BLAIR, NEB. (KMTV) — This would have been opening weekend for the Omaha Farmer’s Market; it’s slated to open the weekend of June 6-7.
Barreras Family Farm in Blair has been prepping for the farmers market since January. They were excited for opening weekend.
“We are in the habit of getting up at 4:00 in the morning to load up, trek out and set up at the market on Saturday, that’s just our thing. We’re excited to see the bread lady who is next to us, all the other vendors,” Mariel Barreras said.
The best part, she said, is seeing her customers.
“We love the customer interaction,” Barreras said. “It’s all about being in front of your customers. They know who you are we know who they are, and we get instant feedback.”
This year, the Omaha Farmers Market is going to look a bit different due to social distancing guidelines.
“It’s not going to be a social gathering place,” Kylie Vonnahme, Senior Project Manager at VGA Group said. “It’s a place where you can come, get local produce, and go home.”
The Omaha Farmers Market and Douglas County Health Department have decided to only offer locally grown produce and fresh foods.
“We’re happy we are allowed to open the farmers market, we love it obviously,” Vonnahme said. “We know our vendors do and it’s something they rely on and they are all small businesses, farmers and growers so we are so excited to have it, but we want to keep it as safe as possible.”
Vendors will be spaced at least 10 feet apart and the number of people allowed in will be limited. Locations have slightly changed to allow the vendors to space out more.
On Saturday, the farmer's market in The Old Market will now be on the top floor of the city's parking garage on the corner of 11/Jackson Streets from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, the Aksarben farmer's market will take place at Baxter Arena's parking lot number 26 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Vehicle space will be limited on Saturday for vendors; priority will be given to produce vehicles. Others will have to unload, then park. A challenge for the Barreras who have 300 pounds of coolers full of meat.
“What do we have? What do we need?” Anthony Barreras said. “What farmers markets potentially? Based on what ones are still going on and how they’re going to be set up. Which one works best for us based on what we can provide?”
Flowers, raw goats milk, free range chicken eggs, they're so diversified they think that has helped sales, as well as already having an online presence for their grass fed beef and pork sales.
“The online sales have spiked and yes, it’s off setting some of the other areas but just trying to manage what you have and what you can provide throughout the year,” Anthony said.
Wherever they decide to sell this summer, they want to continue making it convenient for their customers too.
