The Capital Region Farmers Market at EPIC and Southside Farmers Market at Canberra College are set to return this weekend after temporary closures due to COVID lockdowns in the ACT and NSW.
“After taking a break to assess the situation and our safety procedures, CRFM will be reopening this Saturday to ensure the local community has access to essential fresh food,” organisers said in a Facebook post on Monday night.
The Rotary Club of Hall, which runs the CRFM, confirmed today that the Market can safely open with thorough processes in place in line with ACT Health Guidelines, remaining open as an essential food service for Canberrans.
“It is important the Market returns as a means for local farmers and producers to continue to make a living, and as a safe outdoor alternative to supermarket shopping,” the club said in a media statement.
However, they are asking attendees to abide by a number of rules “to ensure everyone’s safety is a priority and to keep us operating”.
Shoppers are invited to return this weekend with the following rules in place: only one shopper to attend per household; no eating or drinking onsite; the wearing of masks is mandatory; check in via the Check In CBR app; shop and go – do not congregate, purchase your goods then promptly leave the premises; sanitise; and stay home if unwell.
A list of CRFM stallholders attending will be updated on Friday so marketgoers can plan their shop on Saturday morning, 28 August.
Meanwhile, the Southside Farmers Market also plans to reopen this Sunday for the first time since the ACT lockdown took effect on 12 August, after having been cancelled on the past two Sundays, 15 and 22 August.
In a Facebook post earlier this week, organisers advised the market would return “under essential food market conditions, so please for everyone’s sake, comply to the requirements”.
These include: all attendees checking in via the Check In CBR app using QR codes displayed around the market; masks must be worn; all purchases are for essential food shopping for shoppers to take home; and no consumption of food or coffee at the market.
“This is strictly a shop and go market – no exceptions,” the Facebook post stated.
Stall holders will be selling fresh seasonal vegetables, fruits, nuts, mushrooms, “pastured eggs”, fresh seafood, free-range pork, smallgoods, a range of baked goods, handmade fresh pasta and sauces, spices, dried fruits, herbs, olive oils, krauts, dips, chutneys and sauces, and pet treats. Vegetable seedlings and native plants would also be available.
The Southside Farmers Market will be open from 8am to 11.30am this Sunday 29 August.
For more news:
