Food delivery services operated by local farmers across the nation are experiencing a surge in orders as an increasing number of Americans are choosing to buy food directly from farms amid the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a recent article from Politico.
With ever-changing health concerns driving safety guidelines around the country—leading to partial re-openings for some states and second-time shutdowns for others—many consumers are opting to avoid grocery store crowds, and want a more reliable source of food during a time when store shelves can run low.
The food delivery trend, in which customers typically receive boxes of meat, eggs, dairy, fresh vegetables, fruits, and herbs, has been a boon for the agriculture industry as many farmers markets have shut down, and contracts with restaurants have drastically scaled back, or been terminated altogether—delivering a gut punch to small-to-midsize farmers.
The current boom in food delivery has caused many local farmers to adjust their business models to take advantage of the market shift with hopes that more and more consumers will choose to buy directly from them instead of commercial grocery stores.
“It’s great for farmers and ranchers,” said California cattle rancher Mary Heffernan to Politico. “We all hope it continues after this is over, but I believe it will on some level.”
Heffernan’s farm operation, which usually ships approximately 15,000 pounds of beef, pork and lamb each month, saw that amount increase to over 35,000 pounds in mid-March. She’s gotten orders from both returning clients and a number of new ones.
The California cattle rancher feels that more consumers now see how easy it is to purchase directly from farmers. “I think it was a wake-up call for consumers to realize they can easily go directly to the source and buy from farmers who ship right to doorsteps all over the U.S. as easily as an Amazon package.”
Utah cattle rancher Hannah Neeleman has also seen a big increase in her food delivery business. “With people staying in and cooking more of their meals, as well as being concerned with food shortage, the uptick in our online meat sales has been significant,” she said. “We ship nationwide and the trend has been true across all states.”
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