Need Veggies, Pickles, Fresh Air? The Salem Farmer's Market Has Got You Covered

Images and Story by Joey Phoenix

The Salem Farmer’s Market has been operating with business (mostly) as usual for the past month. It’s open Thursdays from 3-7.

Having temporarily moved from its home in Derby Square to the parking lot at the Bentley School off Memorial Drive, the market is still brimming with fresh veggies, creative pickles, and many other delightful wares and sundries.

“The fact that it’s happening is quite frankly a miracle,” said Kylie Sullivan, President of Salem Main Streets. “And we are so fortunate to have vendors who were willing to take a chance on this, and the city really bent over backwards to make this work for us.”

Click here for a full list of market vendors

The new location makes it possible for the market booths to more spread out, allowing for interactions that meet COVID-19 restrictions around outdoor gathering spaces.

“It breaks my heart that were no longer in the center of downtown,” Kylie said. “But [the move] was the safest way for us to spread everyone out appropriately and make sure our customers were as safe as possible.”

She also mentioned the space was important because, with one entrance and one exit, they would be able to track numbers in and out of the market.

Making the Market Accessible

Getting to the market is easier than ever this year, because those with cars can park on Memorial Dr., and those on foot can take a social distance (no more than 5 on board!) shuttle ride that picks up from Derby Square.

“There are a lot of people who’ve struggle to get to our market in the past, but this is actually easier for them.” Kylie added.

The market shuttle sign in sheet allows for contact tracing.

Friendly shuttle drivers are happy to take you to the market and back

There’s also an added level of accessibility in terms of payment. Most of the vendors offer pre-orders so that when patrons arrive they can pick up a pre-packaged bag for a non-contact option.

The Salem Farmers’ Market also accepts the SNAP/EBT card, and this includes the Coronavirus Pandemic EBT.