Produce In Disguise
Celebrating National Farmers’ Market Week with…
A City Wide Pictorial Scavenger Hunt Hosted by the DeSoto Farmers’ Market!
Locations may choose one or more days during the week of August 2-8 to place Produce In Disguise (fruit or vegetable) in their business. Your job: find the Produce in Disguise and take a picture of it!
The participating businesses might not share when they’ll be inviting their produce to visit their shop, so you’ll need to be on the lookout for them. On August 8, stop by the DeSoto Farmers’ Market with your pictures and if no less than half of them match our verification list, your name will be entered into the Winning Drawing Pool for a chance to win a fabulous prize package!
Scavenger locations are being added, and here’s the current list:
- De Soto Public Library
- Cotton’s ACE Hardware
- First State Community Bank
- Cottage Grove Quilt Company
- The Odd Duck
- Dairy Queen
- Redfield’s Flea Market
- Cato Fashion
- The Corner Closet
- Good As New
- El Lobo Rojo
- Cherished Memories
- Orscheln Farm & Home
The times, they are a-changin’
The market has a plan in place to make shopping safe for customers, vendors, staff, and volunteers. Here is what you need to know when you head out to the market on May 16.
The market layout will be modified, at least for a few weeks! It will look like the image below.
There will only be one way into and out of the market. This is a bit of an inconvenience, but it is the best way to keep people from being too close together.
You’ll have to wash your hands before you enter the market. We’ll have a handwashing station set up for this on the west side of the market. There will also be one on the east side of the market, so you can wash your hands when you leave.
Vendor booths will be farther apart, so there won’t be as many in the market. However, you can check out the customer information on the website and find out which vendors are signed up for May 16 or any other day at the market. It’s a cool new feature that we’re proud to offer, and we want you to use it and the directory of vendors to learn more about our producers, artisans, and bakers.
Although we normally encourage customers to visit the market building to grab a cup of coffee, check out market swag, use the bathroom, etc. we won’t be doing that until later in the season. There will not be any public restrooms at the market until further restrictions are lifted. As far as market swag, we’re still looking at options to bring that to you online.
You can learn more about market considerations and changes due to COVID-19 at the page below. We look forward to seeing you at the market opening on May 16th!
Social Distancing at the farmers’ market
One of the most successful and most loved Get Healthy DeSoto programs is the DeSoto Farmers’ Market. Since it started, it has been a wonderful place to shop for local produce, visit with neighbors, learn about preserving food, and share a cup of coffee and cookie with a friend.
The market will open for the season on May 16, 2020, pending approval by the Jefferson County Health Department of our plan to keep vendors, customers, and volunteers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a bit different from our original intent to open on April 25th with the normal hoopla and fanfare of a Tractor Parade and plant sale. These changes are necessary though to keep our community safe.
Since many of our vendors are part of the food supply, they are considered “essential”!
We certainly think of all our vendors as being essential because each of them bring so much knowledge and a sense of community to our market. However, not all vendors will be present when the market opens in May. Only produce, food, and some plant vendors will be allowed to be at the market. You’ll still be able to pick up your lettuce, radishes, broccoli, and (keep your fingers crossed) asparagus. Vendors with food items, such as breads, pies, and jam will also be allowed. Our honey vendors will certainly be invited, and you’ll be able to pick up your beef, pork, turkey, and chicken as well. You’ll also be able to pick up your tomato and pepper plants, microgreens, and herb plants.
Our artisans and crafters will be absent for the first part of our market season. This means you’ll miss out on the handpainted signs, wooden benches, aprons, potholders, crocheted hats, paintings, jewelry, and carved spoons. (I love those carved spoons!)
We know that Mother’s Day is quickly approaching, and if there is something in particular that you missed out on last year that will be missing from the market, we are happy to put you into contact with the vendor. However, until COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, these vendors will be missed from the market.
Vendors aren’t the only thing that will be different…
We’ll miss the live music, Power of Produce activities for kids, and sitting at our happy picnic table to “people watch”. (No worries! Since the Olympics have been postponed, there’s still plenty of time for you to hone your people watching skills!)
But wait! Won’t that make the market boring?!
The DeSoto Farmers’ Market has become the Saturday Morning Place to Be. It will be that again. We just need to take safety into consideration and take stock of all the things that are still available and working for us right now. You can still offer a friendly smile and wave to your neighbors and vendors. We just want to keep you safe while doing so.
Tractor Parade
UPDATE: after conversations with Little League, we decided to cancel the Tractor Parade on May 16!
The Tractor Parade for the 2020 market season was originally going to kick off on April 25, 2020. There’s been a bit of a change due to the restriction on mass gatherings, so it has been rescheduled for May 16, 2020. The parade begins at 10 AM at Mahn’s Funeral Home and will proceed south on Main Street to St. Louis Street. We’ll end at the high school track.
Great fun is sure to be had after such our 8-week period of restrictions, and we are very excited about our 2020 season. Please complete the application and haul your tractor to town or just line up along Main Street and cheer us on! Here’s to a great market season!
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