TAMAQUA, Pa. — A popular farmers market had to partially close due to COVID-19.
The Hometown Farmers Market runs year-round every Wednesday, but for now, vendors can only set up outside and sell only essential foods and essential items.
"We decided to close to just keep out in the open air, keep every little more distance, with minimal vendors that just are selling essential products right now," said owner Susan Biege.
Biege says all the buildings have been closed since March 15.
She did make a post to the market's Facebook page, alerting customers and vendors of the outdoor operations.
"I wasn't up for a couple week because I didn't think they were open," said Kerry Eckhart from Kunkletown. "I got a post on Facebook that they were open, and I thought we'd come up. It was a nice day, and we'd come up and get some vegetables and fruit."
Vendors were grateful for the chance to make some money and offer fresh produce to the community, with the country's economy currently crippled by the coronavirus.
"It is absolutely amazing because it helps the general public and also allows us to stay in business," said Gregory Wood at Bill's Produce stand. "It also allows other people, young individuals, and older individuals to stay employed during these hard times, which are going through our nation now."
This is the farmers market's 70th year in business. The owner says in all those years, they've never had to shut down operations for this amount of time.
"We've closed for a week, during a snow storm, but never for a full month, I've never, ever," said Biege. "So we're celebrating our 70th year, it's a little different."
The owner hopes to be back in full swing by May but says, please check the Facebook page for updates.
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