Months into a global pandemic the word “normal” is something we no longer equate with our daily lives. A trip to the grocery store comes with new concerns and anxieties, and in-person social interactions lack the same intimacy as pre-COVID-19 hangouts at the Riviera Theatre Bar or L.A.’s Coffee Cafe.
But even in the midst of a pandemic, life grants brief moments of normalcy or at least a sense of what we remember as normal. The Huss Project provided the city of Three Rivers with one such moment on Saturday, June 6 with its inaugural Saturday Market.
The Huss Project, located at 1008 8th Street in Three Rivers, offered a selection of fresh, local foods to nearly 60 patrons Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., while practicing social distancing, and following safety protocols recommended by the Michigan Farmers Market Association.
Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma, a member of the *culture is not optional core community, said the inspiration for Saturday Market at The Huss Project came several years ago.
“We’ve been talking about having a Saturday Market for a while, recognizing that Saturday morning is a special time for people where they like to hangout and relax and be outside in the summer,” Vander Giessen-Reitsma said. “And the inspiration for the whole thing actually came when we were here a couple years ago in the summer on one of our Saturday work days. Some of our neighbors, who we know, came by with their grandson and they each had a cup of coffee and were just hanging out.
“And we were like, “Man, that would be so cool if people could just come on a Saturday morning and have coffee and have music and just kind of (experience) that Huss Future Fest vibe one day a week. So it’s actually something we’ve been talking about for a couple of years, and the way things worked out this year we decided to start doing it now since we can’t do Future Fest.”
The market, which is scheduled to take place each Saturday at the same time and place going forward, offered products from a number of local farms and businesses including The Huss Project Farm, Corey Lake Orchards, Bair Lane Farm, Just Wild by Nature, and other select items from World Fare.
The novelty of Saturday Market is apropos, considering its unique setup is a direct result of the novel coronavirus. With an “old fashioned general store” set up underneath Huss’ Front Porch Pavilion, a repurposed sink serving as a hand washing station, one-on-one service provided by volunteers — each with a basket in-hand and a mask on their face — as well as a register and its operator secured behind Plexiglas, Huss provides a safe shopping experience but not at the expense of community.
Shaina Opperman, a full-year AmeriCorps VISTA member for *cino, oversees the market’s inventory and online data base, an experience she said has been interesting thus far.
“I’ve been doing a lot of the inventory, trying to get our online store up and stocked, while keeping up with the inventory so the things we sell here also reflect the inventory online,” Opperman said. “So that’s been an interesting task to navigate the system for the first time. But I think it’s going really well, I’ve heard good things about it, so that’s really exciting.”
Huss Project Caretakers Margaret Wenger and Dan Truesdale, who also happen to be married, did plenty of prep work prior to Saturday’s market.
Wenger said she’s “been doing a lot of work with the farm trying to manage a lot of the food growing efforts and organizing other things for (the market),” while Truesdale built “all of the little things like the hand washing station and signs,” while also fixing “random things around the farm.”
Wenger added that the weekly event gives a platform for folks to reclaim the social experiences they may have lost as a result of the pandemic, with the outdoor space providing plenty of opportunity for shopping and genuine human connection from a safe distance.
“So I think it provides a sense of — I find myself going to grocery stores these days feeling like I need to be anonymous and I need to get in and out and just sort of that fear that is sort of pervasive,” Wenger said. “If we are creative about making a space for shopping and creating a way where it’s not anonymous, where we can do things in a safe, distanced outdoor way and we can get our needs met, our needs both in food and our needs for connection with people.
“So I think the outdoor space helps make sure we have set things up in ways where there is a lot of space for people, all of us wearing masks, while trying to make everyone feel comfortable coming in, and not feel that underlying fear of anonymity in that moment.”
Those interested in curbside pickup or local delivery ahead of this week’s Saturday Market can visit Market.Hussproject.com. Huss will update its inventory of available items each Friday at 2 p.m. Online sales are payable by credit card only.
If you’d like to pay with cash, check, or SNAP (Bridge card), you can make your purchase onsite during the market, where credit cards are also accepted.
“There are some other benefits that we are hoping to add next year,” Vander Giessen-Reitsma said. “We’re also giving people the opportunity to leave a tip if they are able, and all tip money will go towards vouchers for families in need. So if anybody is able to give generously it will be redistributed.”
Alek Haak-Frost is executive editor of Watershed Voice.
