Support Your Local Farmers

By Lesley Dick

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on U.S. agricultural has been wide and diverse. Farmers and consumers have struggled with managing their production and budget in a time where the market has been volatile. Prior to and during the pandemic, farmers were faced with challenges brought on by mother nature which brought historically low production. The pandemic compounded the challenges these farmers face. Please Support Your Local Farmers! I was brought up in a farming community in the Salinas Valley “The Lettuce Capital of the World”. My entire family has worked in some capacity within the agricultural community. Supporting our local farmers and workers was never a question. The loss of jobs have hit farmers and farming families especially hard. Please Support Your Local Farmers! There are some positive signs of productivity increasing, but many U.S farmers continue to face many challenges. Think about the food you eat; most everything can be sourced back to farmers. There is no time like right now to support the locals: shop at local farmers’ markets, ask your grocery store or market to buy locally, plan your meals around what is in season, buy directly from a farmer and now that we have turned the corner in getting this pandemic behind us, eat at your local farm-to-table restaurants. Please Support Your Local Farmers!