PITTSBORO, N.C. — As we all grapple with how best to do our part to reduce the threat of COVID-19, while continuing to support the critical work of local farmers and food systems, we wanted to share the steps CFSA has taken to-date:
- Office staffing: CFSA staff is now working remotely. The main office phone (919.542.2402) will direct callers to leave voicemails for staff who will receive messages by email. Find staff extensions here.
- Events: CFSA workshops and events are canceled or postponed until at least May. Registrations will be refunded. Check our events calendar as we move forward with creating new web-based training opportunities. The Piedmont Farm Tour, scheduled for late April, has also been canceled.
- Farmer Resources: We’re cataloging links to recommendations from national food and agriculture experts. We’ve started mapping farms with sales that accommodate social-distancing practices (like “curbside” pickup or call-ahead ordering). If you’re a farmer in North or South Carolina – CFSA member or not – and would like to be included in our list and map, please fill out this form. This links to logged-in form and should not be forwarded.
- Consumer Resources – Map of Where to Get Local Food: Many farms across North and South Carolina have added on-farm pickups, home delivery & online pre-orders to accommodate for social distancing. Please see our listings and map page for more information, and to find farm locations near you!
- Farmers Market Advocacy: CFSA believes that as long as grocery stores are open, farmers markets should be, too. As we address the issue with state governments, we want to empower you. In the next few days, our policy team will share a toolkit to help communities fight to keep their farmers markets open (and to re-open markets that have been wrongly closed). Sign up for our policy action alerts for that toolkit to be sent directly to your inbox. You can also support the effort by using #FarmersMarketsAreGrocer
yStores on social media and share the toolkit widely.
Follow all of our ongoing COVID-19 updates over at CFSA’s blog.
–Carolina Farm Stewardship Association