Dear City Council members, Last week we had to stand in line and wait to enter our Farmers’ Market from one place only, and one at a time. We are adults and we know about the social distancing recommendation and have been following it on our own. We don’t need to be policed in our own Farmers’ Market. People who don’t feel safe shopping outdoors there will obviously stay home or shop elsewhere. Cordoning off our wholesome, beloved Farmers’ Market as if it were a crime scene, and under police enforcement, was, in my opinion, a huge overreaction. It did work, however, to make the heretofore joyous experience of finding our fresh produce, fruit, flowers, bakery treats and more, while listening to live music and reconnecting with friends and our favorite vendors in a celebration of community and the “vibrancy” you claim to prize so much, into a sparse, joyless, sad and pathetic spectacle. Even worse, and even though we stood for all those indignities pushed upon us last week to keep our vendors solvent and to stay healthy by buying the very freshest produce available--from the farmers who labor to grow it and bring it to our market--today it was shut down entirely. No farmers, no produce, no music, no people. Listen, Council members, Covid-19 is not the bubonic plague. For the vast majority, it manifests as a mild cold or a moderate flu. Consider that only 13 people have died in our entire county—and 11 of them were in their 70s and 80s. Elderly people even die from the common cold. Their immune systems weaken with age so instead of fighting off the cold or seasonal flu virus, it settles in their lungs and they die of pneumonia. But we never shut down our Farmers’ Market because some of our frail elderly died of flu-related illnesses. Nor should we do that now. I urge you, Council members, to reopen our beloved Farmers’ Market and let us have normal access to it, while posting a sign reminding people to respect the 6 ft social distancing recommendation for the time being. Sincerely, Cherie Zaslawsky Received on Sat Apr 04 2020 - 12:34:39 PDT
