and signs all around you as a reminder.
Shop quickly and efficiently. This isn’t the time to chat. Big smiles welcome!
Wash hands often with soap & water for at least 20 seconds especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, with at least 60% alcohol.
Wear a face mask.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, mouth, and face in general.
Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then dispose of it.

It is vital that everyone act in these efforts together to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The safety and health of our shoppers, our farmers, and staff is critical – this is our primary concern. Please do not come out to the farmers market if you cannot observe the new guidelines.

The mayor ordered markets closed in mid-March, though the governor’s subsequent stay-home order decreed them “essential”; the market’s parent organization has been fighting for weeks to get permission to reopen with major modifications. It got clearance to open the U-District market the past two Saturdays.

That stretch of California SW in The Junction will be open to traffic, instead of closed for the West Seattle Farmers’ Market, again tomorrow, for the fifth consecutive Sunday. When the mayor announced this past week that her recent orders would be extended to concur with the new May 4th end date of the governor’s stay-home order, the news release specifically noted that her decision included “Suspension of City-permitted events, with the exception of farmers markets which will continue to be for a potential re-opening.” The governor’s order calls farmers’ markets “essential.” But the nonprofit that runs the West Seattle Farmers’ Market and others says it will NOT be reopening tomorrow despite a short-lived belief it would be allowed to. Here’s what they told their email subscribers today:

We were sure that markets would reopen this weekend. We held off on announcing it, but if you spoke to me privately, I would have told you to make a list and gather your tote bags. However, yesterday (Friday) at 11:30 am, we received a call from the Mayor’s Office saying they could not approve the re-opening of markets this weekend. That came after receiving direct and unilateral communication from Public Health, Office of Sustainability and Environment, and the Office of Economic Development that the markets would indeed be operating this weekend. We had already told the farmers. We had already trained them on the new operating procedures and standards for each market. We were ready to give farmers their main source of income back.

We were ready to run safe and successful food access points for the City of Seattle. This is our job and our staff and vendors are really damn good at it.

Why the reported turnabout? We haven’t heard from the mayor’s office and won’t be able to ask them until Monday. Market managers told us last week they had been planning to operate the market in an “extremely modified” format.

Last week, we published reader photos of West Seattle Farmers’ Market vendors who had set up tents for pre-order pickups in what looked like an unofficial mini-market of sorts. Today, we went through The Junction at noon to see if there was a rerun; there wasn’t – the only sign we saw of vendors was one truck parked on the east side of California, one van on the west, no tents/booths. Tonight, we have an update from Jennifer Antos, executive director of Neighborhood Farmers’ Markets, the nonprofit that runs WSFM and others:

Dear West Seattle Blog Community,

The Neighborhood Farmers Markets recently shared a Community Update intended to clarify that farms, food, and farmers markets have been deemed an “essential business” by Governor Inslee, and what we are doing to modify our operating plans as we work in partnership with Seattle King County Public Health and the City of Seattle to re-open the markets.

Prior to the mandated closure of the farmers markets by the City of Seattle on March 13, we had modified our operations and will continue to act to ensure the safest access to fresh, nutritious food from local producers. While the closure of the markets has afforded us a chance to revise our operations for everyone’s safety, it is important to note that the Neighborhood Farmers Markets, farmers markets across Washington State, and agricultural producers are designated as an “essential business.” A full list of essential businesses including farmers and farmers markets is located here. Direct-to-consumer farmers are no exception, and while the markets are suspended, all have pivoted to conduct business while adhering to public health mandates, city, and statewide orders.

While farmers markets are often social spaces, it is important not to confuse this as the primary purpose. Our commitment is to farm and food-only markets that support Washington’s small family farms, food access for all, and the direct connection between people and their food. In 2019, farmers markets across Seattle processed over half a million dollars in SNAP/EBT and Fresh Bucks, donated thousands of pounds of food to local food banks like the West Seattle Food Bank, and enabled fresh food purchases subsidized by WIC and the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program.

We are in constant communication with the City and Public Health to create plans that ensure strict distancing, sanitation, and health measures are the premise. Though we do not yet have a date for when the markets will re-open, we are actively communicating these measures so that everyone is prepared for the markets to re-open – shoppers, vendors, and our community. It is important that shoppers know farmers markets will be extremely modified upon re-opening. We will be banning the public from touching produce, encouraging pre-paid orders, requiring gloved staff select and bag product, increasing distance between vendor booths, and providing demarcation for shoppers to increase social distancing. We are exploring a possible expansion of market footprints and/or limitation of the number of shoppers at any one time, which may be different at each market site. A summary of measures can be found in the Community Update here.

Speaking on behalf of all NFM farmers, producers, and staff, we appreciate of the enormous amount of support we’ve received in our work to re-open farmers markets. We submitted the public letter of support to our partners with over 1,500 signatures and remain as committed as ever in our mission to strengthen Washington’s small farms as we feed Seattle. This month, we will launch a fundraising campaign to support farmers affected by the market closures and hope to exceed our goal of $250,000. Those interested in donating can do so here.

And if anyone is seeking to order products or food directly from the farmers who typically attend the West Seattle Farmers Market, you can find a list of options on our homepage.

Today was the fourth marketless Sunday since the last one (March 8th) before the mayor’s order.

(WSB photo, March 8th)

That photo is from March 8th, the last West Seattle Farmers’ Market before markets were shut down by order of Mayor Jenny Durkan, who grouped them with other “permtted events.” Today is the second Sunday without a WSFM; the order affected others around the city too. Market managers have launched a letter-signing campaign to get the mayor to change her mind. They’re asking for signatures. The letter begins:

To Mayor Durkan & City of Seattle Partners,

It is our firm conviction that farmers markets are an essential part of Seattle’s food supply and that they should remain open, along with grocery stores, during the COVID-19 outbreak. We are gravely concerned about the abrupt closure of farmers markets at a time when food supply chains and our economy are under threat.

The truth is, if we cannot support and strengthen our region’s farmers during this crisis, that many small farms will not recover from the market closures and that our local food supply and regional network of farmland will be forever changed. Moreover, farmers markets serve shoppers who rely on using their SNAP and SNAP-incentive benefits like Fresh Bucks to purchase fresh food. For those who have already withdrawn benefits at the markets, they cannot now use them at grocery stores.

We are calling on City of Seattle leaders in local government to:

1) Designate farmers markets as an essential business and exempt them from the blanket suspension of permitted events;

2) Work with market management organizations to approve operating plans that support public health orders and CDC guidance on distancing, sanitation, and employee health, and;

3) Commit to closing the policy loophole that lumps farmers markets in the City of Seattle with events, festivals, and other street-use events.

We urge leaders in Seattle to take the actions above, and ultimately to ensure that Washington’s small family farms can continue to provide a vital service in feeding the community during a time of increased need.

The letter goes on to mention other areas of the country in which farmers’ markets are designated as “essential” businesses – you can see for yourself in San Francisco’s shelter-in-place order, for example. The letter also notes that the markets also have not been part of any of our governor’s orders, just the city. If you are interested in signing, go here and scroll to the bottom.

Meantime, market managers have compiled a long list of vendors and how to get their wares while the markets remain closed, some with pickups and pop-ups in West Seattle – see it here.

(WSB photo, 3/8/20 West Seattle Farmers’ Market)

ORIGINAL 2:42 PM REPORT: Just in from the nonprofit that manages the West Seattle Farmers’ Market and others, a cancellation notice but with word that they’re working on other ways to get fresh food to shoppers:

For 26 years, the Neighborhood Farmers Market has provided the link between hundreds of Washington farmers and food producers and you, our neighborhood shoppers. And that is what we will continue to do as we explore safe options to connect you with local food.

Yesterday evening, the Mayor’s Office notified us that all neighborhood farmers markets in the City of Seattle will be suspended through April 13 in an imperative attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19. We are complying, and with support from the city and our stakeholders it is our goal to welcome you all safely back into the markets as soon as possible.

I want to assure you that our staff, board, and community partners are working around the clock to ensure the Neighborhood Farmers Markets leads an effort to find creative solutions during this time – especially our farmers, food producers, and shoppers who rely on the markets and programs like Fresh Bucks for access to healthy food.

You can do two things to help local growers:

First, if you are interested in deliveries or pick-ups at neighborhood drop points from our over 200 market farmers and vendors, we want to know! As we explore all options to support our local farms and feed the community, you are an essential part of the solution. Fill out the interest form here.

Second, please donate to the Good Farmer Fund. Since 2008, this fund has provided over $250,000 in relief to small farms, who operate on slim margins and face high degrees of uncertainty even during the best of times. We need to replenish the fund and explore alternate funding in order to keep these small businesses in business during this time. Donate today.

In the coming weeks, we will be in regular touch to keep you informed about how COVID-19 is impacting our markets, organization, neighborhood food supply, and the farmers and food producers who make up a thriving local food economy that is now under threat. Our goal is to ensure that farmers markets and vendors survive this unforeseen disruption in their businesses and are able to continue to bring healthy food and vitality into Seattle neighborhoods.

There is work to do, and in the spirit of community, our interconnectedness, and feeding neighbors during good times and bad, you are all needed.

The timeframe means there won’t be another WS Farmers’ Market before Sunday, April 19th.
3:37 PM: Another email from Farmers’ Market management: “Please stay tuned for a corrected announcement from our organization later today. We regret the mixed messages during a confusing time, and are working internally and with our stakeholders to get you an update as quickly as possible.” We’ll update when we get it.

5:11 PM: Still waiting for the Farmers’ Market update, but the mayor’s office has just announced that her order suspending events such as these markets takes effect Monday, so we’re waiting to hear if that means one last market on Sunday or not.

7:51 PM: The Farmers’ Market management’s updated announcement says the market is suspended immediately, so NO market Sunday or subsequent Sundays until at least April 19th.

After the question came up in a WSB comment discussion earlier today, we called West Seattle Farmers’ Market management to verify they WILL be open on Sunday. Since then, they’ve sent this news release saying all markets will indeed be open this weekend, and explaining why:

Farmers Markets in Seattle will continue as planned this weekend, including the University District, West Seattle, and Capitol Hill Farmers Markets, run by the nonprofit Neighborhood Farmers Markets, and the Ballard Farmers Market, run by the Seattle Farmers Market Association. The markets offer year-round economic opportunity to over 200 Washington State farmers and local food businesses, and also provide access to fresh nutritious food in local settings.

According to annual data collected by the Neighborhood Farmers Markets, the majority of their direct-to-consumer farm businesses earn 70% or more of their household income from the farmers markets. Only some businesses have secondary sales channels such as wholesale or restaurant purchasing, so a downturn in attendance will likely take a toll during a month when many farmers are making significant purchases for the upcoming growing season.

“It is important that everyone understand farmers markets are a place to buy nutritious local food, not a social event,” says Jennifer Antos, Executive Director of the Neighborhood Farmers Markets. “As an organization based in community connection, our top priority is the health and wellness of market shoppers, vendors, and our staff.” Farmers markets work closely with King County Public Health to ensure safety and cleanliness throughout the year. In the wake of concern over COVID-19 in King County and guidance that large gatherings be postponed, market organizers have been proactively consulting on additional measures, and are voluntarily implementing the following to help prevent the spread of illness.

• Public handwashing stations will be available for shoppers;

• Customary cancellation fees are not being charged to any vendor who cancels due to illness or concern over public contact;

• Handwashing posters and public health information will be posted;

• Cooking demonstrations, public seating, and special events within the market have been cancelled to reduce close proximity gathering and increase available supplies for handwashing stations;

• A zero-tolerance policy for market staff or vendors who attend the market if they are experiencing illness;

• Everyone is cooperating to ensure cleanliness of “high touch” items and areas, such as card readers and touch screens.

Alessandra Gordon, owner of Ayako and Family and longtime vendor at the U-District and Ballard Farmers Markets stated, “Health and safety is important – know and trust that the small food businesses and farmers in your area are continuing best practices.”

“It’s a tricky situation in that farmers markets are public gatherings.” says Colleen Donovan, Executive Director of the Washington State Farmers Market Association, “Farmers markets bring people together precisely to promote health through good food and community, so public health is always top of mind. And they are also places of business and the embodiment of local supply chains for healthy food which is always important and even more so now.”

The market happens in the street on California SW between SW Oregon and SW Alaska, 10 am-2 pm Sundays.