LEXINGTON, Ky. — While supply shortages of meat and other products have hit most chain grocery stores during the pandemic, a co-op in Lexington has seen a considerable increase in community-supported agriculture that helps local farmers.

Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a system in which a farm operation is supported by shareholders within the community who share both the benefits and risks of food production. It helps local farmers by directly connecting consumers and producers to help create a more profitable and transparent local food system.

CSAs have adapted to changes in the market, such as the prevalence of subscription boxes, customer preferences, and to changes created by the pandemic.

Good Foods Co-op at 455 Southland Drive in Lexington is a cooperatively owned grocery and cafe, the only of its kind in the commonwealth, and acts as a partner and pickup point with a number of local farm CSAs.

Good Foods Marketing Manager Lauren Gawthrop said the co-op gained preference with many customers when meat and other farm-produced products were sold out at large chain grocers or limits were placed on purchasing quantities as well as because restaurants closed and people were avoiding farmers’ markets out of precaution. 

“When the panic-buying happened in the early part of the pandemic, we definitely saw the same chokes on national supply the other stores saw, but we do have more connections with local farmers so our produce section was still pretty full,” she said. “With the meat, we saw a lot of choke because of production facilities shutting down, but we were able to call our local farmers and say, ‘Hey, we need more of this’ and they were able to deliver. It was actually pretty amazing how they were able to keep up the supply.”

Good Foods managed to not only persevere through the ongoing pandemic but also adapted to restrictions by offering curbside pickup and fast-tracking the development of a shopping website.

“A five-year plan we had for online shopping came to fruition in a couple of days,” Gawthrop said. “It was very rudimentary, and we’re working on expanding it. Being an independent grocery store, we don't have all the resources big national chains do. So we kind of piece it together. We did implement curbside pickup and online shopping by people just submitting their grocery lists and we're currently working on an actual online store that will have all of our product listings. We’re hoping to roll that out pretty soon.”

Gawthrop is currently developing Good Foods’ 2021 marketing plan with the goal of keeping the momentum of the local food movement going while still in the midst of the pandemic. She admits planning accordingly has been difficult.

“It’s hard to plan for the next year after the year that we’ve had, but I do know a lot of shoppers are going to be more focused on their budgets as economics are still a little bit shaky and will be for a while,” she said. “We’re going to be playing up the more budget friendly options we have. We have a co-op basic Super Saver program that's grocery staples at a really low price, and we’re also pushing to eat local and eat better. Local food comes with more nutrition and people are definitely looking to boost their immunity right now. Local food not only has more nutrients, but it’s also more nutrient-dense. It's better for the planet and it’s also just better for Kentucky farmers and our economy as we’re building it back up.”