Our Commitment
In addition to the social, financial, or cultural factors that might impact an individual’s ability to access the farmers’ market, we at the Lexington Farmers’ Market recognize that people with disabilities might have further difficulties getting information about or utilizing the market. There might be more challenges in accessing the farmers’ market because of transportation constraints, the locations or arrangement of the market could potentially make it difficult for those with disabilities to explore the market independently, or it might be difficult to make purchases independently at the farmers’ market.
The staff at the farmers’ market is eager to learn about policies and practices we can implement to improve the accessibility of the Lexington Farmers’ Market and staff members are happy to answer questions, explain the market layout, or aid those with visual impairment or other disabilities. We will do our best to improve captions and alt-text for our photos and videos posted on social media and our website, and we pledge to include closed captioning on non-live videos.
If you need assistance accessing information about the market or shopping at the market, please feel free to ask market staff, and we encourage you to bring potential accessibility issues to our attention.
COVID-19
In order to ensure that those with disabilities have equal access to high quality products, the Lexington Farmers’ Market has created a reasonable accommodation plan for those customers with conditions that prevent the use of a mask or cloth face covering consistent with Kentucky Healthy at Work guidelines and other public health and safety guidelines and orders. For those who, due to disability, are unable to wear an approved face covering while shopping, an on-site personal tele-shopping option can be requested or reserved by calling the Lexington Farmers’ Market at (859)608-2655. Customers taking advantage of this accommodation can either remain in their private vehicle or in a socially distanced, market-designated area (outside of the populated market shopping/vendor space). A market staff member will provide a video tour of the market and then act as a masked intermediary for purchases and transactions; they will also help in identifying products to the customer’s specifications. Tele-shoppers are available on a first come, first serve basis unless reserved in advance. Customers with medical conditions that prevent the complete and proper wearing of a mask that refuse this or similar reasonable accommodation will be asked to leave the market area immediately. Due to the inherent risk posed to staff and other customers by any individual shopping in a public space without a face covering, we cannot make any accommodations which allow any customers to be physically present and interacting with others at the market without masks. The market staff and leadership must work to ensure that the highest in public health standards are met to protect our staff, farmers, and other customers.