Elisa on Fox and Friends
I was on Fox and Friends Sunday morning talking about how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting farmers across the US. I am grateful for the opportunity, but did not have enough time to provide all the information that I wanted to get across is the short segment. I’m sharing the clip here and below are some of the other things I wish I had time to say on the air.
Here are the few of the other points I really wanted to get across to the American people and policy makers:
With the loss of sales outlets such as restaurants and farmers markets many farms will need to shut down.
People are losing their jobs in the agricultural sector. I personally had to lay off three workers this week because I don’t have income to pay them at this time. I have even stopped paying myself for the time being to keep my one, longest employee paid.
Farmers need to be included in economic stimulus packages to remain open. Food security is a national threat.
This crisis is showing just how essential it is that a region can feed itself and not rely on a global supply chain that is vulnerable to virus, war or other disruptions.
Small farmers across the country are extremely concerned about the current pandemic. With shortages of supplies such as latex gloves, hand sanitizers and disinfectants doing our job in a safe way is a real challenge at this time.
Across the country we are seeing an increase in sales directly from farms such as CSAs and farmers markets. However a lot of farmers’ markets are shutting down to slow the spread of COVID-19. I personally have mixed feelings about this. If farmers like me aren’t able to access a farmers market we may have to close our doors if we are unable to find another way to sell our goods. However, I completely understand this step as a precautionary measure. The Department of Homeland Security has identified food supply as a critical need and that food suppliers should stay open during these times.
Now is the time to start buying from your local farmers to keep money within the local economy, to support jobs but also because buying your food directly from your farmer is the safest way to purchase food. When you buy directly from a farmer the supply chain is shorter, meaning less hands are touching your food before it gets to you.
There are many wonderful small farms across the country, and region, that can safely provide you healthy food, and are probably struggling to find a way to make it through this crisis. Please consider finding a local small farmer to support. To find a local farm near you visit Local Harvest for a listing of farms in your area. You can also do a google search of your area with “CSA or “Farm”.
For the Baltimore area and near our farm, we are now offering a produce CSA for this season.