Below is a collection of resources for the vital member of our food supply chain including farmers and farmers’ market vendors.
General information for anyone in the food industry:
Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Food Industry Resources: https://instituteforfoodsafety.cornell.edu/coronavirus-covid-19/food-industry-resources/
The Farmers Market Federation of NY: general COVID-19 farmers’ market information http://www.nyfarmersmarket.com/
Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Consumer Food Safety Recommendation And FAQs: https://instituteforfoodsafety.cornell.edu/coronavirus-covid-19/food-safety-recommendation-consumer/
Resources for Food Producers to Sell Outside of Farmers’ Markets:
Young Farmers Coalition created this document with a list of direct sales software for farmers to sell their products: https://www.youngfarmers.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Farm-direct-sales-software-1.pdf
Small Farms: Using Online Marketing to Build Resilience- guidance on how to sell online to build your farm's resilience during the pandemic: https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2020/04/using-online-marketing-to-build-resilience/
If you are interested in shipping your product, this is a free course on how to do that keeping in mind food safety and while staying on a budget: https://coaching.grazecart.com/perishable-shipping-launchpad
Resources for Running Farmers’ Markets during COVID-19 Outbreak:
New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets has produced the following document for Farmers' Markets to follow in order to remain open (and considered an essential business) during the COVID-19 Outbreak. https://agriculture.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2020/05/interimguidancefarmersmarkets.pdf
The NY Farmers' Market Federation has resources and information to help farmers' market managers and vendors during the pandemic: http://www.nyfarmersmarket.com/covid-19-resources/
If you have questions or would like advice on the safety measures your market needs to take, please contact us.
If you would like to implement online selling for your market to minimize contact, there are options for helping your market to implement an online ordering system. Many of the platforms listed for farmers to sell directly to customers can be used for vendors to sell through the market (see above). However, if your market has farmers who are unable or unwilling to create their own online store, we can help to create a system that will work for your needs.
If you are receiving inquiries about why the markets are remaining open, we can help you to create a statement that fully explains the reasons for keeping markets open.
Last updated May 17, 2023