March 31, 2020 – As our world faces the confusion and heartache that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it, we at OFRF are reminded of the power of hope and resilience. For the OFRF team, our lives, like yours, are looking quite different these days. Our office in Santa Cruz is closed as we “shelter in place.” But, we are sticking together and committing to our mission more than ever.
We know the COVID-19 outbreak will have lasting impacts on our farmers and our food system and as always, we are committed to supporting and advocating for our community. While there are more questions than there are answers these days, we want you to know that we are here. Most importantly, we are extremely grateful to our farmers who continue to do the essential work of feeding our communities.
The current global situation reminds us of the importance of building resilient systems. As our climate changes, we will see new diseases and pest pressures, continued degradation and erosion of our soils, and irregular water quantities among many other challenges. We need to act now to mitigate climate change and help farmers adapt to challenges they are already facing.
Organic farming practices have been proven to not only help reverse the effects of climate change but also allow farmers to be more resilient. BUT organic farming only comprises 1% of U.S. agriculture. We hope you will support us in continuing our work to foster the improvement and widespread adoption of organic farming—we truly could not do it without you.
Like us, you might be asking yourselves what you can do to support our agricultural and food systems. Farmers are still farming and most grocery stores, farmers’ markets, CSAs and food delivery services are up and running. We encourage you to show up for organic farmers during this difficult time.
As always, all of our research and educational materials are available to access for free at ofrf.org.
Please reach out to us at info@ofrf.org if you have any questions or just want to check in. Stay healthy and thank you for your support.