ROANOKE, Va. – The coronavirus did not cancel the Grandin Village Winter Market, but it did inspire the market to make sweeping changes for safety.
The market only allowed ten people inside at a time, which resulted in a line of shoppers outside of the market area. Each shopper in line stayed six feet apart from one another.
Additonally, market officials encouraged customers to wash their hands before shopping and use credit cards instead of cash.
Katie Struble, who runs the market through her organization, the Local Environmental Agriculture Project, said it's all worth it if people can still support local farmers.
“People are very concerned about getting their food locally,” Struble said. “This is a really short supply chain, which means there are less hands touching the food and getting it to market. This is a wonderful way to support the community overall.”