May 18, 2020
Customer Information for “HFM-2020”
The Hingham Farmers Market re-opens Saturday, and everyone’s excited to be able to launch the 2020 season, particularly during this troubling time.
For a while, the market is going to have a different location, look and feel. We will open at the Station Street parking lot (95 Station Street, Hingham, MA 02043 for GPS guidance) Saturday the 23rd from 9am noon. When customers place their vendor orders they’ll be assigned a pickup time based on their last name.
Details below.
By agreement with the Town, the market will be only for customers in vehicles who have preordered products from the vendors participating. No foot traffic is allowed, and no on-site sales are permitted.
Customers wishing to order should visit the Hingham Farmers Market website, www.hinghamfarmersmarket.org and click on the “2020 Market Pre-Order” tab for ordering instructions for each participating vendor. Please be aware that the list is likely to change during the weeks ahead, so it’s important to check back regularly. Facebook and Instagram will also have current information posted as will “HFM Market Matters,” the market’s newsletter. Customers may sign up for the weekly newsletter on the market’s website or Facebook. “HFMarket Matters” is published Thursday evenings during the market season.
Here are some ordering specifics:
· Each participating vendor has a day/time cutoff for orders for the week’s market. Please be alert to them because vendors need time to prepare and last minute orders aren’t possible.
· All orders should be identified by the customer’s last name.
· Important – Pickup Windows: Those with last names beginning with A through M should plan to visit the market between 9:30 and 10:30; those with names beginning with N through Z between 11 and noon.
· Since no shopping is permitted at this time, we urge everyone to come during their particular time window. This will go a long way toward speeding up the process and minimizing congestion.
· Customers are asked to bring with them a large sheet of paper with their last name and the vendors they’ll be visiting written on it.
What to expect Saturday morning:
· Customers will enter the market at the parking lot’s west end (near the former The Sub Galley) entrance on Station Street.
· We suggest approaching the market from North Street in order to make a right turn into the lot and help reduce traffic congestion.
· HFM volunteers wearing yellow vests will meet each vehicle and offer information and assistance.
· Customers with orders will be directed to an information station where they will be asked to display their signs, be given the location of the vendors they’re visiting and asked to open their truck. Visitors without orders will be directed to the exit.
· Customers then proceed to the vendor stations. Vendors will bring the orders to the vehicle.
· Vehicles then exit the parking lot at its east end near the bus terminal.
We recognize that there are a lot of steps to be taken in order for this market model to work smoothly and we appreciate everyone’s patience and forbearance. All of us will learn as we go and we look forward to being able to return to something a little more familiar and comfortable soon.
We want to thank everyone involved for their advice and help launching “HFM-2020,” especially town officials, HinghamLink (https://www.hinghamlink.com/) and our great volunteers.
Our vendors are eager to see you and to bring their wonderful products back into your homes. Please bear with us as we do our best. We hope to bring more vendors back to the market and evolve into a more conventional look and feel as soon as possible.