Reading Farmers' Market

Happy New Year to all of our lovely customers! Tomorrow is the 1st Farmers Market of 2023, and we are looking forward to welcoming you all to see what's on offer from our wonderful producers.

@InedibleReading @ReadingCouncil There are lots of ideas being discussed on a Facebook post on the market page. Hopefully some will be viable and, with volunteers to help, it will be feasible to keep the market running safely.

@InedibleReading @InedibleReading, the decision rests with @TVFMC. Assuming the market is not cancelled, we will be discussing what measures we can put in place to avoid similar unacceptable queuing happening in future. It will need carefully planning and more people on the ground to help out.

@ReadingFarmMkt please please...cancel this going forward. Your being irresponsible with so many people attending. You cannot enforce social distancing. Do the right thing #StayHomeSaveLives

@InedibleReading @ReadingCouncil @InedibleReading, we were unable to do so at the beginning of Saturday's market as people arrived in hoards and formed overlapping queues. It doesn't mean we will not be able to in future. You can guarantee that won't happen again as we will learn from that and make changes.

@afursedon @TVFMC Yes, a few people have suggested limiting the number of customers allowed in at one time, asking people to pre-book time slots on Eventbrite or marking on the floor where customers are allowed to stand. Any of those options will need volunteers to help out on the ground.

@ReadingFarmMkt @TVFMC That's fair enough, thanks for trying, I guess it's a wider issue of the message not getting through. A queuing system to limit entry numbers, with spacing in the line itself, would help.

A bit of semi-normality this weekend. We’ve got a great line-up of traders at @ReadingFarmMkt. If you can’t make it due to self-isolation, some of them are offering to take orders for delivery. See full details at bit.ly/2xNTcjv. #rdguk #supportlocal #LYLM2020 @TVFMC

@afursedon @TVFMC gave safety instructions to all the traders, including encouraging contactless payment where possible and having sanitiser or wipes to hand. Unfortunately some don't yet have card payment facilities and some customers don't have contactless cards.

@afursedon That can't happen in future if the market is allowed to continue. We've already had lots of helpful suggestions and a few people have volunteered to help.

@BryanLorigan @ReadingCouncil Lots of people have made helpful suggestions to prevent it and some have volunteered to help.

@BryanLorigan @ReadingCouncil @BryanLorigan, the tight queues that formed towards the beginning of Saturday's market definitely can't be allowed to happen again. If the government hasn't ruled out the market from happening by next time we will definitely have some measures in place to prevent it.

For anyone planning to come to @ReadingFarmMkt by car, please note that unfortunately the on-street parking on Great Knollys Street is now metered. It's cheaper to park in the Cattle Market Car Park, where it's just £1 per hour. #rdguk #farmersmarket #parking

@dssgiles @EdibleReading @FidgetBob @dssgiles, yes, it got out of hand for a while but did settle down with some encouragement. Agreed, if the market does continue over the next few months we will need to put some crowd control measures in place.

@EdibleReading I went to the farmers market and wasn’t comfortable about the lack of social distancing. It’s all well and good telling us to stand 2m apart, but it was near impossible to do. There should have been a restriction on the numbers inside. Went to @FidgetBob for my eggs.

@BertieBetting @RachelEden @FidgetBob @madhatterspott If the market takes place again in the coming months we will definitely have learnt some lessons from this time.

@BertieBetting @RachelEden @FidgetBob @madhatterspott We always encourage people to support our traders, of course. In this case we were encouraging them to do so while taking care to minimise the risk for themselves and others. In addition to putting out safety advice we offered pre-ordering for delivery for people self-isolating.

@BertieBetting @lee118613 @John_Luther74 @leeiams We couldn't have predicted the huge increase in customer numbers, especially so early in the morning. We did our best in the circumstances. In future, if the market does go ahead, we will need to put some special measures in place to prevent a similar situation from happening.

@ReadingFarmMkt @lee118613 @John_Luther74 @leeiams We are days away from ICU bed requirements going parabolic. Days. And yet events like this - which would attracted way more people than normal - will end up killing attendees by taking place. Shameless. And without ANY controls to space people out. I’m literally speechless.

@BertieBetting @RachelEden @FidgetBob @madhatterspott People stared to arrive at the market an hour before opening time. The queues appeared while the market manager was out putting up directional signs. As soon as she arrived on the scene she started encouraging people to make more space.

@BertieBetting @RachelEden @FidgetBob @madhatterspott No one was blasé. We put out safety advice on Twitter and Facebook and via our newsletter and put up signs at the market about the necessary precautions. All the traders were briefed on the need to take extra hygiene measures, including encouraging contactless payment.

@BertieBetting @RachelEden @FidgetBob @madhatterspott Hopefully that will not be the case, @BertieBetting!

@ReadingFarmMkt @RachelEden @FidgetBob @madhatterspott Morally, I think you - and your traders - made a terrible decision to continue today. I have zero doubt, given how crowded it was, that asymptomatic carriers will have infected some of the many 70+ that were there. Horrendous. And all for what? A truly regretful situation.

@BertieBetting @RachelEden @FidgetBob @madhatterspott @TVFMC @BertieBetting, @TVFMC also felt that as the markets offer much better air flow than supermarkets and can enforce much stronger hygiene they offer a safer shopping alternative. However it does depend on people people being sensible and taking our safety guidance on board.

@BertieBetting @RachelEden @FidgetBob @madhatterspott @BertieBetting, @TVFMC decided to keep all their farmers' markets running, after consulting with all the relevant local authorities. They're opportunities for people to stock up on food for the week, including basics like eggs and veg. Very different from streetfood markets.