Legion Park Farmers Markets Will Reopen

Updated:

Here are opening dates of Urban Oasis Project farmers markets, according to Art Friedrich:

• Arsht Center Market Mondays will reopen Mon., Oct 26 from 4-7pm as a drive-through along the valet ramp.
• Legion Park will reopen Nov. 7
• South Miami City Hall, a new market, will open Nov. 7

Masks are required for everyone. There will be no food for immediate consumption, and no touching of produce or other products. "We ask people to avoid cash transactions," Friedrich says. "We will have handwashing stations available and sanitizers at every booth." Booths will be spaced out.

The Redland Community Farm and Market in Homestead is now open as a regular open-air market.

Lincoln Road's market on Sundays has reopened.

Farmers markets at Legion Park, the Arsht Center, Vizcaya Village and a new market at South Miami will be opening this fall, Urban Oasis Project's Art Friedrich says. The popular Legion Park market, closed by the city, had not been given permission to reopen, despite reopenings elsewhere.

"Once the outcry from the community was raised, I heard immediately from the head of City of Miami Parks, Lara Hamwey, who has taken the issue to the emergency manager and is working with me to create a CDC-approved reopening plan," says Friedrich. "Additionally, commissioner Daniella Levine Cava's office offered support to navigate the bureacracy and make sure it happens. While their response time has been slow, I feel confident that we will get it done and outdoor shopping with social distancing can resume again, the safest way to get yourself fed and support small local businesses."

When the pandemic forced everything to shut down in mid-March, nearly all farmers markets – at the height of their growing season – closed up, too. Over the past six months, many South Florida farmers and artisan markets have reopened in different forms.

Some, like the Redland Community Farm and Market in Homestead and the Pinecrest Gardens market, have opened as drive-throughs; others, at Dadeland and Aventura, have moved indoors. Key Biscayne and Coconut Grove’s Saturday markets, like many of their counterparts in Broward and the Florida Keys, have stayed open. Others, like Urban Oasis Project and Farmers Markets to Go, set up robust online ordering platforms to keep business going during the shutdown. A few have closed down for good, like Southwest Community Farmers Market at Tropical Park.

Friday, Governor Ron DeSantis issued an order ending a countywide closure order for businesses including nightclubs and bars, and told municipalities to address why they believe restaurants should operate at less than 100% capacity. Miami-Dade restaurants have been operating at 50%.The governor's order allows restaurants and foodservice establishments to operate at full capacity "with limited social distancing protocols." Businesses should maintain adequate sanitation practices among employees and patrons, clean laminated menus after each use, and dispose of paper menus immediately after use.

In Broward County, farmers markets have been allowed to operate, including those at Plantation and Tamarac, while the Yellow Green Farmers Market in Hollywood has been closed since the shutdown. Markets in the Florida Keys have been open throughout the summer.

Many farmers markets in South Florida close during the hot summers anyway, only opening seasonally, typically in October, November and December to coincide with the winter growing season.