Connecting Consumers and Producers

By: Mallory Meek, Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent

With agriculture markets changing and processing facilities closing due to outbreaks, producers and consumers became innovative to get local food to local families. One example of this innovation is the Shop Kansas Farms Facebook Group.

When the world we used to live in instantly shutdown, many consumers noticed staple food items missing on the grocery store shelves and started to connect with their local farms to obtain these food items. This is when the Shop Kansas Farms group was created. Like a local farmers’ market, farmers post about items they have for sale or customers post about what they are looking to buy locally. Consumers are able to connect directly to local farmers and make a connection with those who raise their food. Next time you are looking to purchase fruits, vegetables, meat, etc check out the Shop Kansas Farms Facebook Group to connect with producers in our county and those surrounding. You might be surprised at how vast our agriculture industry is in Northeast Kansas.