How Bellingham’s beloved farmers market has dealt with reopening amid a pandemic.

Story by Molly Todd | Photos Courtesy of Bellingham Farmers Market

Every Saturday, from April through December, the sound of a bell ringing at 10 a.m. on the dot resonates through downtown Bellingham. This signifies the opening of the weekend farmers market at Depot Market Square, a beloved event filled with fresh food, crafts, smiling faces and performances by local artists since its birth in the summer of 1992.

The 28th year of the Bellingham Farmers Market was not welcomed with a typical reopening. As with countless markets, businesses and events around the world, COVID-19 has left an unprecedented impact, dissipating any sort of normalcy.

Countries and cities shut down and small communities and local businesses have been forced to close indefinitely.

Gov. Jay Inslee’s March 23 proclamation deemed farmers markets as essential services, but the Bellingham Farmers Market had to work closely with the Whatcom County Health Department to reopen under new safety precautions and modifications.

“We’re providing a food service just like a grocery store,” Lora Liegal, market director, said. “That’s really the heart of a farmers market: providing food, and right now, what we can focus on is providing a food service.”

On April 11, the Bellingham Farmers Market was scheduled to reopen, but the term “reopening” has a different weight to it in the middle of a pandemic. The market made an official announcement on their Facebook page on April 2. The post was met with dozens of angry people and dozens of thankful people, all arguing with one another in the comments.

“I was definitely nervous [to reopen],” Liegel said. “I’d say I’m not nervous in the sense of what we’ve implemented and continue to implement, as many safeguards as possible to keep people safe, but we’re still working in an unsafe environment. No matter where you go, whether it’s a brick and mortar grocery store, or you go for a walk, there’s going to be a certain level of risk.”

Some people may not know about the market’s new layout and how it is focusing on being a food service rather than the social event it’s typically seen as, Liegel said.

The atmosphere of the market has shifted since its reopening on April 11. Craft vendors are now excluded, and the market is strictly selling farm produce. The market controls the number of people allowed inside at a time, averaging three customers per vendor, Liegel said. The customers are not allowed to handle the produce, as the vendor will bag it themselves.

“[The response has] been fairly positive,” Liegel said. “We tell people that if you’re not comfortable coming, you don’t need to come. And if people are comfortable coming to the market, then we certainly welcome them.”

The market’s Facebook announcement to reopen saw over 150 comments from locals, most of whom were worried, and for obvious reasons. Vendors and staff at the market are required to wear masks, and although it is recommended for customers to do so as well, it is not a requirement to enter.

Melissa Swift, a graduate student at Western who previously held a position on the board of directors for the Port Angeles Farmers Market, understands why the market is eager to stay open. She said she feels safer at a market than a grocery store due to the market’s open-air setup and smaller shopping population.

“A lot of people associate the market with this sort of social event, or just walk around and kind of feel the atmosphere, and none of that’s possible,” Swift said. “I agree that the social aspects of the market, while great, are not a priority right now and [are] dangerous. But I think it gets conflated in people’s minds as, ‘That’s what the market is, so why would you open it?’”

As a proponent of local food systems, Swift said she has always supported the farmers market and believes it to be more sustainable, better for the local economy and environment. With the state of the world, it’s still important to prioritize that, Swift said.

“The short version is that people need to eat,” she said. “As long as grocery stores are open, I think the market should be open. It’s kind of a crucial avenue for the farmers to get their food to us, and we need their food.”

Those who grew up dependent on the successes of a family farm can understand why the farmers market’s reopening is significant during this time.

Laurel Titus grew up in the Ferndale and Bellingham area, where her father has been operating Windy Meadow Nursery for over 30 years. Titus is an advocate for farmers markets and local farmers, however, when the market reopened, Titus’ gut reaction was that it wasn’t safe.

“From what I’ve seen, this virus is highly contagious,” she said. “So it really doesn’t matter where you are. It doesn’t really matter where you shop.”

The advisories from grocery stores like Fred Meyer to social distance when shopping can be quite confusing, Titus said.

“The loudspeaker is like, ‘Please social distance with us,’ and, ‘Practice social distancing,’ but when you invite people to gather, you’re not really encouraging people to practice social distancing,” Titus said.

Titus explains that agriculturally, northwest Washington carries its weight in the industry and understands the importance of supporting local farms. During times like these, it’s also important to question the necessity of going to the farmers market, for vendors or customers.

“It’s so incredibly important for people to be doing what they’re doing not for themselves, but for other people as well and thinking of other people,” Titus said.

Sophie Williams, owner of Raven Breads, said she believed the reopening of the market saved her business.

“Without the market, I wasn’t sure how I was gonna rebuild my business and not set up to move into grocery,” Williams said, having just returned from a bike ride delivery of her homemade bread. “I’m not sure how long I could have floated the business operating in the red.”

Her bicycle is the reason her business’ pick ups and drop offs work. With a trailer full of boxes attached to the back of her bike, she rides to and from the market each weekend, from April through December, and has been doing so since 2014.

Williams is the sole owner and worker of her bread business. She bakes whole grain sourdough breads and seasonal whole-grain pastries and puts a lot of thought into sourcing. However, with no farmers market to sell her products, she resorted to a new plan.

Williams takes pre-orders for her goods and offers a month-long bread subscription in addition to leaving orders on people’s porches, relying on the honors system. The deliveries of fresh bread take her and her bike to the Fairhaven, South Hill, Columbia, Lettered Streets and Birchwood neighborhoods.

With the farmers market back up and running, it has given Williams a sense of hope.

“Hopefully, with market and pre-sales and other elements, I’ll be able to kind of lift the business through the same time and come out the other side,” she said.

Although some vendors may rely solely on selling their products at the farmers market, Liegel explained that there are other ways to connect with the market’s vendors online. Participating in community-supported agriculture (CSA) is an option for those who wish to support local farmers but don’t feel comfortable going to the market. CSA’s are defined by the Bellingham Farmers Market as, “an arrangement between a farmer and customer where you buy a subscription to a local farm in advance of the season. The farmer uses the up-front funds for everything needed to grow the food. In return, the farmer delivers your weekly ‘share’ of the harvest.”

“The farmers have worked hard all season to get these things in the ground, so the food still needs to get harvested, and we can still provide an outlet, a place for it to go, being at the farmers market,” Liegel said.

Many people wonder if the market is safer than a grocery store. Considering the outbreak of COVID-19 was believed to originate from a seafood and live animal market, where is the safest place to shop for your groceries? Or is there even one?

For people like Williams, the market being the safer option is a no-brainer.

“I mean, it’s unsafe in that anything you’re doing out in the world right now is unsafe, but it’s way safer than shopping at a supermarket,” Williams said. “You’re outside, there’s fewer people, there’s just a lot more dilution possible of the air.”

In fact, Yvonne Michael, an epidemiologist at Drexel University School of Public Health said, “There are benefits to visiting a farmers market in light of coronavirus in terms of the fact that you’re outside, there’s fresh air moving and the supply chain is shorter.”

Williams observed that people are being careful and taking the modifications seriously at the Bellingham Farmers Market since its reopening.

“The people selling you your food are the people who grow or make your food so they have a lot of stake in making sure that you stay safe and have a good experience,” Williams said.

To get a sense of how different an open-air market may be from an enclosed grocery store, Aalto University modeled how “a person coughing in an indoor environment” can spread in a matter of minutes. Preliminary results from this study and model suggest that avoiding busy indoor spaces “reduces the risk of droplet infection, which remains the main path of transmission for coronavirus.”

With risk present nearly everywhere amid a pandemic, the farmers market continues to hold significance in the community of Bellingham and the local farmers that feed it.

“I think that the market is very important for a lot of businesses in terms of sales,” Williams said. “Those customer producer interactions are really important for helping people remember where their food comes from and keeping them committed to supporting producers in their community.”

The Bellingham Farmers Market may not be what it’s always been: busy white tents flourishing with people, fresh food, hula hoopers, violinists, crafts, large families and unmasked, smiling faces. Despite the changes, Liegel has found some moments of beauty in the reopening of the market.

“Just last week, I saw a lot of people holding flowers. I think just remembering how much beauty that plants and produce can bring us even when they’re not necessarily for eating,” Liegel said. “And the subtleties of what happens under a mask, sometimes it can be a little confusing, what someone’s body language says, like looking for the creases under someone’s eyes and, ‘Oh, they’re actually smiling even though you can’t see their face.’ It’s just our new reality, but there are some moments of sweetness in that.”