Mayor Fulop Reopens Farmers’ Markets to Provide Healthy Food Access & Support Local Businesses while Adhering to Social Distancing Measures

Latest Step to Move Jersey City Forward as Residents & Businesses Look to Recover

JERSEY CITY – Mayor Steven M. Fulop announced today the latest step toward carefully reopening the municipality after a nearly two-month lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic with a new policy that allows farmers’ markets to reopen, providing healthy, organic produce to residents in all parts of the city.

“Our farmers’ markets are a vital source of nutritious food for many of our residents, and is one of the safest ways for people to get food and support our local economy,” said Mayor Fulop.  “These are some of the small, but discernable steps towards approaching a sense of safe normalcy while we still adhere to all the recommended public safeguards to halt the spread of Coronavirus.”

The farmers’ markets, all open-air distributors of fresh produce and goods, are monitored and licensed by the city’s Department of Health and Human Services. Every year, all 8 markets provide fresh produce and locally grown products to residents in every corner of the city.

The Paulus Hook market will be the first to open on May 9th, followed by the Grove Street market on May 11th with additional sites to follow.  Each market will be mandated to abide by social distancing protocols.  Customers will not be allowed to pick their own produce, but can give their verbal shopping list to market staff to pick out or use the market’s pre-order service for easier pickup.

Returning the markets comes just one week after the city successfully reopened five parks citywide where, again, social distancing measures are mandated and only non-contact, passive recreation is permitted. The four additional parks listed below will also reopen this week:

• Columbia Park
• Mary Benson Park
• Arlington Park
• Ercel Webb

Following the successful reopening of the parks with regulations in place, the city will similarly offer each farmers’ market the tools to manage costs, provide sanitation stations, and supply clean food for people in need.

“We’re working with the farmers and our neighborhood organizations to be able to open the farmers’ market as we do every year, which is a tactic we’ve expanded in recent years to enhance healthy food access that is traditionally lacking in urban settings,”  said Stacey Flanagan, Director of Health and Human Services.  “We’re making sure we are putting in place the health and safety measures needed as we slowly reopen these critical parts of our city.”

Additionally, to provide healthy food choices in a health-conscious setting, city officials are discouraging more than one shopper per household as well as prepared foods and music to allow for swift shopping with a focus on the essentials at this time. Marketers are required to wear face coverings and gloves while staying 6 feet apart.

“We’re taking the reopening of our city step-by-step.  We started with the parks, and now the farmers’ markets – both of which are vital resources to allow our residents to maintain their mental and physical health throughout this quarantine.  We’ll continue to work towards a full recovery in a cautious and thoughtful manner to ensure the health and safety of our community is embedded in every decision,” concluded Mayor Fulop.