COVID-19 and the Market – September 2020

Our Market will be open this coming Saturday. We are an essential food service bringing the Canberra region fresh, healthy produce, and will continue to maintain food supply from regional growers and a healthy diet for Canberrans.

We have received positive feedback from the community and will continue to support our farmers and growers for as long as we can. Thank you to our customers last weekend who were well aware of space, stood back and kept the social distancing measures top of mind.

We now ask for our community to work together to keep everyone safe. We are putting in as many measures as we can so that we can continue to access fresh food while also making sure we can follow social distancing to do out bit move through this situation.

Please Note: Our changed traffic arrangements will still be in place for the Market this Saturday, with all vehicle access to be via Old Wells Station Road only. All pedestrian access will be via Gate 4 (Service Station entry) only.

Click here to view or download the map.

Capital Region Farmers Market encourages the use of face masks for shoppers, staff, volunteers and stallholders whilst at the Market, however they are not mandatory at this stage. Please be aware of any changes to this advice via our social media channels and website, as well as monitoring the latest advice from ACT Health.

Implemented measures at CRFM

• Hand sanitiser is available at both entrances to the market. Please sanitise your hands when you enter the market.
• We have removed all tables and chairs from within the market and banned all samples and tastings.
• We have posted signage to encourage shoppers and vendors to practice social distancing of 1.5m from each other.
• All stallholders have a Covid-19 Safety Plan for their farms and business premises, as well as at the market.
• Ready to Eat food will only be available as takeaway.
• Bathrooms, ATMs and other surfaces will be sanitised at regular intervals.

What we ask of all our customers

• SHOP and GO! We would like to reduce the numbers of people congregating at the Market as much as possible and encourage all customers to shop and go. Please be respectful of social distancing, only visit those stallholders you need to buy from, buy only what you need as fast as possible and keep browsing time to a minimum.
• We ask that only one person per household attends the market.
• Please adhere to the 1.5m social distancing rules as much as possible within the market.
• Please sanitise your hands upon entry and exit of the market. There will be hand sanitising stations available at the entrance of the market.
• We ask that our customers continue to adhere to our safety measures, namely that they do not attend the Market if they have recently visited a known hotspot as advised by relevant authorities, are feeling unwell or showing symptoms of Covid-19. Please refer to ACT Health for all advice on Covid-19 and to stay aware of known hotspots.
• Capital Region Farmers Market encourages the use of face masks for shoppers, staff, volunteers and stallholders whilst at the market however they are not mandatory at this stage. Please be aware of any changes to this advice via our social media channels and website, and the latest advice from ACT Health.
• Please follow instructions provided by our volunteers and Covid-19 safety officers. They are there for your safety and the continued operation of the market.
• All vehicular access to be via Old Wells Station Road, and pedestrian access via Gate 4 (Service station entry).
• Please do not attend the market before 6:30am for your own safety as Stallholders are setting up during this time. We are open until 11:30am with plenty of produce available.

We thank all of our customers and stallholders for your support during this unprecedented time.  By following the above guidelines we hope to continue to remain open and maintain this essential food supply.

COVID-19 and the Market – 18 March 2020

As an essential food service, Capital Region Farmers Market will remain open so that we can continue to offer the ACT community the opportunity to purchase fresh regional food from known sources / growers at a time when there is a need to maintain food supply and healthy diets.

We are taking the current situation very seriously and will be taking additional measures to minimise the risk of exposure to COVID-19 for our stallholders and customers.

New measures include:

• Removal of all food sampling and tasting.
• Removal of all tables and seating to limit dwelling at the Market and to encourage social distancing.
• Spreading out stalls where possible.
• Increased hand washing and disinfecting surfaces on all stalls.

We ask that our customers please:

• Do not attend the Market if you are in a high-risk category, have recently returned from overseas, are feeling unwell or showing symptoms of COVID-19.
• Do not bring your own ‘keep cups’ for the time being.
• Use handwashing facilities available at either end of the Market.

Thank you to all of our customers for your support of our farmers during this difficult time.  We know how important it is for you to be able to access fresh regional food to maintain health and wellbeing.  We will continue to provide this opportunity to the ACT for as long we are able, however, we will remain reliant on advice provided by the Chief Minister’s Office and ACT Health for the best interests of the community.

Please make sure you stay up to date with any announcements from ACT Health on COVID-19 via their website.