More Iowans are buying food directly from farmers during the pandemic, with Facebook groups and other social media connecting producers and customers. Jenna Anthofer of Breda (BREE-duh) started the group I-A Farm 2 Table on Facebook May 10th and now has more than two-thousand people signed on from Iowa and neighboring states. She says the group is strictly for direct-to-consumer sales of farm products and is her reaction to the challenges COVID-19 has thrown at farmers.
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Anthofer says it’s easy enough to find buyers for vegetables, eggs, honey, and processed meat, while she says many people are newly-interested in buying meat directly from farmers.
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Across the Midwest, people are using websites, Reddit, op-ed pieces and other tools to spread the word about buying food directly from farmers. Reddit users compiled a list of “farms that are delivering” and launched a U-R-L with that name.
Link to I-A Farm 2 Table Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/IAFarm2Table