Farmers Looking For Silver Linings Amidst Pandemic

With local farms losing two of their major customer groups in restaurants and schools during the pandemic, farmers markets are scrambling to preserve their spring/summer season and prevent farmers from losing a third major revenue source. Meanwhile, farms and community groups are partnering together to weather the storm by boosting produce sales directly to residents – many of whom are increasingly concerned about food sourcing – and area pantries, which face looming shortages.

The Sara Hardy Downtown Farmers Market is the largest farmers market in northern Michigan, with more than 115 total farmers participating during the season and an average of 64 vendors on-site each Saturday. The Traverse City Downtown Development Authority (DDA) operates the market and recently announced its planned May 2 opening would be postponed due to the pandemic. The existing layout of the farmers market, with its narrow aisles and crowded vendor spaces, makes it difficult to safely social distance – but DDA CEO Jean Derenzy says her team is working on a back-up plan for summer.

“We’re working with our partners – SEEDS, Taste the Local Difference, and the local health department – on an approach to ensure all the fresh produce will be able to get into residents’ hands at a safe distance,” Derenzy says. “We’re just being more cautious about how we’re bringing people into the market.” A wide variety of options are on the table, including reducing the number of vendors and reconfiguring the market layout, creating a drive-thru or curbside pick-up option with online ordering, splitting different vendors into different parking lots (such as produce, meat, and plants), or moving to a park like the Open Space. The last option is challenging, Derenzy says, because trucks cannot drive on the Open Space grass, making weekly load-in difficult for vendors. Derenzy says the DDA should have more details to announce on plans for the summer season by next week.

Diana Jelenek, manager of the Village Farmers Market at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, says the summer outdoor Monday market is still planned to launch in early June. The market averages 9-10 vendors, making it much easier to space out booths and enact safety measures. The indoor Village Farmers Market, which typically runs through April, has shut down – though a handful of vendors began selling their goods outside the building on Saturdays from 9:30am-12pm. Jelenek says she is waiting to hear word from Commons management on whether vendors can continue those sales in the coming weeks.

Tricia Phelps of Taste the Local Difference works with more than 1,000 farming partners across Michigan. She says farmers are worried about potential losses in market sales this summer after already losing restaurant and school buyers. But Phelps says farmers are forging ahead anyway with planting and preparing their fields – work that has to be done now, or else risk forfeiting the entire season. Some farmers are even planting extra in the belief their communities will need more food in the coming months, even if getting those supplies into resident hands is trickier. “What we’re trying to do to support farmers is getting online stores up and running for them, and negotiating on the pricing to do that with software platforms because we have all these partners,” Phelps says.

Bailey Samp is one of the farmers pivoting to online sales to try and salvage this year's season. She and partner John Dindia own the organic vegetable and fruit farm Lakeview Hill Farm on Leelanau Peninsula. “We lost most of our restaurant accounts, which was a huge portion of our sales, and we were panicking about what to do,” Samp says. “We quickly decided to come up with an online store. You can go there and buy products and do no-contact pickup at the farm on Wednesdays and Fridays.” Samp says the pivot has seen early success; on Tuesday, she was busy packing 35-40 customer boxes for Wednesday pick-up.

Samp is also the marketing and CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) coordinator for the MI Farm Cooperative, a group of 10-12 local farmers who collectively sell goods in weekly boxes to customers who buy a seasonal “share,” usually good for 10 weeks of food. Customers receive 2-4 pounds of seasonal vegetables, 2-4 pounds of fruit, salad greens or microgreens, a loaf of bread, and a dozen eggs each week, with options to add on chicken, beef, and flower deliveries. A 10-week share costs $475. When the farmers launched their spring CSA in March, the 50 available slots sold out almost immediately – a demand Samp attributes to an increased interest in local food, especially during the pandemic. The Cooperative is now ramping up for summer (June 23-August 25) and expanding to 100 shares; 35-40 spots are already sold. “I’m nervous (about the season), but trying to stay optimistic and find these other outlets” for sales, says Samp.

Phelps believes one silver lining of the pandemic for farmers could be the creation of online sales infrastructure they can continue using after the crisis – as well as a heightened awareness among residents of the importance of local food. “I think people are changing their buying habits already, because they’re recognizing how important it is to support the local community, and it’s healthier because it’s touching fewer hands and not going through the grocery store,” she says.

Another silver lining could be connecting farmers with food pantries, many of which are experiencing shortages as they compete nationally and internationally for supplies – just as demand is increasing due to widespread unemployment. The Groundwork Center launched a new campaign Tuesday called the Local Food Relief Fund to collect donations to buy produce directly from area farmers that will be donated to the Northwest Food Coalition, Manna Food Project, and Goodwill's Food Rescue. Ninety-six percent of donations will go directly to farmers for food purchases, with the remaining four percent dedicated to food distribution (Groundwork is not collecting any administrative fees). At least 50 farms are expected to participate in the program, with an emphasis on featuring smaller farmers who might normally be ignored for bulk purchasing. The campaign launched Tuesday morning with a $30,000 goal; by late afternoon it had already raised more than $22,000. Groundwork Center Director of Programs Meghan McDermott says the organization will likely launch a stretch goal of $50,000 this week – enough to buy approximately 25,000 pounds of food – and could continue the campaign into summer.

“Looking at unemployment numbers, the potential for increased demand on our pantries is astronomical,” McDermott says. “We know our farmers have a ton of capacity to grow great produce, and the pantries are fighting for every pallet they can get. We’re not asking our farmers to donate; we can help give them a guaranteed income. And we know not everyone can afford farmers market prices. This is meeting people half-way on both sides…we're helping give pantries and families access to the best produce available to maintain their health during the crisis.”

Pictured: John Dindia and Bailey Samp of Lakeview Hill Farm. Photo credit: Cathleen Muncey/Novum Productions.