Meat, dairy, and produce have been hard to come by as people continue to stay indoors amid the COVID-19 outbreak. As a result, people have been turning directly to their local farmers for support. The surge in demand has some operations wondering how they will sustain the unexpected changes.
“For small farmers, everything has pretty much exploded,” said Betsy Brown of Longview Farms in Havana, Florida. “We’ve had to adapt quickly.”
Brown said that her family farm started selling through an online market for local farmers and opened a contactless drive through “store” to help supplement the demand for fresh meat and produce from Tallahassee-area customers.
The farm sold out of 100 chickens within 12 hours, and ground beef sales skyrocketed during mid-April as meat departments in traditional stores lay barren and shutdowns were enforced. Before the virus, it was considered an “exceptional week” if farmers made $7,000 to $10,000 through the online market.
Two weeks after Florida announced statewide closings, the market’s profits jumped to more than $36,000 and had to limit the site to only 400 shoppers.
The influx of new customers seeking groceries like chicken, beef, and eggs forced the items to sell out quickly, causing a contentious relationship with Longview’s older supporters.
“It’s been a real transition because the people who have been very faithful used to be able to call or text me and ask if I could set aside two dozen eggs,” Brown said. “But I just can’t do it anymore.”
Between overseeing the online store, managing email subscribers, running the farm with her husband, and packaging orders for pickup, Brown said she’s overwhelmed with the sudden demand. It’s also stressful knowing that the farm can’t feed everyone, as the looming Florida heat threatens the survival rate of the chickens.
There’s a mix of emotions as small farmers continue to fuel their communities while their own needs go unmet. Brown said that she hasn’t been able to hug her children or significant others in nearly six weeks.
“It’s been a very stressful time,” Brown said. “{We’re} to figure out how to feed everybody.”
She’s stuck between feeding customers and reserving enough food for her family, including her nine-month pregnant daughter whose family is having difficulty finding groceries near their Nashville home.
Brown’s biggest fear? Contracting the virus and not being able to support her daughter and new grandchild.
The effects of COVID-19 isn’t just limited to farms in Florida. Common Good City Farm in DC is also grappling with limited staff, funding, and having to meet the surging demands of their communities.
“A lot more people need food that didn’t need it before,” said Sam Wetzel, director of Common Good City Farm. “Or at least need food that they can access at a free or low-cost price.”
The combination of empty grocery store shelves and a surging unemployment rate has cash-strapped households across the city searching for new sources of food.
“We’re hearing from all of the food assistance organizations that they’re maxed out at their capacity to distribute food to folks who need it,” said Wetzel. “We expect that that’s only going to get worse as this situation goes on longer and people exhaust their savings.”
Perhaps one of the biggest hits for the nonprofit farm comes from the cancellation of large volunteer groups. Instead of having an average group size of 15 volunteers to help with planting, weeding, or composting, social distancing guidelines have limited them to a maximum of four people.
“We didn’t have enough volunteer support as we were hoping for,” said Josephine Chu, program director at Common Good City Farm. “We didn’t have enough time to turn over the beds as quickly to get some of the spring crops planted.”
The farm, located in LeDroit Park, grows about 6,000 pounds of produce annually and served more than 1,000 people in 2017. Their crops sustain more than 75 people at the weekly farmer’s market, supports their community supported agriculture (CSA) program, and supplies a few local restaurants.
They even started a free produce distribution program in mid-March as apart of St. George’s Episcopal Church Kwanzaa Kitchen program.
However, the uncertainty of funding could put these programs in jeopardy. The U.S. Department of Agriculture rolled out the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) to give farmers a way to recuperate from losses dating back to January 2020. The program promised $16 billion in direct payment to farmers and $3 billion to purchase fresh produce, milk, and meat from regional suppliers, according to the USDA.
Despite this, it is unclear who is actually eligible for these funds, how much each farm would receive, or when the benefits will be disbursed.
“We’re really not expecting to see a lot of that, or any,” said Wetzel, in relation to the stimulus package. “We’re really afraid that our funders won’t come through for us.”