Food Market, Dukes Meadows open on Sunday 17 January
As food is an essential service, the Food Market is open on Sunday. Please help us keep everyone safe; shop singly or in no more than pairs, wear a facemask, use the hand sanitiser available and maintain social distance. The market sells a range of groceries; bread, veg, fruit, meat, cheese, milk, butter, yoghurt, fresh pasta, olives, olives olive oil, cakes and bakes. We also have some ready to eat take away stalls including salt beef sandwiches and tomorrow our occasional Sushi stall.Our stalls are farmers and small businesses and markets are their main or sole source of income.We have a COVID risk assessment that we are following that includes closing off all but one entrance / exit and managing numbers in the market. Occasionally that means we have to ask people to queue, so we are asking everyone to shop quickly and move on, to reduce queueing. We are grateful to LBH Environmental Health, who have provided advice and visit most weeks. We are responsible, but their knowledge and experience provided with courteous professionalism has been very valuable.We look forward to being able to put out tables again for al fresco brunch and lunch and to being able again to offer free, children's activities and events. For now we want to continue providing food for customers and a livelihood for stallholders, whilst managing the risk from COVID. The market being outdoors with excellent ventilation helps.The market is a social enterprise, it was set up 21 years ago to raise funds to regenerate the park. With additional costs, it is not currently raising much towards that, but will again we hope. It is a valuable community resource supporting the park and also the Lawn Bowls Club beside it, at a time many are closing.
Kathleen Healy ● 2111d3 Comments ● 2111d