As we adjust to the COVID-19 health crisis and recognize its far-reaching impacts, it is clear how much our communities and local farms depend on each other.
Using the resources below, you can:
Purchase Local Food
• Purchasing local food is one of the best, and simplest ways to support local farmers. Using the resources below, you can find a local farm offering their products online or via on-farm pickup, find a local farmers market, or sign up for a CSA (yes, even in the winter!).
Donate to Local Organizations & Relief Initiatives
• Consider donating to one of the many organizations throughout our region and state that have come together to support farmers and organize around food relief efforts.
Support your Leasing Farmer or Farming Neighbor
• Are you leasing land to a farmer currently? Please consider waiving rental payments or paying for improvements to your land so tenant farmers can invest in capital projects to sustain their operations.
• Get to know your farming neighbors, understand their challenges, and find out how you can support them through this time.
Familiarize yourself with Agricultural Policy Recommendations
• Find out what kinds of policy solutions local farmers are advocating for and join efforts to advance those initiatives.
More Resources
- CLC’s Directory of Columbia County Farms
- Cornell Cooperative Extension (Capital District) – COVID-19 Resource Page
- Cornell Cooperative Extension (Dutchess County) – Directory of Local Farm Stands
- Cornell Cooperative Extension Supporting Farms Page
- Cornell Small Farms Program – Building Farm Resilience
- Coronavirus and USDA Assistance for Farmers
- Dutchess County COVID-19 Community Resources
- Farm Bureau’s COVID-19 Updates
- Farmer Relief Fund – American Farmland Trust
- Farmers Market Federation of New York – Resources
- Groundswell Center for Local Food and Farming
- GrowNYC Farmer Assistance – Coronavirus Response Resources
- Hudson Valley CSA – Find a Farm
- National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition – COVID Response
- National Young Farmers Coalition – Action Network
- National Young Farmers Coalition – COVID-19 Response Page
- New York Department of Agriculture and Markets – COVID-19 Page
- NY Farm Bureau’s COVID-19 News Updates
- NY FarmNet: COVID-19 Response
- NYFC List of Online Sales Platforms
- Reparations for Black-Indigenous Farmers (Soul Fire Farm)
- Scenic Hudson – Farm Food Directory
- Upper Hudson Valley Food Access Hub – Response Map
- US Small Business Association – COVID-19 Response
- USDA’s COVID-19 FAQ