#150 of 150 articles from the Special Report:
Food Insider
Like many small farmers in B.C., Ardeo Mann was hit with a tsunami of demand for their boxes of local produce when the pandemic hit last year. Photo provided by Ardeo Mann
Last spring, Shirlene Coté was hit with surging demand for an unusual product: Boxes filled to the brim with her farm’s produce, delivered weekly during the growing season to customers who paid a lump sum in advance. Demand hasn’t let up since.
“(There’s) definitely a notable difference in people’s interest,” said the Abbotsford farmer and co-owner of Earth Apple Organic Farm. Since the pandemic started, the number of customers buying the boxes has jumped by about 30 per cent.