With a Farmers Market season opening of the first Friday in April annually, Metcalfe Co. Farmers Market is among the first of the seasonal Farmers Markets each year, to open in the Mammoth Cave Area.  As this Agent was preparing to offer the SR and WIC FMNP voucher producer training's in Early March, via zoom for the first time ever due to COVID - 19 meeting restrictions, I was looking for guidance on whether markets would even be allowed to operate during the pandemic crisis.  On March 19 our Commissioner of Agriculture distributed a 1 page letter declaring Farmers Markets essential businesses with a guidance piece, for safe reopening practices.  

With a 4/3/20 season opening date for our market, this FCS Agent utilized the guidance provided by our Ag Commissioner and research - based information from Family and Consumer Sciences Extension on sanitation of surfaces and hand washing in relation to COVID - 19, to prepare a power point training for our early market vendors and board members.  I reached out to our area health department environmental health contact as was recommended in the guidelines, to review the training and plan for reopening.  

I was informed that when the Barren River Health Department Environmental health specialist, who had not seen or heard anything about Farmers Market operations guidelines reached out to her supervisor, they then had to reach out to the State Health Department staff and was told via e-mail that none of the Health Department staff had received any guidance at that point.  I shared the info that was e-mailed to Extension from the Agriculture Commissioner with the Health Department Environmental health folks and I was informed via e-mail, Metcalfe County was the first County in the state to begin to plan for COVID safe Farmers Market reopening.  

Our training and plan to operate as a drive through market was approved by BRDHD environmental health.  We installed hands-free soap and towels in the bathroom.  Hand sanitizer, spray bottles and bleach were provided to each vendor for hand and surface cleaning.  Changes included using fresh disposable plastic table coverings, pricing by vendors to eliminate coin change, no open produce bins/pre-bagged fresh produce items and signage with messaging including: 6 foot social distancing, customers asked to remain in cars, eyes only/no touch until you buy policies and with vendors required to wear cloth face coverings/masks and gloves.  

The market saw it's busiest/most successful April opening season on record since 2008, when the market started.  Customer counts and number of vendors present were doubled or more, for April 2020 over any other previous year.  As a result, new vendors that had never participated like Legacy Dairy a local, small family operated dairy business, came on as weekly vendors.

To help spread the word that the Market was providing local food to local families, this FCS Agent conducted a significant marketing and social media promotion campaign, information on the COVID - 19 safe Market operations was distributed via the local newspaper, radio shows, Chamber of Commerce e-mail list and local organization Facebook pages.  From 3/30/20 to 6/10/2020 the Metcalfe County Farmers Market Facebook Page added 83 new page likes, average post shares increased from 3 to 71, post reach went from 161 to a high of 4,496, and average post reactions increased from 6 to 238.