The Board of Directors of the Cornwall Kinsmen Farmers Market have announced that the 2020 season will be virtual rather than through the traditional physical market located on the grounds of St. Lawrence College in Cornwall’s east end.   It is hoped that the traditional physical farmer’s market will return in 2021 once the COVID-19 situation is resolved.

As leaders in our communities, it is our duty to prioritize the health and safety of the communities we serve, our vendors and Kinsmen/Kin members.  This is more important than ever as the global number of COVID-19 cases continues to climb daily.   Information on COVID-19 and preventing illness is widely available so we will focus on how the Cornwall Kinsmen Farmers Market will adapt in 2020 to support our vendors and community while enabling normal operations in 2021.

It is with great difficulty that the CKFM Board of Directors made this decision.  Consideration of opening the market later in the season was contemplated but given recent government announcements and projected timelines we felt it was not possible at this time.  In fairness to our clients and vendors, we did not want to have rolling start dates that changed regularly as the situation evolved.  Any type of operation this year would have required onerous requirements on our vendors and volunteer KIN members with no assurance that risk to the public would have been eliminated.

In support of our vendors the Cornwall Kinsmen Farmers’ Market web site and Facebook pages will be revamped to enable merchants to display their profiles, promote their service / products and provide contact information to enable client / vendor direct communications.  We will also explore the possibility of linking video messages from vendors.   Customers and vendors can then arrange payment, delivery / pick up of items between themselves.   The Cornwall Kinsmen Club is simply providing a forum that enables communication and does not assume any role or responsibility in the actual transactions or arrangements made between vendors and clients.

The virtual marketplace is expected to be available by late May 2020 and can be accessed at this web site address:

https://www.cornwallkinsmenfarmersmarket.ca/  or through our Facebook site search @Cornwall Kinsmen Farmers Market.

Merchants will have the opportunity to promote their products and services through the virtual marketplace instead of the physical market given the societal challenges posed by COVID-19.   The opportunity of participating in the virtual marketplace will be extended to all vendors that were approved by the Board of Directors for either the 2019 or 2020 seasons.   New vendors continue to be accepted subject to the normal criteria and application process.  Additional information may be obtained by contacting the Cornwall Kinsmen’s Farmers Market at info@cornwallkinsmenfarmersmarket.ca.

The Cornwall Kinsmen Club would like to thank the community for their ongoing support and encourage the public to stay safe and heed the messages of our government officials.