Dear Colleagues,
On January 8th, we sent a letter to Governor Northam requesting that farmers market managers, staff and vendors that sell at farmers markets be considered for early access to the COVID-19 vaccine (letter is on our website). The Governor’s office has indicated that due to the importance of farmers markets and producers this request is being considered favorably.
We certainly understand that there are groups who should be first in line (healthcare & eldercare workers, and others), but we believe that farmers market personnel should be considered among the groups to have early access to the vaccine. Virginia’s Farmers Markets have played a critical role providing access to healthy nutrient dense food to communities across the Commonwealth in a moment when grocery stores faced food shortages. Providing early access to the COVID-19 vaccine will make Virginia’s over 350 farmers markets even safer for this essential service.
We have been requested to provide the names and contact information for interested farmers market managers, staff, and vendors as the Virginia Department of Health will need the information for next steps.
- Market Managers — please download the spreadsheet at this link and add the names and contact information of the staff (paid and unpaid) and vendors who wish to receive early access to the vaccine. If a participant does not have email, just include their phone number. Attach your spreadsheet to an email and send it to info@vafma.org by January 20th.
- Farmers Market Vendors — if you wish to receive early access to the vaccine, please contact the market manager at each of the markets you participate in asking to be added to their vaccine contact list.
This contact information will be collected and forwarded to the Virginia Department of Health, who will then reach out to the markets directly with next steps.The deadline for submitting your vaccine contact list to VAFMA is Wednesday, January 20, 2021. Your timely attention to this matter is needed. We have included a sample letter for market managers below.
Working together we will keep farmers markets safe for our communities to access healthy local food.
Sincerely,
Kim Hutchinson, PhD, MBA
Virginia Farmers Market Association
Executive Director
Sample Email to Vendors and Staff
Dear Market Staff and Vendors,
The Virginia Farmers Market Association (VAFMA) sent a letter to Governor Northam requesting that farmers market managers, staff and vendors that sell at farmers markets be considered for early access to the COVID-19 vaccine (letter is here). The Governor’s office has indicated that due to the importance of farmers markets and producers this request is being considered favorably.
VAFMA has requested the names and contact information of those interested in receiving early access to the vaccine as the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) will need the information to send next steps.
If you and your market workers would like to be added to the list, please send me the following information:
- First Name, Last Name, Business Name, email address, and phone number for each person requesting early access to the vaccine. Please also list the farmers markets you participate in so VDH can avoid duplicating people on the list.
I need this information by Tuesday, January 19th.
Thank you,
