Accessibility at the Farmers’ Market
At the 2018 Maine Farmers’ Market Convention (1/11/18), Ketra Crosson, OTL, and Jill Johanning, AIA, gave a presentation about accessibility at farmers’ markets. Jill and Ketra discussed the importance of topics such as secure footing, providing “handicapped accessible” parking (when the permanent blue parking spaces may be obscured by the farmers’ market setup itself), ensuring pathways are wide enough, avoiding protruding objects in market stalls, and making sure counters are no higher than 36 inches. See the slides of their presentation here: Making Your Farmers’ Market More Accessible.
In 2023, we hosted the workshop again. The presenters, who had visited markets to gather examples, expressed a hope to see better adoption of the information provided at farmers’ markets across Maine.
At some point in our life almost all of us will experience physical disability, whether temporary (healable injury, surgery, pregnancy), or permanent. People with disabilities need their groceries, too! Here is a cursory list of ways to make sure your farmers’ market is accessible to more customers:
- Pathways and all navigation inside booths should be firm, stable, smooth, slip-resistant, and at least 36″wide.(42″ is even better, especially for wheelchairs). Grass, tarps, boards, and bumpy or soft dirt are not accessible and can cause falls.
- Limit dogs, or at least the length of leashes, if it causes congestion. Dogs are also a common allergen and can exacerbate respiratory issues. Although there are many potential airborne irritants at open-air markets, pet dander is one of the few controllable ones.
- Provide temporary designated handicapped parking spots for market day. MFFM has signs if your market needs them.
- Table height. Surfaces from which customers serve themselves should be no higher than 36″ to accomodate people who are shorter or using chairs.
- Handwriting needs to be large and clear. Smudged, small, sloppy, or over stylized handwriting won’t help you sell to any customer, especially not someone with vision impairment.
- Places to rest. Picnic tables, benches, or chairs make it possible for people with limited mobility to enjoy the market.
- Hanging signs and objects can interfere with movement and peripheral vision around your booth, and cause loss of balance or injury.
Website & Social Media Accessibility
Is your website or social media platform usable by a person with a visual impairment, hearing impairment, or someone using assistive technology to access a computer or tablet? Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires that websites intended for use by the public meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). If your market’s website is self-made, or made by a volunteer, this is important to review. Find the current guidelines here: https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/
Some things to consider regarding visual impairments online:
- If you have a picture, provide a text equivalent – either part of a narrative or an actual picture descriptor
- Consider font type and size (12 or greater)
- Consider using contrasting colors
- Add audio descriptions to videos
- If something is offered in a PDF format, also offer it in a text based format
Some things to consider regarding hearing impairment online:
- Add captions to videos
Some resources for site design:
http://www.washington.edu/accessibility/web/
Use your website to describe the accessibility situation at your farmers market.
For example, provide a “Frequently Asked Questions” page, with information such as the following:
Q: Is the Market wheelchair accessible? Are there wheelchairs available?
A: Handicapped parking is available in front of Moultrie Middle School. The paved pavilion is ideal for wheelchairs, and there are ramps. We do not have wheelchairs available
Q: Is the market accessible to wheelchairs, crutches, and walkers?
A: Yes. There is a wooden floor throughout the pavilion and vehicles can let off people with disabilities right next to the main entrances. You may prefer to come on Sundays when it is less crowded and more leisurely.