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"Market inspired and chef driven. The mantra has made Chicago a world renowned culinary destination in recent years. The West Loop epicenter rose around a herd of Goat restaurants, where farmers shared billing on top chef menus. O’Hare travelers detoured for tortas filled with locally sourced ingredients. Public school kids learned through lessons and lunches illuminating the path of food, from farm to cafeteria table. But as the coronavirus pandemic forced restaurants to close around Chicago, or struggle to stay open for takeout and delivery, farmers and markets across the region have found shuttered spaces, and the ominous void left by their biggest customers.  Virtual farmers markets, urban farm pickups and a new home delivery app are a few of the solutions growing with the spring produce season. Looming uncertainty, though, has some wondering if they should leave farming completely, while others dig in, determined to grow more food in the city. Marshall Mitchell, 23, transplants kale inside a hoop house at Urban Growers Collective in the South Chicago neighborhood March 25, 2020. “Our indoor market is at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum,”  said Melissa Flynn, executive director of Green City Market. The biggest and best known farmers market in Chicago is based indoors during the winter, then pops up in Lincoln Park during the height of the season, usually the beginning of May. “Like all public institutions, it’s closed at the moment so we have nowhere to have our market. People who depend on us for getting great local nutritious food, and the farmers who depend on us to get their products to people, have nowhere to go either.” Green City Market quickly created a Virtual Vendors campaign for the public to buy directly from farmers. The next step launches on Friday. “Our app will let people order from multiple farmers at once,” said Flynn. “For example, if you need bread from pHlour (Bakery) and butternut squash from Nichols (Farm) and meat from Finn’s (Ranch), you can order it all at once. Farmers get paid directly and then you get one delivery to your house instead of three people coming to deliver to you.” If all goes well, orders will close Tuesdays by noon, with deliveries Wednesdays to an area within a 5-mile radius of Lincoln Park to 20 different zip codes. “We will continue to grow as we have the capacity to grow,” said Flynn. “We would like to keep this going for the foreseeable future.” The app helps farmers work better together. “When you’re looking for silver linings in a situation that’s affecting so many people, our farmers have really come together even more than they normally do working together,” she said. “Some of our farmers will be helping us do these deliveries by taking routes.” Meanwhile, farmers face the uncertainty of the coronavirus crisis under the relentless change of seasons. “Farmers need to be planting right now,” she added. “They’re just not sure what they can plant. They’re also not sure if they’ll have enough farm workers this summer to help plant, harvest, weed and take care of the farm.” Green City Market vendors come from a four-state area: Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana. “We’ve had farmers really question whether they should even plant this year and ask, do they need to leave farming?” Co-founder and CEO of operations Erika Allen prepares markers next to newly planted sugar snap spring peas at Urban Growers Collective in the South Chicago neighborhood March 25, 2020. On the South Side, an urban farm collective also faces multifaceted challenges. “One is just keeping our farm workers safe,” said Laurell Sims, cofounder and co-CEO with Erika Allen of Urban Growers Collective. The nonprofit focuses on two areas: food access and education.  “We grow food on eight urban farms that span about 11 acres,” said Sims. “On those farms we do job training for teenagers and adults.” “We have a pretty big farm site and we don’t have a ton of staff,” she said. “People are able to work in isolation from one another, but we had to amp up all of our cleaning.” Their normal distribution channels have been disrupted. “A lot of them are health centers or community centers that are either closed or just trying to keep people out of the space because they’re working with populations that are high risk,” said Sims. Malcolm Evans, 27, plants sugar snap spring peas at Urban Growers Collective in the South Chicago neighborhood March 25, 2020. The collective will test a new farm pickup program also Friday, but only with staff, friends and family before opening to the public. “You pay online, then we’ll schedule throughout the afternoon so we don’t have too many people coming at one time for no-touch pickup,” she added. Those with the greatest need, however, can’t use the system, but the collective is working on it. \"Our Link customers can’t pay online,” said Sims. “We’re trying to work with government officials.” The SNAP, or food stamps program, uses hard plastic Link cards that need to be swiped at terminals. For now the collective is just donating food to people with Link cards. This week the farms have spinach, collard greens and kale. “Some of our farmers grow inside so they have some salad greens and microgreens too,” she added. “For us, it’s a little panicky,” said Sims. “In a month we’re going to have thousands of lettuce heads and potentially not a market or restaurant to sell them at.”  That includes airports and schools. But they’re not wondering if they should stop farming. “Erika and I have been doing this for more than 20 years,” said Sims. “This (pandemic) has lit a fire under us, because we need food. We’ve shifted even more into production mode. We’ve been talking about the fact that there will be a crisis, but we’re there. Now we have to train farmers to ramp this up so we know that people around us are secure.” “We're trying to keep people fed and keep the business sustainable. That's the need.” The Chicago Farmers Market collective lists a growing number of online and farmers markets across the city at chicagofarmersmarketcollective.org. 61st St. Farmers Market: Online marketplace lists the market’s farmers that are offering pickup, delivery or CSA (community supported agriculture) options. experimentalstation.org/market Closed Loop Farms: The urban farm offers hydroponic lettuce, honey, craft ice for cocktails, kombucha and pasture-raised meat from local producers, for delivery and pickup. closedloop.farm Dining at a Distance: The multicity listing created to help restaurants during the coronavirus crisis just added regional farms too. diningatadistance.com/farms/great-lakes Green City Market: Virtual market allows direct ordering from farmers and producers for delivery or pickup, plus the Green City Market Delivered app allows users to order from different farms for one delivery. greencitymarket.org Logan Square Farmers Market: Virtual market allows shopping directly from farmers. logansquarefarmersmarket.org McKinley Park: Online farmers market lists farmers offering direct ordering; see the listings here  Plant Chicago: Online market lists farmers and other producers (baked goods, hot sauces, chocolates, etc.). plantchicago.org/farmers-market"
<https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-food-farmers-markets-chicago-coronavirus-0401-20200327-3gjuoupjmfe3xloxnivkyx53pi-story.html>