SAN TAN VALLEY, AZ — Farmers around the Valley, and the world, are struggling to get food to those who need it most - local businesses.
"These gardens you're looking at are my bank accounts. I have to convert these gardens into cash," says Mark Rhine, owner of Rhiba Farms, a small three-acre farm in San Tan Valley.
Rhine lost 90% of his business within a week when restaurants closed. He says, "We don't have distribution systems. We don't have people in trucks. Distribution is the achilles for any small farm. We were loaded with food and the curtain fell."
Your Farm Foods is helping farms like Rhiba bridge the gap between their crops and consumers. The local business created an online platform for farms to sell their goods.
"We pick up and deliver all of the food that customers buy from however many farms and local vendors that they buy from," says Your Farm Foods founder Kerry Bashi.
Recently, the virtual farmers market saw an increase in elderly customers. Bashi says, "That's what our goal is. Our goal is to help those who can't leave their house or are being safe for other people not leaving their house to get them the food they need."
As well as, help farms who need outlets to keep their businesses afloat.
Rhine says, "I mean right now it's a battle but we're changing. We're so small that were diverse."
