How is Spring Hill Adjusting for Covid-19?
After talking with the Core Group, participating in several national and regional on-line sessions with fellow farmers and food system experts, and reading the CDC guidelines, we believe we can safely and reliably grow food for Spring Hill members. As of now, the CDC has concluded that “food is not a likely vector” of the corona virus. Paying attention to already established food safety recommendations with extra care in sanitizing surfaces will guide us in producing safe, healthy food.
For the time-being, we are cancelling on-farm community activities, including Spring Hill’s beloved member-based harvest/delivery system. Instead, for the 2020 season, only Patty, Mike and Erin (perhaps with some limited hired help) will be working on the farm. They will pack the bags on delivery days using recommended safety protocols, and all the vegetables will be delivered to pick-up sites by one driver in a single van.
Pick-up Site Protocols
As we care for ourselves and each other in this time of COVID-19, we ask you to observe the following:
1) Read all e-mails from the farm so you are aware of any updates.
2) If you are sick, STAY HOME!! Some options if you are sick: cancel your bag, re-schedule the delivery, or request that a Spring Hill volunteer make a contact-free vegetable delivery to your home.
3) Wear a mask while you are picking up vegetables.
4) Sanitize your hands with the provided sanitizer before entering your Spring Hill pick-up site.
5) If at all possible, we ask that only ONE person from a household pick up a share.
6) Practice social distancing while at the site, including one person at a time in porch/garage, and allow for a minimum of six feet between people while waiting.
8) When you check off your name at the pick-up site, take a pencil from the “new” container and place it in the “used” container. You are of course welcome to bring your own pencil/pen.
9) If you touch it, please take it! Only touch and take one bag. Same deal with any extras!
10) A box for empty bags from the previous week will be provided at each site. Place your empty, washed bag in the box.
12) We ask that this year, only Spring Hill members pick up vegetables. If you are unable to pick up your bag (vacation, out of town, etc.), e-mail the farm to cancel your bag. We will bring those vegetables to our local food shelf or a food shelf in the Twin Cities. (As always, we are happy to change weeks for the every-other-week share or shift the day in a given week for the weekly shares.)
Please refer to the e-mail sent on June 30th that will have any additional protocols relative to your pick-up site.
