The first Poplarville Farmers Market of the year will be a drive-thru market that only offers food items due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The market is set for Friday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. along Railroad Street behind the Town Green. The exact logistics of the drive-thru route are still being determined by organizers, said April Grecho. The plan is to hold the market every Friday while businesses are closed and people are home from work due to the pandemic.

The market will include food from local and regional vendors, including produce, dairy from Mauthe’s Progress Milk Barn, beef and pork from Black Creek Farm, elderberries, local honey and canned goods. Local vendors interested in participating in an upcoming event can contact the organizers through Facebook.

The market will be an open air drive-thru, similar to Picayune’s Farmers Market. Christina Juneau, who organizes the Picayune market, helped organize the Poplarville market, said Grecho.

Shoppers are asked to stay in their cars and vendors will limit contact with customers by placing food in bags to hand to shoppers. Vendors will practice social distancing. Organizers are not sure yet if vendors will be wearing masks, said Grecho.

Many of the market’s regular Poplarville vendors are older and sheltering at home to stay safe. Some vendors have not begun planting yet and more producers are expected in May as more gardens begin to flourish. However, there are some vendors returning from the fall market.

The market will give Poplarville residents an opportunity to buy healthy food and support local vendors, said Grecho. It also offers an opportunity to give people a sense of community in a time when many feel disconnected from their neighbors, Grecho said.

“We still have that sense of community, that sense of everybody working together and helping each other out,” said Grecho.