Virtual Boulder County Farmers Market: Fresh farm produce to go

With spring well under way, Boulder County's local farms are beginning their first round of harvests with lots of spinach and leafy greens as well as onions, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, and cucumbers for sale.

As this first round of produce is ready to go to consumers, local farms and the Boulder County Farmers Markets (BCFM) are finding innovative ways to connect with customers in compliance with ongoing state and county COVID-19 regulations.

BCFM recently announced the launch of a virtual market and online ordering system-BCFM2Go. Customers can now place their order order online for curbside pickup. The first round of curbside pickup started April 25 at the Boulder County Fairground in Longmont, and BCFM is working to expand curbside pickup to its other locations in Boulder, Union Station, and Lafayette.

BCFM's online ordering program is already off to a promising start as BCFM Executive Director Brian Coppom pointed out. "We've done a soft launch for the online virtual market that started on April 4 with our food access customers, and we've been doing distributions at the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont for the last three weeks."

As part of Boulder County's SNAP, WIC, and Fruit and Veg Boulder programs and in conjunction with local farms and volunteers, BCFM picked, packed, and delivered about 800 bags of produce each Saturday and, in the process, fine tuned the new online ordering system. With the launch of the virtual market, BCFM now offers this online ordering and curbside pickup service to the broader community.

The new virtual market launched alongside BCFM's new "Find Your Farmer" list, a dynamic online catalog of local farms with ready-to-buy produce, meat, dairy, and honey. This list of over 30 local farms includes farm stands, retail stores, and farms with online ordering for both pickup and delivery options as well as farms which still have CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares available.

In a time when food waste and food insecurity are on the rise, BCFM is confident it is taking the right steps to meet the needs of both the community and the local farmers. Coppom noted, "The issues we're facing with the Coronavirus crisis highlight the importance of our food chain and how fortunate we are to have a robust system of local food production. Our goal for the season is to continue to be the community's largest access point to the local food system, and ensure the maximum amount of food is flowing between producers and the community in the safest way possible, which is why we created the list of our farmers' individual offerings and are launching a virtual market."

He said the current situation has also highlighted the importance of having alternative systems in place when unexpected things happen. "There's value to having a few different ways of achieving our mission."

For those looking for other ways to support BCFM and the local farms, in addition to placing a weekly order, consider supporting the program with a $25 donation for a stylish volunteer-sewn veggie print mask available at the BCFM online store or volunteering to help with the new virtual market and curbside pickup programs. According to Coppom, "This new program takes a lot of staff-to manage traffic and to do pick and pack." As a nonprofit organization, the BCFM also accepts donations.

As for next steps for in-person markets, BCFM is working with Boulder County Public Health to determine when to reopen on-street markets. "We're currently targeting mid-to-late May to open Boulder. After that, we'll open up the Longmont markets," Coppom said.

For Union Station and Lafayette, BCFM will be assessing how things progress before finalizing opening dates for these locations. The on-street markets will likely feature a reduced market with about half as many vendors and a set-up focused on social distancing, adequate space between booths, and restricted traffic to reduce the number of people in the market at one time.

Coppom noted that the continually changing situation that BCFM is working through as they implement their virtual market will require some trial and error, but he is confident that with the support of the community, BCFM will continue to deliver on its goal to connect local food producers and food consumers, even in this challenging time.

"We're trying our best to work through iterations that are going to really work for the community and the farmer. Most important is that the farmers market community survives through this period," he said.

Visit the BCFM website for the most up-to-date information or place your order online. You can also sign up for the newsletter or follow BCFM on Facebook or Instagram for more information.