With food distribution channels disrupted, supermarket shopping fraught with anxiety, and grocery delivery slots hard to come by, the reopening of farmers markets here may be more anticipated and more celebrated this year than ever before.
"One lesson from this epidemic, as the disease made some larger, more industrial-scale food lines fragile" is that "we're much better off if we rely on locally grown food, small-portion prepared food," East Hampton Town Councilman Jeff Bragman said on Tuesday when the town board discussed new protocols in place for the East Hampton Farmers Market, which will move from the parking lot of Nick and Toni's to the grounds of the Calvary Baptist Church at Spinner Lane and Springs-Fireplace Road when it opens for its 15th season on Friday.
The Sag Harbor market opened Memorial Day weekend, the Springs market opened on Saturday, and the Montauk Farmers Market will open next Thursday.
Managers of the East Hampton and Springs markets had hoped to open on Memorial Day weekend, but the town board tapped the brakes in order to review safety protocols. The Springs market was given the go-ahead last Thursday, and then opened with 13 vendors. It will have about 22 this weekend, according to its manager, Paul Hamilton. This year, the market has taken over both sides of the Ashawagh Hall lawn, to allow 10 feet between vendor booths. The perimeter is fenced, there is one way in and one way out, and foot traffic is one-way as well. Just 50 shoppers are allowed at any one time, there is no live music as in years past, and no dogs are allowed.
Last week's trial run went well, Mr. Hamilton said Tuesday. "Everyone is kind of trained after the last two months to social distance and wear a mask."
Plans for the East Hampton Farmers Market are similar -- one-way foot traffic, a separate entrance and exit, 10 feet between vendors -- and because the church grounds offer more space than the previous location, that should be easier this year. "Although we are loath to leave our dear friends of 14 years at Nick and Toni's," Kate Plumb, the market manager wrote, "the epidemic has made it imperative that we do so."
Marketgoers will find 22 vendors, many of them the same food producers, growers, and fishers they know from previous summers, but at the East Hampton market and others there are changes beyond the bigger footprints and mask wearing. Samples, for instance, will not be allowed, and only vendors will be able to handle the produce and other market offerings.
Shoppers can expect produce, organic mushrooms, CBD tinctures, cheese, grain-fed beef, flowers, pickles, seafood, fruit, local wine and ciders, honey, kimchi, kombucha, homemade dog treats, fresh pasta, and organic coffee and tea.
The East Hampton market will be open weekly on Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine. The Springs market and the Sag Harbor market operate during the same hours on Saturdays. The Sag Harbor market is on Bay Street.
The Montauk Chamber of Commerce's farmers market will run weekly on the downtown green from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Sept. 10, and on Fridays from mid-September to Oct. 2. This year there will be more than 35 vendors selling baked goods, teas, gourmet specialties, fresh produce, pastas, pickles, and more.
With Reporting by Jane Bimson and Christopher Walsh