The Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market has continued to bring people together from Phoenix and the surrounding suburbs. The market has enforced social distancing guidelines and mask regulations, which allows merchants to continue selling their goods to provide people with food and other essential and artisanal goods. The market also works with Community Food Connections to partner with farmers and businesses that promote sustainability and healthy habits.
When the market first closed, organizers had to reduce the number of vendors in half (from 90 to 45). The market currently has 70 vendors, but they hope to get back to full capacity once state restrictions begin to decrease, according to the market manager, Colin Dueker. “At the beginning, the market still carried food as an essential business at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Sandy Siegel from Botanicals and Clay.”For me, as a vendor who sells artisanal goods like pottery and artwork, I had to stop selling at the market which affected my business.”
Despite the reduced number of vendors, the market has been able to continue helping the community in important ways. For example, it provides low-income families who are shopping with Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) with special currency to be used on fruits and vegetables, according to Dueker. “We match the dollars spent as a part of EBT and SNAP. If someone spends $10 we'll match it and give them $20,” Dueker said. and an additional set of tokens (which is another program called double food bucks). This is another incentive to encourage people to buy fruits and vegetables to promote healthier eating habits,” Dueker said. The market has partnered with Community Food Connections to promote healthy eating habits and sustainability. Every Saturday, coordinators come to set up and tear down the market. The coordinators also work at the information booth where they give out information to customers, process food stamps and more. Their ultimate goal is to help customers have a joyful experience, according to coordinator Sven Lenkewitz, who has worked at the Farmers Market for more than a decade. “When I first came to the market, the manager was looking for some help and at that time I was homeless. She came up to the people I was with and asked if anybody wanted to help out and make some money. I didn’t have anything else to do since I was homeless so I said yes. Fourteen years later, I haven’t missed a day,” Lenkewitz said. The farmers market is committed to providing help for so many different people in the community; even in the middle of a pandemic, the market has continued to be open Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. “This past year brought challenge after challenge, but the resilience of our community remained steadfast,” said Matlin. “We are so grateful for everyone who helped make the Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market possible and supported us in building a sustainable food system.”
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