Elgin Farmers Market busy on first day
The Elgin Farmers Market was off to a bustling start Friday, face masks and social distancing requirement included.
"It's great. Do you want to see what we bought?" said Jennifer Vombrack of Elgin, pointing to the bag held by her husband, Roy. Inside, there was pasta sauce, salsa, honey ginger dressing, ginger spread, chocolate almond cookies and caramel candy.
As for the precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic, it's all about being sensible, Roy Vombrack said.
"If it's necessary, it needs to be done," he said. "The numbers are coming down in Illinois, so I think it seems to be working."
There were about 20 vendors on opening day at the outdoor market, which takes place Friday afternoons and has moved to a new location on Spring Street from Grove Avenue to Chicago Street to allow a 6-foot distance between booths.
Market manager Christina Gonzales said last year's market started with 23 vendors - and had a high of 45 vendors at its peak - so this season is already very promising.
"I think everyone is, first off, very excited to be outside. We had a lot of people just say, 'Thank you for being open,'" she said. "We had a couple of people show up without masks and they put them on as soon as we asked."
The Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin, which organizes the market and has a booth in the middle, also offers masks, and there is a hand sanitizer station at the entrance of the market.
Farmers markets are deemed essential businesses under Gov. J.B. Pritzker's executive orders, which means customers can shop for fresh local foods, pet products, baked goods and body care items. The hope is that more items will be added as regulations are eased, Gonzales said.
One snag is that the market hasn't been able to get its EBT/Link card system going for purchases because of a delay from the state, likely due to the pandemic, she said. The market gets a donation from BMO Harris Bank that matches up to $20 in such purchases.
Vendor Nalini Potineni of Oak Brook, whose business is Nal's Kitchen, said this is her first time at the Elgin market. "This has been good. A lot of people are coming and it's still early in the day," she said. "People have been coming to say hi. It's nice."
People seem to be adapting well to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Cullen Crowe, who works for Six Generations, a farm with several locations including Hampshire. "It's weird, but it's working smoothly," he said.
Customer Megan Graf said she liked the market but wished it offered more, such as alcohol - a margarita machine in particular.
The city last year for the first time allowed establishments with a liquor license to sell alcohol that could be consumed within the market boundaries. Because of the change of location, there is only one restaurant, Al's Cafe, along the market that has a liquor license, so the logistics didn't quite work, market officials said.