Farmers turn to roadside stands to reach customers during pandemic

NovaScotiansshould look to the roadside this year, as many farmers search fornew ways to sell their crops.

Carmen Sampson owns and operates Acadian Acres in Richmond County.She and her family began afarm standinSampsonvillelast fall.

"We did a few markets last year and the year before," said Sampson.

"But this year, and especially withCOVID, we're just sticking with thefarm stand. Itseems to be OK last weekend was our opening weekend and we sold out."

The Sampson familyshed is made of weathered wood, leftover tin roofing and antiqueeaves troughs.

Inside is a painted fridge, shelving for preserves, a chalkboard with pricing and a tool box for cash.

The stand is leftunattended. Sampson said there have been fewproblems with people taking more than they have purchased.

"It's incredibly honest," she said. "I figure if people need it to eat and they can't afford to pay it they need it, so you might as well just take it."

If you wish to barter,Sampson said she'll trade food for weed pulling and compost shovelling.

Thefarm standworked out some kinks last year byadding refrigeration that helps keep produce fresh.

"Last year, we had coolers with ice packs in it," said Sampson. "The maintenance and just the smell of the closed cooler wasn't working for us."

Sampson said her children have also joined in the business withseashells and rocks for sale.

"My daughter also makes dog treats, called 'Top of the Woof,'" she said. "She's learning all about the economics of thefarm stand, so it's pretty cute."

Farmers finding new ways

The existence offarm standsis nothing new, said KathleenKevany. But it something she's noticed has been growing in popularity in Nova Scotia.

The associate professor in Dalhousie University'sfaculty of agriculture said some farmers were left with no choice but to pivotaway from traditional sales methods for the time being.

She also said student research has shown thatfarmers greatly benefit from multi-pronged revenue streams.

One of the biggest challenges for farms is fanning outproduce in a short window of time. And then finding new ways to create value-added products.

"Roadside stands are a really helpful path to get particularly perishable foods quickly to customers and not spoil," saidKevany. "Because we don't want to see that."

Wasted food

Kevanysaid studieshave shown that about 40 per cent food produced for retail sale is wasted in Canada.

She saidfarm standsare a solution to not only cutting down waste, but they also strengthen a social fabric of a community by creating personal connections.

They also reduce greenhouse gases, saidKevany, as they shorten the time food spends travelling before ending up on plates.

A spokesperson for Department of Environment says it's unclear if the number offarm standsis increasing in the province, as theydo not collect data on such ventures.

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