The year 2020 has been a trying one for many local businesses, but customer loyalty has made these hard times more manageable, and one local farmers’ market is planning to recognize its patrons’ patience in a special way this weekend.
The Saucon Valley Farmers’ Market will hold a Customer Appreciation Day this Sunday, Nov. 22, during the market, which is held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. next to the Hellertown Area Library at 409 Constitution Avenue in Hellertown. (Note: the first hour of shopping is reserved for seniors and individuals at high risk from the coronavirus.)
This Sunday is officially supposed to be the last day of operation for the 2020 Saucon Valley Farmers’ Market, but manager Angela Reese said it may continue on a smaller scale for two more weeks if borough officials approve a request to extend the season.
As part of Sunday’s Customer Appreciation Day, market volunteers will be handing out small tokens of appreciation to shoppers and vendors will take over the market’s social media channels to express their gratitude.
The market opened for its fifteenth season in May, when many local businesses were still closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic that began in March.
Customers at the Saucon Valley Farmers’ Market in Hellertown maintain a safe social distance and wear masks while purchasing items from a vendor on opening day of the market’s fifteenth season in May 2020. The market will host Customer Appreciation Day this Sunday, Nov. 22, to thank shoppers for their loyalty in spite of challenges this season related to COVID-19. (FILE PHOTO)
Precautions that were in place for the opening included a face mask requirement, social distancing and hand sanitizer stations that were set up around the market’s perimeter.
Most if not all of the precautions remained in place throughout the six-month season, during which COVID-19 cases waned over the summer, before surging again this fall.
Once statewide restrictions were eased over the summer, the market was eager to welcome back musicians who provide live entertainment each Sunday.
This Sunday’s featured performer is Bill Ihling.
Volunteers from the Bethlehem Food Co-op will also have a booth at Sunday’s market, where they will have information about how to become a member or vendor at the co-op.
Bethlehem Food Co-op board member Carol Ritter, who is our guest on this week’s soon-to-debut episode of our No Rain Date podcast, said a long-awaited announcement about the co-op’s downtown Bethlehem location is imminent.
Both the co-op and the farmers’ market share a similar mission, which is to help improve access to local, sustainable, affordable natural and organic foods in the Lehigh Valley.
For more information about the Saucon Valley Farmers’ Market, visit their website.
See their lineup of food and other local producer-vendors here. Many will be selling seasonal prepared food and ingredients, so stock up for your Thanksgiving table.
Also, be sure to follow the market on Facebook and Instagram for updates about this season and the one that will begin in May 2021.
Saucon Source is proud to be a 2020 supporter of the Saucon Valley Farmers’ Market.
To learn more about this year’s vendors, please see some of the profiles we’ve published:
- Epic Acre Farm
- Funny Farm Apiaries
- Macungie Mountain Herb Farm
- Tombler’s Bakery
- Fro’Mo Dog Treats
- The Colony Meadery
- Red Door Coffee Roaster
- High Point Kombucha
- Mainly Mushrooms LLC
- Moon Gate Farms
- Carey’s Specialty Meats
