coronavirus

Coronavirus: Farms Unable to Sell Crops While Demand for Help at Food Banks Soar

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The coronavirus pandemic's impact on farmers is starting to surface.

While Americans have been sheltering in place, schools and restaurants have cut way back on their food and dairy orders, leaving some farms with nowhere to sell their crops. Some farmers have had to leave their crops simply to rot even as demand for food is growing.

The California Farm Bureau said farms across the nation are losing $1 billion a week in produce sales.

Meanwhile, the demand for food at churches and food banks in the Bay Area shows a different picture.

The Second Harvest Food Bank in San Jose is seeing the demand for help is as high as it has ever been with more and more people struggling to feed their families as job losses mount. Now local farmers are starting to change the way they do business to meet that need.

Clover Sonoma said so far it has been able to balance the supply chain and keep all of its milk flowing to market. The company said it has also been able to help purchase supplies to send to local hospitals.

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