Page 3 - Hill Country Observer April
P. 3
april 2020 www.HillCountryObserver.com 3 Fresh food in a pandemic
Region’s farmers forge ahead as shutdowns scramble local-food networks
By TRACY FRISCH Contributing writer
As the Covid-19 outbreak began to shut down the nation last month, the region’s farmers and food producers suddenly found some of their customers and marketing outlets evaporating, with restaurants, schools, colleges and even some farmers markets temporarily shuttered.
But with lots of people doing more cooking as they follow health officials’ pleas to stay home, the demand for fresh, local ingredients seems stronger than ever.
That’s left direct-market farmers scrambling to find new ways to get their products into the hands of consumers while minimizing human contact.
They’ve set up delivery services, online ordering systems, and staggered at-the-farm pickup schedules that keep local customers from encountering one another.
Some farms whose customers are mainly in metropolitan New York City are figuring out new ways to get their wares to the center of the worst coronavirus outbreak, with at least one farm now shipping its meat and other products directly to consumers’ doors by UPS.
“Farmers as entrepreneurs have jumped right in,” said Margaret Moulton, executive director of Berkshire Grown, an organization devoted to supporting local food and agriculture. “They are setting up online stores and arranging for customer pickups outside. Some farmers are setting up new farm stands.”
In places where they’re being allowed to operate, the organizations that run local farmers markets are grappling with how to proceed – and how best to do so while minimizing the risk of spreading the coronavirus.
Berkshire Grown, which holds monthly winter markets, canceled its March 21 market. It’s normally held in a school gymnasium, but all the
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lisa MacDougall holds two flats of kale inside one of her many greenhouses at Mighty Food Farm in Shaftsbury, Vt.
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