FRANKLIN, Mass. — A visit to the local grocery store can be challenging.
Meats and produce can be in short supply and let’s not forget social distancing requirements, one-way aisles, masks, and no toilet paper.
No wonder many people are turning to grocery delivery services.
But many of those are overbooked, if they are available at all.
In Franklin, a small family farm stand that turns 100 years old this week is finding a way to help.
Just as the coronavirus was upending our lives, the people that run Fairmount Fruit Farm started a delivery service.
Franklin Farm Stand offering food delivery during pandemic. “(People) don’t want to go to supermarkets and risk more than they have to. We make it really easy for them.” My story @boston25 4/5/6PM pic.twitter.com/huYzF0Q2hF
— Bob Ward Boston 25 (@Bward3) April 17, 2020
In a typical April, people visit Fairmount to pick up hanging baskets or potted flowers.
As we know, this is no ordinary April.
So Fairmount reached out to local farms to find supplies of produce, meats, and other staples, like honey.
It turns out, those farms were growing produce for Boston area restaurants. The coronavirus closed those restaurants, taking with them the very markets the farms depend on.
So now, farm fresh food is making its way to Fairmount where its up for sale.
Every Tuesday, the Fairmount lists its latest offerings on its Facebook page, and customers phone in their orders for either take out or delivery.
In the Franklin the delivery is free.
On Thursdays, the Fairmount offers delivery to the Braintree area.
In the last four weeks, the response, as you might expect, has been strong.
“We do well over a hundred orders a day, which is crazy,” Loren Phinney tells me. “We start right at 8 a.m. taking orders and we go until 5 p.m.”
The Fairmount has been in CJ Koshivas’ family for a century. He is used to working in the Greenhouse, but now he finds himself ordering goods from local farms and preparing customer orders every day.
It is a lot of work, something new for the Fairmount, but it is making a difference.
“It’s a very weird experience, but I’m glad we are able to do it,” CJ said. “I feel like it has become very rewarding in a lot of ways.”
Other farm stands are also offering similar services. If you don’t live close to Fairmount Fruit Farm, check your local farm stand. You could be closer to fresh produce and meats than you think.
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