EVANSVILLE, Ind. — A steady stream of friends and community leaders stopped by the market’s information tent to congratulate Robin Mallery on the opening day of Evansville’s downtown Market on Main last week.
Mallery is the newly-named executive director of Urban Seeds, one of the organizations responsible for the market and many other local food and nutrition programs.
“We’ve had much more foot traffic than we anticipated, which has been wonderful,” she said.
It was hard to plan the market around numerous restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Mallery is happy with how it came together.
“We are following Purdue Extension’s very detailed guidelines,” she said. “There are signs posted with the guidelines, and our market manager Ashley Kiefer has done a fantastic job promoting them online, and we have extra masks if people want one. Our vendors are thrilled to be here, and they have been very cooperative. Most shoppers are wearing masks and they are lined up six feet apart at the produce stands, which is wonderful.”
Due to restrictions, the market has fewer vendors than in the past, but there is a great variety: produce, honey, baked goods, preserves, beverages, dog treats, fresh flowers, food trucks, even jewelry. As the season proceeds and field crops ripen, more will drop in.
This year, shoppers who prefer not to mingle may even pre-purchase a Market Box containing a variety of produce and goodies and either pick it up or have it delivered curbside on Main Street.
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