Overland Park farmers market to open Saturday — but customers won’t leave their cars
Overland Park is planning to open its farmers market this weekend. But worried about large crowds spreading the novel coronavirus, officials said shoppers will be restricted to their cars.
The city was planning to open the market for the season earlier this month — with fewer vendors and a move to a nearby parking lot — but decided to postpone it after several residents complained that the event could lead to more cases of COVID-19. Now, officials announced the market will open in drive-thru format on Saturday in a different location.
Like grocery stores, farmers markets are considered essential operations under metrowide stay-at-home orders. The City Market downtown and Brookside Farmers Market never closed. But many Johnson County cities have postponed their markets as the coronavirus outbreak continues.
The summer markets draw thousands of shoppers in Johnson County, making it difficult to keep people six feet apart and enforce safety protocols.
To try to minimize the risks, the Overland Park market will be held as a drive-thru, with minimal to no-contact shopping, officials said. The market will open from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Overland Park Convention Center parking lot, near College Boulevard and Lamar Avenue.
Shoppers will be instructed to follow a one-way path through the parking lot, which is north of the convention center. The path, which is shown on the city’s website, opkansas.org, will take vehicles through the entire market. Customers will not be able to skip the line to reach specific vendors, and they must remain in their vehicles.
The city is encouraging customers to reach out to specific vendors to pre-order items in advance. The vendor list is available on the city’s website as well.
Vendors have been instructed to wear masks and gloves, and shoppers are encouraged to do the same. There will be no entertainment or children activities, unlike in previous years.
Overland Park officials have stressed the importance of providing fresh, nutritious food to the community during the public health crisis. They also hope opening the market will help small businesses and farmers recoup lost income as the shutdown continues.
Due to COVID-19, the city of Merriam has pushed back its farmers market opening day to May 23. It was scheduled to start on May 2. Lenexa’s farmers market has been postponed until further notice.
