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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, M ay 7, 20 20 | 4 Visit atlascare.ca or call 1-833-682-0033 Happy Mother's Day from all of us at AtlasCare Mother's Day has always been especially meaningful for me. I am grateful for the memories of my time with my mother and still find strength when I think of her courage. My wife Sophia shares her strength, and I am in awe of her patience and gentle, guiding hand with our three high-energy kids. (Never mind that I can be a big kid myself!) At AtlasCare, we are privileged to be welcomed into family homes every day. Right now, we're seeing first-hand the pressures on mothers to set aside their fears and frayed nerves to keep their families strong, help ensure their homes are safe, share teaching duties, all while many are also working at home. It's overwhelming to think about it, and inspiring to say the least. To the moms on our team, in the homes we visit, and in the communities that we serve, this year like no other, we say, simply: thank you. Michael Grochmal, President • The Kingsford Gardens -- Sherwood Heights Drive and Kingsway Drive, east of Ford Drive • Lyons Lane -- Lyons Lane and South Service Road, east of Kerr Street • Memorial Park -- Cen- tral Park Drive, west of Tra- falgar Roadfalgar Roadf • Shell Park -- Lakeshore Road West between Great Lakes Boulevard and Chal- mers Street, east of Burloak Drive. Local farmers markets are also in the process of ironing out exactly how they can function in this CO- VID-19 reality. Normally, the Dorval Crossing Civitan Famers Market would open on the first Saturday of May. This year, Doug Guthrie of the Civitan Club of Oak- ville says that with the phys- ical distancing regulations things are more complicat- ed. "I don't know what is go- ing to happen right now," he said. "I can't really give you any information as to whether we are going to have it this year or not. It will be late if we do open, for sure." Guthrie noted that if the farmer's market did movefarmer's market did movef ahead, restrictions seen at grocery stores and other businesses would need to be put in place regarding how many people could attend at a time. The local Civitan said he would need more staff than usual to ensure those re- strictions were adhered to. "I'm hoping in the next three or four weeks I will know where I stand," he said. "I would hate not to do it." Residents looking for lo- cally provided fruits and vegetables can still turn to local businesses such as the Jubilee Fruit Market at 104 Allan St., in Downtown Oak- ville. The business has been a fixture of the Oakville com-fixture of the Oakville com-f munity for more than 40 years and employs around 20 full-time and part-time staff. Owner Don Allen says those employees have been busy since the arrival of the pandemic, particularly dur- ing the first weeks when fear around possible supplyfear around possible supplyf problems led many to panic buy. "It has been challenging coping with the increase in demand ... We're managing staff safety and customer safety and the challenges of social distancing in a really small store," said Allen. "So far we have had no is- sues getting fresh fruits and vegetables." Allen says he makes dai- ly trips to the Ontario Food Terminal, which in itself now presents challenges. Previously Allen would hand-pick everything that was sold in the store. Now, with the COVID-19 restrictions, he says orders have to be placed ahead of time. The order is brought to Allen's truck, at which point he inspects it. "If we don't like it, we send it back," he said. Allen said the ability to buy local depends on the time of year and right now those local products include peppers, tomatoes and cu- cumbers, with asparagus coming soon. During the summer, Al- len said, the bulk of his pur- chases are grown some- where in Ontario or else- where in Canada. With the store only able to accommo- date about five customers at a time due to physical dis- tancing regulations, Allen said his business is promoting online orders and curbside pickup as well as a delivery option people can take advantage of. "The team of people who work for me have just done extraordinary things. I think they've just done a tre- mendous job notwithstand- ing the risk involved in serv- ing the public, especially during the early days of it," said Allen. "They have all worked in- credibly hard and I am su- per proud of them. The cus- tomers have also been amaz- ing ... We're all working to- gether to get to the other side." For more information visit www.jubileemarket- .ca. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: With physical distancing restrictions presenting challenges for traditional farmers' mar- kets, residents want to know where they can find locally grown produce this summer and what plans are in the works to make that available. NEWS Continued from page 1 COPING WITH INCREASED DEMAND 'HAS BEEN CHALLENGING' "It has been challenging coping with the increase in demand. We're managing staff safety and customer safety and the challenges of social distancing in a really small store. "Don Allen, owner of Jubilee Fruit Market