Arlington Farmers Markets Able to Reopen with Pre-Orders

Published on March 26, 2020

Update 4/7/2020: To clarify, Governor encourages preordering to the extent possible, however prepackaged onsite sales are permitted.

Arlington's Farmers Markets can re-open this weekend in a new format — farmers can only offer preordered sales. On Wednesday, the Governor's Office and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) issued additional guidance to provide a means for farmers markets to continue to operate.

To limit the exposure to Covid-19, vendors are not permitted to display food or on-site shopping. This guidance enables markets to remain open giving Arlingtonians access to fresh, locally-grown food while promoting social distancing.

"We are working hard to develop a new system to do business that supports our community of shoppers and vendors, and still abides by the Governors Executive Order," said Amy McWilliams, manager of the Pike Park Market on Columbia Pike. "We are still working out how we will be able to take preordered sales and distribute them. We will post everything on our website when we have things in place."

Arlington has three winter markets to choose from at this time: Arlington Farmers Market, Pike Park Farmers Market and Westover Farmers Market. (And additional markets may be available soon.) Go to each market's website to find out how you can schedule your order. See a list of all Arlington farmers markets. Markets will limit the number of patrons inside the market to 10 at a time.

Included in the guidance to farmers markets are directives for patrons:

• Comply with social distancing guidelines. While COVID-19 is not spread by food, patrons and workers must adhere to social distancing to prevent person-to-person spread of the virus.


• Orders will be boxed. Patrons should avoid touching or inspect their orders on site.

Arlington County is committed to the health and safety of our community and our employees and strongly urges everyone to change their daily behavior to reduce risk from COVID-19, particularly to protect our most vulnerable populations. Public health officials have noted evidence of community transmission of the COVID-19 coronavirus in parts of Northern Virginia, and each individual plays a critical part of slowing the spread of the virus.

To keep updated on the status of COVID-19, visit the County's COVID-19 webpage. Also sign up for Parks and Recreation eNews.