(Sebastopol, CA, March 19, 2020) — Sonoma County Farm Trails, a non-profit group dedicated to preserving local agriculture, has launched a new Shelter-In-Place Food Resources portal to help consumers buy directly from farms and other businesses during Sonoma County’s mandatory shelter-in-place order. While a necessary measure to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the order has severely impacted local farms, producers, restaurants, stores, wineries, and other businesses.

Says Carmen Snyder, Executive Director of Sonoma County Farm Trails, “We know that our community wants access to locally produced goods, and it’s vitally important to the health of our economy to keep agriculture viable in our county. Once the [shelter-in-place] order was issued, we mobilized quickly to create a new resource portal on our website to help the local community connect with our member businesses that are able to sell directly to the public.”

Participating businesses include farms, ranches, creameries, restaurants, grocers, farm and feed stores, nurseries, producers of pantry items and personal care goods, wineries, cideries, and breweries, among others.

All businesses listed are operating in full compliance of the shelter-in-place order and are following the strictest public health and social-distancing protocols as established by the CDC, California Department of Food & Agriculture, and County of Sonoma.

The new portal, which is being updated as often as possible, has information on:

There is also a searchable dynamic map that accompanies the portal which allows customers to search for specific businesses and products and find the vendors nearest to them.

Additional community resources, including a listing of local farmers’ markets and other helpful directories, can be found at the bottom of the main Shelter-in-Place Food Resources page. Farmers’ markets have been designated “essential services” and are allowed to remain open and are implementing best practices.

As the situation changes daily, it is recommended to double-check with individual businesses to confirm hours and availability.

About Sonoma County Farm Trails

Founded in 1973, Sonoma County Farm Trails connects the public to Sonoma County farmers, ranchers, producers, and purveyors to ensure the economic viability of local agriculture and in- still an appreciation of ag as a vital part of our community. The mission is simple: Farms Forever! Farm Trails is a 501©6 nonprofit organization. To learn more about membership, agricultural resources, seasonal tours, and the Gravenstein Apple Fair, please visit farmtrails.org.

Press releases are generated outside of Spirited magazine and the information contained does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Spirited or its parent company, Sonoma Media Investments.