The picnic tables won’t be there and there will only be one entry, but the Marlborough Farmers’ Market will be back on Sunday.

President Rob Harrison said the market would be outside, rather than under the sheepfolds of A&P Park to help maintain social distancing at Level 2.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Monday that the country outside of Auckland will be upgraded to Level 2 from 11:59 p.m. Tuesday with tighter restrictions than last year.

They included limiting outdoor events to 100 people, with indoor venues allowed up to 50 people.

READ MORE:
* Covid 19 not enough to stop Christchurch Market 10 years celebration
* Thousands of dollars down the drain after gardeners couldn’t sell fruit and veg at Wellington Market
* Marlborough Farmers Market to take place with a big garden party for Rapaura Springs Bloom in the Boom

During the last foreclosure, Harrison said the market was functioning “more like a supermarket” so did not fall under an outdoor event. They plan to do the same again.

Harrison said everyone should wear a mask and market organizers are encouraging people to come in and get their products as quickly as possible.

He said there would be one entrance to the market on Alabama Rd and one exit via Maxwell Rd.

“The market will be around 1,200 square meters, so it’s huge, and everything is outside,” Harrison said.

“People will wear masks and behave appropriately. We’re just asking people to respect that because we don’t want to find ourselves in a situation where we have to ask people to leave. ”

Hot foods would be available for people to buy, but would have to be taken off the market for consumption.

Harrison said their winter market had grown significantly and they expected a good turnout on Sunday. He expected at least 20 exhibitors to sell products.

“At the market, we have been very grateful and humbled by the support from our customers, and that is why we are eager to come back and operate at level 2, even if it involves a lot of extra work to make sure it is working properly.” , did he declare.

“But the merchants are really, really grateful for the support they get from the people of Marlborough.”

Golden Mile Produce co-owner Stephen Harnett said they are “perfecting” the way they operate from last year at Level 2.

“There are a few more criteria that the government is demanding this time around,” he said.

Harnett said they were delighted to be back, although they enjoyed having a few Sunday mornings to relax.

He said they had tested some door-to-door deliveries this lockdown as the abruptness meant they had excess inventory.

“We had a pretty good turnout, a lot of people know us, but we’ve never done anything like this before,” he said.

“We certainly didn’t do it last year. Definitely a far cry from what we would sell if we were in the market, but we were pretty happy with the adoption.

“We have a wide selection of Asian greens and a fairly extensive range of lettuce this time of year.

“I remember going back there after [lockdown] last year we had a lot of public support so hopefully it will be the same this year.