Farmers Market Moves To Lansingburgh
Online Ordering With Contact-Less Pickup Continues
Sundays at Green Island Location
The Troy Waterfront Farmers Market (TWFM) will hold its first indoor Winter market of the season in the former Lansingburgh Price Chopper building this Saturday, December 5, from 9 am to 2 pm. More than 60 vendors will participate.
For the previous 18 years, the Troy Waterfront Farmers Market held its winter market downtown in the Troy Atrium, which the organization leased from the owner. This winter will be the first time since its inception that the market will have a presence in Lansingburgh, Troy’s northernmost district.
The former supermarket, which closed in February, is located at 865 2nd Ave. on a piece of land that backs the Hudson River just south of the Troy-Waterford Bridge. The farmers market is leasing the building through March from Schenectady-based Clark Trading Corp.
Last March, COVID precautions put the indoor winter market on pause. In May, the market re-opened outdoors with a limited number of vendors in a private parking lot owned by Russell Sage College. In June, the City permitted an expanded outdoor farmers market in the Front Street parking lot adjacent to Troy’s Riverfront Park.
“With safety in mind this winter, and with uncertainty over the availability of the Atrium due to redevelopment plans, the Troy Waterfront Farmers Market felt it prudent to secure a different location with more space, better access and an easier customer flow,” said TWFM Manager Steve Ridler. “After reviewing many options around the city and region, we have decided to move to the vacant Price Chopper grocery store in Lansingburgh for the season. This allows us to keep the winter market in Troy and locate to an area in need of fresh food alternatives. We’re looking forward to being in Lansingburgh for the winter and then returning downtown in the spring.”
In accordance with New York State’s current COVID-19 guidelines, the Lansingburgh store will have a capacity of 200 at any one time. After counting the vendors and staff, the space will be able to safely accommodate approx. 120 customers at a time with ample room for social distancing.
Customers can arrive any time during market hours. When the market reaches capacity, arriving customers will be asked to wait in line outside the store. Recognizing that temperatures are dropping, the market is looking at ways to manage the line safely. One solution may include an SMS (text) notification wait list, similar to those used by restaurants, allowing customers to wait in their car in the store’s parking lot. The market also plans to experiment with Facebook Live and Instagram Live feeds to show wait times.
“Our new location is easily accessible from Troy and the Capital Region by highway or city streets,” Ridler said. “We have ample parking right outside the store. And we’re also on the new express bus line.”
Shopping from 9 am to 9:30 am will be prioritized for seniors age 60+ and the immunocompromised.