Public Update on COVID-19
The St. Lawrence Market South (main) Market building and Saturday Farmers Market are open to the public.

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF VENDOR CLOSURES OR MODIFIED HOURS.

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR A FULL LIST OF VENDORS WITH DELIVERY, PICK-UP, CURBSIDE COLLECTION & ADVANCED ORDERING OPTIONS.

In collaboration with our colleagues at Toronto Public Health and other City partners, the St. Lawrence Market continues to closely monitor the COVID-19 situation.

The St. Lawrence Market is a public food market that provides fresh and prepared foods to local residents. Since 1803, the Market has been a community anchor offering products and services to the St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood and Toronto overall. The Market believes in the importance of local food systems and is committed to providing food access.
 

St. Lawrence Market Operations during COVID-19 

South Market (main Market at 91-95 Front Street East):

The Market has revised hours of operation during the COVID-19 health emergency. The Market will continue to be open to the public for the following hours of operation.

Tuesdays to Fridays: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 
Saturdays: 5 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sundays and Mondays: Closed

Saturday Farmers Market located at the Temporary Market at 125 The Esplanade:

The Saturday Farmers Market operates every Saturday from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. year round inside the Temporary Market at 125 The Esplanade.

Customers are reminded to keep physical distance and wear their mask in all areas of the St. Lawrence Market Complex including outdoors while waiting in line.

Continuous monitoring and capacity management are always in place at the Saturday Farmers Market. The Market continues to work with Toronto Public Health to operate the Farmers Market safely and help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Sunday Antique Market is reopening on Sunday, March 13, 2022

The Sunday Antique Market operates every Sunday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. year round inside the Temporary Market at 125 The Esplanade.
 

St. Lawrence Market merchants, farmers and vendors have the option to modify their hours or close their store. Those that have modified hours or are closed have signage posted on site. A full list of stores with modified hours or closures is available at http://www.stlawrencemarket.com/pages/covid19_store_closures/, the list is updated daily with all information available.

Many St. Lawrence Market merchants, farmers and vendors are offering alternative shopping options. See the full list of delivery, curbside pickup, and advanced order and farm pickup options at http://www.stlawrencemarket.com/pages/alternative_shopping_methods.

While further information becomes available through the Medical Officer of Health, the Market continues to exercise an abundance of caution and take the following additional actions related to the developing COVID-19 situation.

Actions taken by St. Lawrence Market and useful information for shoppers:

How to shop at St. Lawrence Market

• St. Lawrence Market asks that customers shop alone or with one other person if they need help carrying groceries. Customers are reminded to practice physical distancing and not to shop in groups or bring family along.
  
  During expected peak times customers coming to shop at the Market in groups may not be permitted inside the Market. Shoppers will be informed to identify a person who will enter the Market to shop for the items that they require while other members of the group wait outside physically distanced from others. This applies to groups of more than 2 people, with more than 2 adults.
  
  This policy is in effect to manage the capacity of St. Lawrence Market and mitigate possible congestion and social gathering. The St. Lawrence Market appreciates customers' commitment to physical distancing inside the Market for the wellbeing of all customers, merchants, farmers, vendors and staff.

• To help perform physical distancing and stop the spread of COVID-19, St. Lawrence Market strongly recommends that customers take the following steps when shopping for food at the Market:

• Use automatic entrances whenever possible.

• Remember to sanitize your hands when you enter the Market.

• Practice good hygiene and avoid touching your face.

• Order in advance for pick up (or delivery) when possible.

• Come to the Market with a plan.  Pick up the food that you need and avoid activities that encourage social gathering or congestion. Customers are encourage to be efficient with the number of trips that they make inside the Market.

• Avoid unnecessarily touching products. Ask merchants for assistance if you have questions.

• Maintain a physical distance of 2 meters at all times from other customers and staff.

• Use electronic payment options such as Tap whenever possible.

• All customers are required to wear a mask or face covering while shopping at the Market. Masks must cover the nose, mouth and chin and be worn for the duration of your stay inside St. Lawrence Market.

• Signs have been posted on all exterior doors to remind customers that they should not enter the Market if they are sick, have symptoms of COVID-19, have recently travelled or have been in contact with anyone confirmed to have COVID-19.

• The Market will make best efforts to have a list of stores or stalls with the following types of shopping options available on http://www.stlawrencemarket.com/pages/alternative_shopping_methods.

  • Delivery

  • Curbside pick-up

  • In store pick-up

  • Online ordering

  • Advanced email or phone orders

Entrances, Capacity & Screening

• St. Lawrence Market may conduct entrance screenings of all visitors including customers, staff and delivery personnel. Screenings may be conducted at the South Market on all open days and the Farmers Market on Saturdays.

Screenings will include the following questions:

• Do you have any symptoms of COVID-19 or are you feeling unwell?

• Have you travelled outside of Canada within the past 14 days?

• Have you been in close contact with someone who is confirmed or who is suspected to be ill with COVID-19?

Visitors who answer yes to any of these screening questions will be advised not to enter the Market.

Screenings are intended to protect the wellbeing of customers and those working in the Market. All visitors are asked to answer questions truthfully and to the best of their ability.

• All staff are pre-screened before they attend work at the Market each day. Pre-screenings are recorded as per the Province of Ontario's updated COVID-19 recommendations.

• St. Lawrence Market is allowing priority access for healthcare workers and first responders. This includes those in positions such as:

  • All hospital employees with hospital ID

  • Pharmacists

  • Doctors

  • Police officers

  • EMTs and paramedics

  • Firefighters

  • Other healthcare or front line professionals

Market customers who provide identification of their role will be allowed to move to the front of the line to enter Market buildings.

• The Market has centralized access points to manage customer traffic at the South (main) Market and the Saturday Farmers Market.
  
  South Market customers will be directed to use the following two entrances only on Saturdays:

  • Main automatic doors on Front Street East

  • Market Street, north entrance closest to Front Street East

• In addition to centralizing entrances the Market is reminding customers to keep physical distance when entering the Market. Physical distance markers have been placed or marked on the ground at entrances in the form of floor decals, stanchions, "x" paint marking and/or tape lines.

• Customers should wear their mask and keep physical distance while waiting in line.

• To help customers perform physical distancing the Market will continue to limit the number of customers inside the building at this time.

Use of Face Masks or Face Coverings at the St. Lawrence Market Complex

• Every person who enters the St. Lawrence Market Complex is required to wear a face mask or face covering. This includes while in the Farmers Market outdoor area and while waiting in line.

• This policy is being implemented under Toronto Public Health guidance to protect the wellbeing of customers and those working in the Market. The COVID-19 Guidance for Farmers' and Fresh Food Markets document is available here: https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/90ef-COVID-19-Recovery_Response-Guidance-for-Farmers-and-Fresh-Food-Markets.pdf.

• Use of face masks or coverings may help to stop the spread of COVID-19.

• Some exceptions will be made for medical or safety reasons including those with respiratory conditions such as asthma, children under the age of two, anyone who cannot safely remove a mask themselves, and those performing work that makes it unadvisable to wear a face mask or covering.

• When using a mask or covering is not advisable customers, merchants, farmers, vendors, staff and other personnel should take extra precautions to ensure physical distancing is maintained.

• Toronto Public Health information on cloth masks or face coverings:
  
  The best protection from COVID-19 is to keep two meters (or six feet) from others and wash your hands often. Wearing a cloth mask or face covering may not protect you from COVID-19, but it may protect others from your respiratory droplets and germs.
  
  A cloth mask or face covering can be used if you are unable to maintain a two metre (six feet) distance from others, such as in an elevator, when grocery shopping or entering and leaving a building.
  
  Wearing a cloth mask or face covering is required for Market customers, merchants, farmers, vendors or staff.
  
  For more information on COVID-19 and cloth masks or face coverings please review the Toronto Public Health Fact Sheet on COVID-19 and Masks and Face Coverings for Personal Use. This information is available at https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/97f8-COVID-19-Guidance-for-Use-of-Face-Masks-and-Coverings-by-Public.pdf.

• Every person at the St. Lawrence Market Complex is reminded that they should still continue to be conscious to maintain physical distance from others even when wearing a face mask or covering.

Customer Traffic and Hours of Operation

• The St. Lawrence Market, South Market building is open five days a week, on Tuesday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday from 5:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Market is closed on Sundays and Mondays.

• Customer traffic at the South Market tends to be lighter on weekdays especially Tuesdays to Thursdays. Fridays are becoming busier, however Saturdays are the busiest days. Capacity is managed every day to ensure that customers have space to perform physical distancing while shopping for the food that they need.

• Each weekday the midday hours of shopping currently see the highest number of customers in the South Market.

• Since the Market began to conduct entrance screenings and manage capacity Saturdays have been the only day that the Market has had line-ups.

• Farmers Market lineups on Saturdays begin early in the morning. Peak times at the Farmers Market continue until mid-morning.

• Line-ups on Saturdays at the South Market are at their peak from mid-morning to mid-afternoon.

• Line-ups are brief and move steadily into the Market. Line-ups during peak times are approximately 10-15 minutes and approximately 5-10 minutes during off-peak times.

• Although line-ups may appear lengthy they move quickly. For example a Farmers Market line-up that reaches Jarvis Street and Lakeshore Boulevard takes approximately 20 minutes for customer to enter the Temporary Market building.

• St. Lawrence Market encourages customers to reserve 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. daily for shopping access for seniors and other vulnerable community members.

Physical Distancing

• Customers are reminded to keep physical distance from each other, merchants and staff when at the Market. Physical distancing means keeping 2 metres apart from others.

• Signs have been posted around the Market including at the elevators and in stairwells that remind customers and staff to physically distance themselves from each other.

Tourism and Leisure Activities

• In Step 3 of the Province's Roadmap to Reopen, tours and guide services are permitted indoor and outdoor with capacity limited to permit physical distancing of 2 metres.
• St. Lawrence Market advises those who intend to visit the Market for leisure or tourism to visit in small groups of 10 or less to avoid causing congestion in the Market.
• St. Lawrence Market security and staff regularly patrol the Market areas. Visitors found to be loitering or conducting leisure activities that cause congestion at the Market will be asked to complete their purchases and move on.
• This policy is in effect to manage the capacity of St. Lawrence Market and mitigate possible congestion and social gathering. The St. Lawrence Market appreciates customers' commitment to physical distancing inside the Market for the wellbeing of all customers, merchants, farmers, vendors and staff.

Busking and Performances

• St. Lawrence Market has requested that those intending to come to the Market to busk, play music or conduct any type of performance that could encourage social gathering or congestion, to not visit at this time.

Filming and Photography

• St. Lawrence Market will continue to minimize the number of requests for commercial filming or photography at this time.

• Media planning to attend the Market for news coverage can still do so while practicing physical distancing, but are encouraged to contact Samantha Wiles, Media Spokesperson, St. Lawrence Market Complex, in advance by phone at 647-884-6567 or by email at samantha.wiles@toronto.ca

Enhanced Sanitization

• Additional hand sanitizer dispensers have been placed in public access areas of the Market, such as entrances, washrooms, stairways and more.

• The frequency of disinfecting and cleaning heavily touched surfaces in the Market has increased and is being regularly monitored by all staff. These areas include door handles, handrails, elevators and more.

• The Market has revised hours of operation to give additional time for enhanced cleaning.

• Staff are emptying garbage receptacles in public areas more frequently.

• Washrooms are being maintained more often. Public washrooms at St. Lawrence Market remain open.

• The supply of soap and sanitizing solution in staff and public areas is being regularly monitored.

Social Gathering & Events

• The Market has postponed the St. Lawrence Market Hours of Operation Pilot Project and has revised hours of operation until further notice.

• The Market has postponed all events and related activities until further notice. The Market will not be running any in person cooking classes, demonstrations, tastings or other similar group activities.

• All third party event bookings in the South Market and Monogram Studio Market Kitchen, Temporary Market and St. Lawrence Hall will be reviewed on a case-by-case situation.

• The St. Lawrence Market Arts at the Market program including the artist selection process has been postponed until further notice.

Food Security & Community Support

• St. Lawrence Market continues to work with food rescue partner Second Harvest and encourages merchants, farmers and vendors to continue to provide unsold food products to Second Harvest or to deliver products directly to local Second Harvest diversion partners. Those interested in supporting Second Harvest's food rescue efforts should contact email@secondharvest.ca or visit https://foodrescue.ca/.
  
  The St. Lawrence Market and Second Harvest have a long history of partnership in food rescue. Second Harvest has been picking up food that would otherwise go to waste from vendors at the Market since the charity's inception in 1985.

• The wellbeing of our customers, merchants, farmers, vendors and staff is of the highest importance. Enhanced precautions have also been recommended for St. Lawrence Market merchants, farmers and vendors during the COVID-19 situation.

Actions recommended for St. Lawrence Market merchants, farmers and vendors:

Helping customers shop for food

• Take orders in advance and offer to walk out orders to vehicles for customers if requested.

• Continue to offer at home delivery or work with delivery partners to bring food directly to customers.

• Offer online, email or telephone order options if possible.

Physical Distancing

• Post signage within Market shops or stalls to inform customers about how to perform physical distancing.

• Allow for physical distancing within your store. Ensure that the number of employees that you have working provides enough space for staff to distance themselves from each other and customers.

Entrances, Capacity & Physical Store Changes

• Limit entrances to your store.

• Limit the number of customers permitted inside at a time to ensure that they have enough room to physically distance themselves from each other and staff. 

• If possible, make modifications to your store that allow for physical distancing. This can include barriers, floor decals or tape lines at cash registers or displays.

Recommendations for merchant staff

• Provide staff with the most up to date information on COVID-19 and appropriate tools and equipment necessary to keep staff and customers well.

• Continue to ensure that staff who are sick stay home.

• Under guidelines from the Province of Ontario merchants, farmers and vendors pre-screen their employees before they attend work and keep these screenings on file. Pre-screenings are conducted daily.

• All merchants, farmers, vendors and staff wear a face mask or covering at the St. Lawrence Market Complex.

Point of Sale

• Encourage customers to use electronic payments such as Tap and consider operating cashless.

• Accept electronic payments for orders in advance if possible.

Dining

• Dining is only permitted in designated areas in the lower level of the South Market where proof of vaccination along with identification is required. The capacity limit of this area is 50 per cent of regular capacity.
• Dining is also permitted outside on the picnic tables.
• Prepared food establishments are advised to continue to utilize pick-up and delivery partners when possible.

Sampling & Self-Serve

• All self-serve food counters and sampling is paused until further notice.

• Merchants are prepacking bulk foods in advance.

• Consider limiting open food displays.

Enhanced Sanitization

• Increase the frequency of sanitizing heavily touched areas such as service counters and point-of-sale systems.

• Increase the frequency of sanitization of items provided for customers such as shopping baskets.

• Consider pausing the use of personal reusable beverage, bulk food or take-out containers.

• Consider pausing the use or packing of personal reusable shopping bags or baskets.             

• Consider pausing activities such as bottle returns.

• Be vigilant in following handwashing protocol, including washing hands often, with soap and water, and using alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

• Consult Toronto Public Health information on COVID-19 for additional information and precautions.

The most current information on St. Lawrence Market operations is available at http://www.stlawrencemarket.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/StLawrenceMarket, on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/StLawrenceMkt and or Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/StLawrenceMarket.