Tinley Park Farmers Market Returns With New Rules In Place

TINLEY PARK, IL — The Tinley Park Farmers Market returns to Zabrocki Plaza as it does every year for the first Saturday in June, but in 2020 that will mean a far different process than what usually occurs.

Rebecca Nichols, who has run the market since it began 23 years ago, said the number of attendees will be limited to about 45 at a time beginning at the first market of the season on Saturday, June 6.

"It will have to be one (person) in and one out," said Nichols, noting that on a good weather day a market morning would typically draw 2,000, or sometimes even 3,000, attendees.

The attendee limit is just one of the changes put in place as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Nichols said.

While a typical market morning in Tinley Park would include about 65 vendors, that number shrinks to 20 this year. But some of the favorites are back, like the Rise N' Roll Bakery with their donuts and pies, Big John's Farm with tomatoes, lettuce and onions and the Kozlowski Farm with carrots and asparagus.

The complete vendor list and what each one is offering at Saturday's season opener can be found on the Tinley Park Farmers Market Facebook page. The markets will still run from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturdays.

"Masks are a must," Nichols said. "Vendors will need to wear gloves and sanitize. And there won't be any artisans, just food and plants."

One vendor will be selling masks and another sanitation products, however.

More guidelines, as adopted from the Illinois Farmer's Marker Association:

"By supporting the farmer's market, it's supporting families trying to make ends meet," Nichols said. "It's not supporting some CEO out there."

The market will be held every Saturday morning through mid-October.