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Despite COVID-19 and the associated masks and social distancing mandates, the Crenshaw County Farmers Market is in full swing again this year.

Located each Monday from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. in the front lawn of the Luverne United Methodist Church, the outdoor venue allows for easy distancing while browsing the wares offered by local vendors.

Customers were in no short supply on Monday, and vendors including Aunt Lizzie’s Sewing Shack, Countryside Gardens, Evans Farms, Sasser Road Produce and Allen’s Dry Creek had their various goods displayed to eager buyers.

Aunt Lizzie’s Sewing Shack is one new booth among the vendors. Luverne residents Lizzie and Marcus Moody are the husband-and-wife team behind the business, and Marcus Moody was running the show on Monday, selling masks sewn by his wife Lizzie.

Moody, whose job and travels as a consulting engineer have been put on hold due to COVID-19, is helping his wife, who also has a full time job, manage the sudden boom in business due to the pandemic.

Although he’s had a break from his regular job, Moody said it has been no vacation.

“We’re shipping packages out every day,” he explained.

In addition to selling the masks, the duo has also donated masks in bulk to hospitals across the country and other places always in need of them such as Ft. Rucker.

The Aunt Lizzie’s masks are also available locally at businesses including Reimagined.

The other vendors on Monday had a wide variety of produce ranging from Evans Farm’s peaches, oversized green peppers courtesy of Sasser Road Produce, a multitude of tomatoes at Countryside Gardens and boiled peanuts at the Allen’s Dry Creek booth.

The Farmers Market will continue each Monday throughout the summer.

Lastly, the Luverne City Council recently waived the $10 fee that non-produce and produce re-sellers usually need to pay in order to participate in the market.

This, again, applies to vendors selling homemade crafts or those buying and reselling produce.

Produce vendors must obtain a free permit from the County Extension Office.