COURTNEY McCLURE Intern to The Standard
SCUGOG: Farmland surrounds The community of Scugog and thus has an abundance of resources regarding agriculture. “Farmers and farm markets bring us great, safe, locally grown products,” the Township of Scugog wrote in a post on April 17th. But farms and local stores selling farm produce have been moved online so the families running them can safely support their community. One such farmers’ market has been organized by Kendal Hills Farm. They have worked hard to set up the Virtual Farmers Market website. Several local farms and produce vendors have joined the virtual market. Shoppers can purchase their produce on the website and then either have it delivered or pick it up at one of four locations. “We try to highlight positive things where we can,” explained Lori Bowers, the Manager of Communications from the Township of Scugog. She also shared that the annual farmers’ market in Port Perry, which is usually held in Palmer Park, is currently looking for a way to move their business online for the time being. The township will keep residents updated with more information regarding that specific event. Some markets and stores selling farm-fresh goods are as follows: Willowtree farms, White Feather Farms, Herrington’s Quality Butchers, to name a few. Willowtree is taking orders online through their website. They are offering curbside pickup and delivery. Customers are still welcome into their store, but social-distancing measures have been put into place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their staff and clients. For more information on how Willowtree’s staff are protecting themselves and their clients, they suggest customers visit their website. Whitefeather is accepting orders through email or phone call. Herrington’s is offering curbside pickup and delivery, and email and phone orders only. Similarly, to these three food chains, greenhouses are also expected to run their business online. Darlene Otter from Otter Greenhouse in Port Perry said it is difficult to run the greenhouse solely online because their website isn’t set up to run on a primary online basis. “To effectively run our business, we would need more time.” After they lift the pandemic, Ms. Otter stated the greenhouses are unlikely to be run online. A full list of businesses running similarly is available on the Township of Scugog’s website.