Rexburg Farmers Market opens for the season with a few changes in place
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REXBURG — The Rexburg Farmers Market is still happening this year, but things will be a little different because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
One change is the location. Market Manager Abegeal Brown tells EastIdahoNews.com it will be held at the Madison County Fairgrounds this year, rather than its traditional spot on College Avenue.
“We were not allowed to be (on College Ave.) this year…because of some things that happened with COVID and the university,” Brown says.
The change of venue allows the market to grow from 42 booths to a maximum of 56. It also gives additional space for customers to park and maintain six-foot social distancing guidelines.
Samples will not be offered this year. Organizers are implementing a no-touch market, meaning they ask people to point to vendors and ask for items they want.
The Rexburg Farmers Market also added an online shopping system. They teamed up with LocalLine, where people will put items into their virtual cart by Wednesday and everything will be ready for curbside pickup on Friday.
“We know we have some customers that have immune-compromised family members or are at a higher risk with COVID,” Brown said. “We wanted to still offer these wonderful things, but in a safer way for them.”
The changes don’t seem to be stopping people from coming. Hundreds gathered at the Rexburg Farmer’s Market for its opening day Friday.
Linda Carlos of Black Bear Family Farms has attended the farmer’s market the last three years to sell jam, eggs and other goods.
“Everybody’s so excited. As you can see, the crowd is huge,” Carlos said. “We’ve never had a crowd this big. I was worried about the location, but it seems to be very popular.”
The Rexburg Farmers Market offers everything from produce, homemade goods, and freshly made food vendors. It is open Fridays from 4 to 8 p.m. at 460 West 2nd North.
“In a lot of ways, we’re still the same old farmers market,” Brown said. “We’re going to provide as much local goodness to the people of Rexburg as possible.”
