BY CAMI KOONS
While grocery stores are doing their best to stock shelves and maintain space between customers in the aisles, Douglas County farms are also supplying fresh, locally grown products while social distancing.
In Eudora, Country Road Farms owner Jamie Knabe said she transitioned to “front porch pick-ups” at the beginning of the month to limit contact with customers. Knabe said she was limiting exposure and the number of people at the farm stand, where she normally does business.
Pick-up orders can be placed by calling or texting Knabe at the farm’s number or messaging the farm on Facebook. Knabe then puts the orders in a bucket on her front porch where customers can pick it up without any contact.
Country Road Farms customer Bill Funk said he hasn’t been to a grocery store since the start of social distancing orders, and the front porch pick-up at Country Road Farms has worked well for him. He picked up steaks from a bucket on the front porch and left a check in its place. Funk said he has been getting his meat from the farm for around six months now because he likes the farm’s reputation and that it’s local.
“They’re close by and the meat they sell is terrific,” Funk said.
Knabe said her business has “truly increased” since the start of coronavirus shutdowns and social distancing orders. She said at the start of the year, she had 900 pounds of ground beef and by the end of March, it had all been sold.
“I sold 40 pounds of hamburger this morning,” Knabe said on Tuesday morning. “It’s not even 10:30 yet.”
Knabe said the farm usually processes two steers per year, but she is already about to sell out of their second steer this year. She said she expects to process two more before the year is over.
“As sad as what this epidemic is, it has done me a wonderful service,” Knabe said.
Knabe said she thinks the initial spike in customers was due to the lack of availability in grocery stores, but believes a lot of her returning customers realize they like knowing where their meat comes from and how it is raised.
“People need to know it’s important to support local businesses and to know where your food comes from,” Knabe said.
Knabe said she thinks farmers markets will be more popular this summer in order to support local farms. She used to organize the Eudora farmers market but said there hasn’t been enough support in past years to keep it running. However, she said the Lawrence Farmers’ Market is close enough to serve Eudora, and its new app will help.
Lawrence Farmers’ Market Manager Brian McInerney said the board of directors has wanted an app for a while now, but the current circumstances expedited the process. It is free on Apple and Android, and allows users to shop from 60 to 70 local vendors and then pick up their purchases on Saturdays in a makeshift drive-thru at 824 New Hampshire St.
McInerney said the app launched last week and the first drive-thru was on Saturday, April 18. He said the app isn’t perfect yet but the first week was great. Customers can place orders on the app from Sunday at noon until midnight on Wednesday, and then on Saturdays, the orders are put in customers’ trunks as they drive through. It can be found by searching "Lawrence Farmers' Market" in the App Store.
“We’re definitely taking steps to adhere to guidelines and doing everything properly to make sure people feel comfortable,” McInerney said.
So far, about 1,000 people have downloaded the app, he said, and there have also been a spike in email subscribers to the Lawrence Farmers’ Market newsletter. McInerney said while it is hard to tell if people using the app are new to the market or past customers, he’s seen a huge circulation on social media of customers recommending their favorite vendors.
McInerney said the vendors have been really grateful because they now have another avenue for e-commerce. He said it’s especially important, as it’s their busiest time of the year for sales.
“It feels good buying local and supporting local,” McInerney said.
Marcia Peters of Peters Family Farm in Baldwin City is a vendor for the Lawrence Farmers’ Market. She said because of the virtual market and her farm’s stand-alone website, the income last weekend was close to what it was last year at this time.
Peters said this week she had orders popping up Sunday afternoon right as the selling period opened. While it’s working well, virtual sales have their own challenges, and she said she is learning how to better estimate her harvest numbers a week in advance to have more accurate numbers on the site.
“It’s not what we’re used to, but it’s a very good alternative,” Peters said.
The Lawrence Farmers’ Market hopes to re-open its Tuesday and Saturday markets starting May 30.
Reach reporter Cami Koons at eudoratimes@gmail.com.
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