Seattle Hmong Farmers are not happy with this new policy

[theking]

 :

Despite the reopening of two Seattle’s Neighborhood Farmers Markets locations, the effect of its closure is still being felt by local farmers. Seattle’s farmers markets were closed in response to the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order issued by Gov. Jay Inslee on Feb. 29, and the reopening of the Ballard and U-District locations was announced April 15. This nearly two-month long closure caused a potentially devastating loss of profit for the local farmers who rely on markets to connect with their customers. Some farmers believe that the decision to close Seattle’s markets, in spite of the fact that they were deemed essential businesses under Inslee’s stay at home order, reveals underlying flaws in Seattle’s policies regarding farmers markets.

...Lockmiller added that racial discrimination, even if it was accidental, has been a major result of farmers market closures. For instance, Hmong farmers, many of whom came to the United States from Laos and Thailand in the wake of the Vietnam War, grow and sell floral arrangements to fund the rest of their agriculture. Floral vendors are not currently allowed to sell at farmers markets because they don’t sell food. As a result, many Hmong floral vendors have lost their source of income.