The Bridgeport Farmers Market will open as planned on Sunday, May 17 but with a somewhat different look and feel.

 

The Market will be open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and on a pre-order, drive-thru basis only. No walk-ins will be allowed. Customers will need to place orders with an individual vendor prior to Market Day (May 17).

 

“This is something our board has been going back-and-forth on for the last month,” Bridgeport Farmers Market President Amanda Workman said. “We have really been looking at what other markets around the state are doing and also what markets around the country are doing. We felt like this was the best thing we could offer at this time, thinking about the safety of our families, and then our vendors and workers and customers. That is why we decided to go with the pre-order drive-thru market.”

 

A list of vedors scheduled to be at the Market can be found HERE with links to their online ordering page or contact information where you can place an on-line order via email, phone or text. All questions and concerns pertaining to your order must be directed to the individual vendor.

 

Workman said that since some of the vendors travel some distance to get to the Market if they don’t have any pre-orders or not enough to make the drive worth it, they can opt to not be there. But she also said that the vendors she has spoken with are already getting positive responses in regard to pre-orders.

 

To ease the flow of traffic at the Market site, the following pick-up times have been suggested:

 

10 a.m. to 11 a.m. — If your last name begins with A-G

 

11 a.m. to noon — If your last name begins with H-O

 

Noon to 1 p.m. — If your last name begins with P-Z

 

Given the fluid nature of restrictions, guidelines and news related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Workman said they will keep customers updated through the Market’s social media feeds with any changes to the format or additional information.

 

“Our hope is that we get back to normal,” Workman said. “Our market is a community event every single week. We are already missing that music and the POP (Power of Produce) Club for the kids.

 

“After Sunday, we will debrief and say, ‘OK, what do we think we can do for the following week?’ and we will continue to do that throughout the summer.”

 

Workman also said that they are taking two vendors every day and spotlighting them on the Market’s social media outlets to give customers a better idea what a particular vendor has to offer.

 

The Bridgeport Farmers Market Facebook Page can be found HERE

 

The Bridgeport Farmers Market website can be found HERE

 

Editor's Note: Photos from the 2019 season opening for the Bridgeport Farmers Market. Photos by benqueenphotography.com