Vendors sit or stand underneath tents, with yellow caution tape stretched across the front from pole to pole.
A hand-washing station sits at the entrance, along with signs listing tips for maintaining a healthy market.
“We’re trying to do everything we can,” said Paul Chew, a Macon County farmer who is on the Franklin Farmers Tailgate Market board.
The local farmers market has remained open throughout the coronavirus pandemic. While Macon County has seen a total of three cases to date, safety precautions remain as important as ever.
As states begin loosening restrictions, and with summer residents returning to their mountain homes, the market is likely to begin seeing an influx of customers.
Summer is when the farmer’s market is the busiest. Between eight and 10 vendors have set up in recent weeks, but that number can swell to more than 30 when gardens start producing later in the summer.
Chew wants everyone – vendors and customers – to practice social distancing and safe practices in order to keep the market open.
“That’s my goal, and I think everybody’s: providing healthy produce and food to the community and doing it in a safe manner,” said Chew, who owns Talking Rock Farm in Otto. “And making people feel comfortable coming to the market.”
Chew is one of the few remaining board members. The board currently doesn’t have a director, but Chew said it’s worked out fine and everyone typically chips in.
Vendors have received additional guidance from Christine Bredenkamp, Macon County Extension director. She sent a list of safety guidelines for market vendors to follow.
Bredenkamp said it’s important every vendor go the extra mile to ensure safety, especially as the season progresses and the market size increases.
“I’m so grateful that our state is slowly moving toward a three-phase lifting of the stay-at-home order based on virus trends,” she said. “I’m grateful that the Franklin Farmers Market is open and operating for the benefit of the vendors and the benefit of the new and loyal customers too.”
Bredenkamp listed 11 “best practices” for vendors to know about and implement, including wearing gloves and masks, using barriers to ensure social distancing, rounding price totals to even numbers, and suspending food sampling.
EmPOWERing Mountain Food Systems, a three-year project focused on expanding food and farmer businesses in Western North Carolina, printed signs for the Franklin Farmers Market.
Laura Lauffer, EMFS project director, said Franklin has a wonderful farmers market. While some locations voluntarily suspended farmers markets, they were deemed an essential business.
“They are just as essential as a grocery store,” Lauffer said. “Many people think a farmers market is even safer than a grocery store. It’s open air. You can get in and get out. You’re not so packed in.”
The Franklin Farmers Tailgate Market is open every Saturday from 8 a.m. until noon. It’s located downtown on the north side of the 200 block of East Palmer St.
Chew, 68, is retired and certainly doesn’t have to show up every Saturday to the market, but he enjoys doing it.
“I feel very committed to what I’m doing: supplying organically grown local produce to the community.” Chew said. “If I’m gonna do it, I have to make sure I’m really doing it in a very safe way. It’s not so easy. You really have to think hard about things.”