Madison County Farmer Covid-19 support packages

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Madison County (CCE MC) has received a $7,500 Central New York Community Foundation grant to support a COVID-19 response program for Madison County farmers. The grant comes through the support of the Madison County Rural Poverty fund.

COVID-19 farmer support packages are being organized for farmers throughout Madison County. The packages are slated to include masks, hand sanitizer, gift cards to local businesses, timely information on farm worker resources for health and safety, and notes of appreciation and encouragement.

Community support and involvement is needed to stretch the grant dollars to reach as many farmers as possible. With over 600 farms in the County, the $7,500 grant will be able to provide $25 gift cards for approximately half of county farms. With community support, the total amount of gift cards can grow substantially for greater impact. “It is our hope that community members will consider donating gift cards from their favorite Madison County businesses to be included in the packages so that we can increase the total number of gift cards that can be provided. Doing this provides a double benefit by supporting local farmers as well as a local businesses” said CCE MC Executive Director Dr. Karin Bump.

CCE MC is also seeking assistance from individuals and organizations willing to make matching contributions. The association has already received a $750 donation commitment to match the first thirty $25 gift cards provided by community members.

Additional opportunities to support this program include donation of cloth masks, thank you notes/letters and other forms of appreciation and support to be included in the packages. Agricultural Educator, Tess Southern says “COVID-19 has impacted every single one of us, but especially our local farmers. Farmers, who are considered essential, and rightly so, have had a significantly harder time because of already unstable markets and fluctuating pricing of commodity goods. Our farmers have incredible resiliency and pride and now more than ever they need to know that we have their backs.”

The 4-H Youth Development program at CCE MC is also seeking children's drawings, letters of support, cards, and kindness rocks to be placed within the packages. According to 4-H Youth Educator Craig Brown, “These gestures mean the world to community members, and now is the time we need to come together and support one another. Let's give back to a community that gives back every day!”

Direct donations along with donations of gift cards, masks, cards/letters, and youth support projects can be mailed to Cornell Cooperative Extension Madison County, P.O. Box 1209, Morrisville, NY, 13408. No-contact drop off is also available. Please contact Dr. Karin Bump at kbump@cornell.edu to make arrangements. Please our Facebook page for additional details and on/going updates.

To learn more about the Central New York Community foundation and the many ways they support our community, please visit their website: https://cnycf.org/home

Last updated June 2, 2020