As the buzz around a resurgence of COVID cases starts to infiltrate the region, small local family farms are stocking up and preparing for another tsunami of sales.
The commercial food supply chain has been highly disrupted at all points, from processing to transportation to bottlenecks at the retail level. As a result, many consumers have searched for other options, and many are turning to their local farmers to help fill in the supply gaps.
As a small local direct-to-consumer farm that offers the convenience and safety of online ordering and no-contact home delivery in Salt Lake City (and 10 surrounding counties), Kristin’s Farm Stand (www.Kristins-SaltLake.com) is positioned to step in as access to commercial foods becomes unstable again.
“We’ve seen some pretty interesting consumer behavior over the past few months, ranging from extreme hoarding, stockpiling and panic buying, to the other end of the spectrum as customs yearn for a return to a sense of normalcy,” said Varela. “We’re lucky to have the flexibility to be able to pivot our production scale to meet the rollercoaster of needs from our customers. We’re also planning ahead for another influx of meat sales by leveraging our relationship with our small, safe, local processors to make sure we have a consistent and regular inventory of meats and other products that customers seek first when their usual grocery stores enact purchase limits.”
Varela says their customers appreciate the trust and transparency that comes from buying directly from the farm. “We know and our customers know exactly who works on our farm, who is picking and packing product, and who is delivering. These employees in many cases are like family or actually are family!”
Kristin’s Farm Stand raises nutrient-dense vegetables along with pasture-raised meats and eggs on their 600-acre regenerative farm just outside of Snowville. They use a blend of innovative and “back to our roots” farming methods intentionally designed to grow nutrient-dense foods, while also improving the quality of the soil that the food is grown in.