Our 68th @realfarmercare recipient - Josh Volk @slowhandfarm in Portland, Oregon.
Josh writes, “I manage Cully Neighborhood Farm @cullyneighborhoodfarm, a small urban farm in Northeast Portland. We struggle every season with all of the trickiness of being in an urban setting - insecure land tenure, expensive water, occasional vandalism, and the higher cost of living for everyone who works on the farm. But our CSA members are so supportive, and to be able to share with them, their kids, and so many others what we’re doing is such a treat.
Right now I feel really lucky that I farm and for now it seems like I’ll continue to be able to farm - relatively isolated in a profession where I mostly don’t work within 6 feet of anyone anyway and hand washing and focus on sanitation is already intrinsic to the work. On top of that, the CSA model of my farm seems more than ever like a perfect option for good food distribution - short supply chain, easy distribution without the need for large public gatherings in a single location at a single time. Sign ups for my CSA have been as good as ever - at least for now. My hope is that restrictions won’t keep me from the farm, won’t disrupt my access to the few supplies I need to make the season happen, and that I’ll have surplus food to distribute to those who need it - whether they can pay or not. Now is an opportunity for farmers to switch to CSA style distributions and perhaps with the help of the chefs and their staffs they’ve worked with, increase efforts to distribute any surpluses into their communities, possibly as prepared food. Whether they’re working or not people need to eat and if we’re serious about keeping everyone healthy we not only need social distancing, we also need good food. Pay it forward, we’re all connected in the end and that should be abundantly clear at this point.”
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Photo credit @shawnlinehan
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