Think we can all agree we have seen our community pull together in the most tremendous ways over the last few weeks. The Coronavirus outbreak has disrupted just about every industry, to some degree, and organizations and community members are finding creative ways to help stimulate the economy and keep everyone afloat. Farmers are no exception. In response, The Thurston Conservation District partnered with WSU Extension, Thurston Economic Development Council, and the Community Farm Land Trust to establish the Farmer’s Basket as a way to connect local farmers to local consumers.
“Conservation districts are local entities that are responsible for helping the residents of their communities manage natural resources,” explains Sarah Moorhead and Nora White with The Thurston Conservation District. “What we do is we are able to offer free, educational and technical assistance services to the community because we are publicly funded.”
With restaurants shutting down and grocery stores buying less, many local farmers are now having to either go direct to consumer for the first time, or are having to ramp up the direct to consumer efforts they already had. Either way, farmers are having to market and sell their products in vastly different ways. “We took this as an indicator that we need to do something for our local food system and the farmers in the area to help them have another avenue of marketing and advertising so that they can keep focusing on production and stewardship,” says White.