For Vendors: Safely Handling and Purchasing Foods at Farmers Markets With COVID-19 in Mind

• Train and monitor staff to not come to work if showing signs or having known exposure to COVID-19, such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, headache, muscle pain, sore throat, and new loss of taste or smell.
• Always wash your hands with soap and water, wetting hands first, for 20 seconds after going to the bathroom, blowing your nose, coughing, sneezing, or touching your face; before prepping food and eating; and after handling money or credit cards.
• If soap and water are not readily available, use hand sanitizer with a minimum of 60% ethanol or 70% isopropyl alcohol and avoid working with unwrapped foods.
• Avoid touching your face.
• Wear gloves to avoid bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat foods.
• Wear a mask.
• Provide a minimum of 6 feet to distance your food stand and your workers from other stands, and between customers and staff.
• Frequently clean and disinfect high-touch areas, such as counters, cash/credit machines, and phones.
• Assign different staff to handle money/credit cards and for handling food.
• Provide hand sanitizer for customer use, especially at checkout.

References

• U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "Food Safety and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)."
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "Shopping for Food During the COVID-19 Pandemic - Information for Consumers."