Farmers’ Market Suspended
PCFMA opts to delay reopening due to citizen concerns

The planned reopening of a scaled-down Danville Farmers’ Market for Saturday, April 11, 2020, has been delayed.  The Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association announced Friday that on receiving concerns voiced by members of the community regarding the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and the Shelter in Place Order, they have decided to hold off on reopening the market.

Following two weeks of implementing plans to eliminate the social aspects of the farmers market and create an ‘essentials only’ model, the market had been allowed to reopen. However, the announcement of the reopening sparked a series of concerns from members of the community.  Economic Development Manager Jill Bergman said that once the messages from the community started coming in, they began talking to the PCFMA about it.

“We understand the concerns that are being voiced by our residents and we want to be mindful of them, so we started working with the PCFMA on how to address them,” Bergman said.

PCFMA Executive Director Allen Moy said in a letter, “We were excited about returning to downtown Danville this Saturday, but after hearing of your concerns and those of many of your neighbors, we have decided to delay reopening the Danville Farmers’ Market.”

Bergman said they will continue to work with the PCFMA on instituting safety measures intended to ensure protection from virus transmission at the weekly market.

Bergman added, “There have already been a number of changes implemented, however, we will continue to examine how the market is organized so that it can return when the time is right.”

For more information, contact Economic Development Manager Jill Bergman at (925) 314-3369 or jbergman@danville.ca.gov.