Photos from the Omaha Farmers Market Facebook page and Maggie Winton

Since COVID-19 started spreading in 2020, the Omaha Farmers Market team has worked diligently to provide a safe atmosphere for visitors, staff and local vendors.

Of course, operating the Old Market and Aksarben Village Markets during a pandemic required the market staff to make many adjustments in order to comply with public health mandates and protect market-goers.

"The past few years have hit everyone hard, and our local growers and producers are no different," says Maggie Winton, Omaha Farmers Market event coordinator. "We were very fortunate to be able to put on the Omaha Farmers Market during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic with regulations in place to keep our vendors, staff and customers safe."

In 2020 and 2021, Omaha Farmers Market relocated its Saturday and Sunday markets to temporary locations and decreased its number of vendors during the pandemic. After two years of adjusted protocols, the market returned to its pre-pandemic locations in 2022.

Winton says the planning team was excited to return to a sense of normalcy after working hard to follow health regulations over the past two years.

"Being back in the streets of the Old Market and the streets of Aksarben Village has been wonderful," Winton says. "Our customers have continued to show support for our vendors, coming out in droves every weekend to buy local and support the local economy. We feel so lucky to have such a great community that supports our event week after week for 24 weeks. Omaha Farmers Market is proud to have been serving our community and strengthening the local food system for 29 years."

The Omaha Farmers Market is open every Saturday (Old Market Farmers Market) and Sunday (Aksarben Village Farmers Market) through October 16. Visit the website and Facebook page for more information.