When the whole country was shutting down, telling people to stay home, the staff at JBG was reporting to work, albeit a modified form of work, for the weirdest and arguably busiest Spring in farm history. We are so proud of the immense adaptability, creativity, and commitment to our farm’s mission that all of our employees have shown over the past couple of months. This week we thought we’d check in with some of our staff and just see how this whole pandemic has affected them, and their job as an essential worker.

Dusty: Farmers Market Staff

More than perhaps any other position at the farm, our farmers’ market staff are on the frontlines - interfacing with the public and bringing our vegetables from the fields to your homes. Dusty, a long time JBG employee and market manager, goes to farmers markets every Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. Like grocery stores, farmers’ markets and their vendors have shifted hard and fast to ensure the safety of their vendors and customers with increased sanitisation, food safety procedures, and crowd policies.



 

How has it been Dusty? How has it been working markets during this pandemic? I guess everyone is super aware of all of their social interactions. Markets can just feel so exposed, sometimes. We definitely just shoulder a lot of risk. I’m doing three markets a week right now, and sometimes that is nerve racking - just thinking about how many people I’m exposed to.

Sometimes it can be nerve wracking. I’m doing three markets a week right now. When all of the managers get back from market we usually work in pretty close proximity to unload the produce in our coolers. Of course, that had to change, but there is just a lot of anxiety. Outside of work, I’m just home.

I have a lot of mixed emotions. I’m really grateful to have a job. I’m really grateful for the vegetables. I’m grateful for the social interactions..just to be able to go out and see our customers. That’s essentially like my social life right now. So I’m really grateful for all those things. But there is just a certain level of anxiety that goes with it all too.

Tell me a little bit about how the Downtown Market, for example, has been going? All the markets are different right now. SFC runs the downtown market and they do a great job. And everything is done really well. Everyone has to wash their hands when they come in. Like, SFC staff actually wash people watch their hands and they have the entrances taped off so there is one entrance and one exit. Everything is just super controlled. They keep everyone waiting appropriately spaced out. And that all just feels really nice, like that’s comforting and it really helps the whole market feel safer.

What has been frustrating? I will say that I have been frustrated, occasionally, by some customers who aren’t necessarily following the rules, maybe don’t believe the perceived level of threat… but who are in turn putting me in uncomfortable situations. It’s easy to get frustrated. Maybe I’m already kinda an anxious person, but I want the general public to just practice safe habits for everyone's benefit. I’m not really worried about my health, but I don’t want us, as a community, to prolong this any more than we have to.

How did it feel to be an essential worker amid a pandemic? That’s great. That’s fantastic. It really reaffirmed the choice to participate in this local farm, to be engaged directly with our local food system. Cut out all the middle men, the supply chain, all these things that can just fall apart like we can see now. So yeah, I just feel really lucky to be in the position that I am. The weird times have ended up working out for this farm, and I’m really grateful . Despite my anxiety, I’m so glad to be working for the farm.

Sometime right around when HEB shelves started being emptied out, people were showing up at the markets in crazy numbers, panic shopping at the markets. That’s when the job changed - we were definitely providing something very essential for a lot of these people. This one lady in Dripping Springs came to our booth that week and just said, “I’ll take two of everything that you have.” The panic-shopping weeks were wild, and really changed sales. That week we sold almost 4 times as many vegetables as we normally do in Dripping Springs.

Those first weeks, especially, it felt really good to work for the farm. Most of the people who shopped those weeks I’ve seen before and have relationships with, but on those weeks, everyone just came out at once. So it was nice, for the people that I already know, we’re there for them, in that moment. That’s awesome.

Do you feel like the panic shopping is over? Yeah, that’s right. People aren’t panic shopping any more. Each market is different, the way they all function is so different. D- downtown, for example, sales aren’t really where they were pre-pandemic, but I think that’s just because with all of the procedures and with the way that we run our booth now, it all just takes so much longer. So, we’re not able to help as many customers in that market time frame. I feel like some of the bigger and busier markets they almost max out sometimes. It’s harder to sell that much more. I feel like some of the other markets, the sales have come down from the panic shopping, but they’re still higher than they were before the pandemic because there was more room for growth. It’s nice now, though, that people are used to the new procedures.

I was thinking about y’all so hard when I was cc’d on all these long email threads with Fawn and Krishna outlining all the new market procedures. And then, in those first weeks, it seemed like the procedures were changing and getting stricter every week. How did all that go? I couldn’t help but think about the mass confusion for customers that might ensue with the major change of not letting people in the booth and having to pack up people’s orders for them on the spot. I’m really thankful for all the really understanding customers. I’d say like 80% of people have been super awesome, have been thankful that we’re there, are coming to get what they need but are trying not to be a pain or hold up the line - not being picky with the veggies we give them. I’m so thankful for all those positive attitudes.

Dusty and Devon, pre-covid.

What’s it like talking to everyone through a mask? Do you wear a mask the whole time? I know a huge component of your job is talking to customers. I wear a proper mask at the market the whole time. Actually, Scott got some pictures of me, I was wearing a mask weeks before it was required. And since early February, Fawn and I have been putting out hand sanitizer at market from our personal stash… before any of this really blew up just because I heard “something” was going around. I felt pretty prepared. To answer your questions, it’s not fun working in a mask. I’m really not looking forward to the summer. Like the other week, the Dripping Springs market starts at 3 and recently it got up to 94 degrees, and where we’re set up, the sun is right in front of us. I’m not acclimated to the heat, and breathing in my hot breath the whole time didn’t help. I had to take several breaks away from the booth just to remove my mask so I could breath and I couldn’t help but think, like, “Oh my god, I’m going to pass out.” I’m not looking forward to the summer. It makes a hard job that much harder.

It is logistically hard to talk to people? Yeah, for sure. It’s hard for them to hear you, and it’s hard for you to hear them. None of the markets have music right now, and people are spaced out, so that does help a bit with the noise. But it’s pretty tricky. And then, we have to keep all the produce and price signs back away from customers so they won’t be tempted to touch it, they’re literally blocked by tables, and it’s far away so people have trouble seeing the produce and that involves a lot of explaining and walking them through what is what. So sometimes it feels like a lot of talking.

What has changed exactly about the physical setup of the market booth? When this first started, we had this rough blueprint of how our new booths should look, but all the markets are so different and have different variables to deal with. Past the blueprint, though, there was a lot we had to just work out on the spot. And I think everyone had to do that. Like even figuring out - can I wash the gloves that I’m wearing or do I have to change gloves? Just little things like that. I think everyone is just figuring this out as we go.. We all are… but everyone who is still working in some capacity in any field is having to adapt. I’m rambling. What was the question?

Ha! It’s okay. I was wondering what is different about the booth, physically. There are two big tables in the front to keep everyone out of the tent. That’s where the registers are. And then there are three large tables on the back of the tent where all the vegetables are spread out in one long line in a display. It’s kinda confusing because we separate who handles produce and who handles payment, and sometimes it’s hard to explain this system to customers when there is a line. So, if you're the payment-handler and someone tells you that they want a bag of lettuce, you have to explain why you can’t really help them and they have to wait for the “produce handler” to take their order. There is just a lot of more explaining, but most people are really understanding. Also, no tablecloths. All hard surfaces need to be wiped down/sanitized every hour. The farm is providing us with hand sanitizer, sanitizer spray for hard surfaces, and gloves, and we’re all bringing our own masks. I try to be overly prepared, especially when at markets, because I’m kinda just used to things going wrong.One week recently, the extra clean bandanna I brought was used as a rag for the hard surfaces because the rag was missing from my market bin.

Anything else you want to say about it’s been like for you, personally, to work for the farm during these weird times? If I had to sum it all up, it would be something like, pride and anxiety. Like yeah, I feel good about this, and yeah, I’m very anxious about this. It does feel good to be out and talk to people sometimes!

I’m sure - in addition to people needing food, obviously, so many people are going through so many things…. it’s just such a service to just be there for people.

Sometimes people come and it seems like they just want to talk. The voice in the back of my head is like thinking “hey, you’re not supposed to hang out. I need to help other customers.” Wait, you say that out loud? No, no… I can’t say that. I mean, they might live alone, this might be one of the few times they’ve been out all week.. I completely understand it.

Faith: CSA Office Manager

Whether you’re a new or long-time CSA Member, you’ve probably heard Faith’s name. She is all things-CSA. Faith manages all of the CSA routes, coordinates with delivery drivers, coordinates with CSA pickup locations, and answers the main farm email and phone… just to name a few. The size of our CSA has nearly doubled since the pandemic began, and Faith’s workload has certainly followed suit.



How’s it going? Did you get through those emails? How has the email been this week? It’s slowed down some, but still pretty steady. Eggs aren’t a problem any more? Well, not this week. We got a special extra 20 cases. I hope we get it again, but it’s not confirmed yet.

Obviously your job has changed since Covid. Tell me about that. [Lots of laughter. It’s changed a lot.] Well, it used to be a pretty even balance of different roles - customer service being one of those, driver staffing and logistics being another, and then getting to do things like work on special projects to help build out the CSA program itself. I was working on a few projects before this happened that just came to a dead stop. So, that’s been the major thing. My job has shifted almost entirely to customer service right now. Has Krishna been helping with driver logistics? Yeah, he and I have been doing that together. At first it was like, okay, we have all these extra routes. Let’s get people to sub in. And now the positions are semi-permanent and we’ve been able to get people on a weekly schedule to cover the new shifts. So we have almost two extra drivers every day. You’re kidding. Well, it kinda worked out, because as some of our part-time market staff were losing other jobs, we were able to give them more hours. I don’t really know what’s going to happen when that shifts back, there will be some other challenges to overcome, because we’ll still have those routes to fill, consistently.

How are you adjusting to the new workload? I remember working in the office when there were just days when there was so much going on and it felt so chaotic. Is that how everyday feels right now, or do you feel like you’ve settled into a new norm? Well not anymore, that first week.. No, the first two weeks, I felt like everything was on fire. I was working 12 hours a day every day just to keep the emails manageable for when we got back in the next morning. And you were helping with that, and Krishna was helping with that, so it was even more work than that. But that part has kinda dropped off. I feel like my work hours now have leveled out, but what I’m doing in those hours has changed.

Are you okay? I feel like I’ve followed the same trajectory. Those first two weeks were very difficult, mostly because I’m a major introvert, so to be on the phone and responding to other people, for that amount of time, that consistently, like I couldn't go home and feel like I got to a state of relaxation before I had to come back and do it again. There was never a recharge time. So, that was the most challenging part of it and that kind of bled into just some general stress. But now there is time to recover, and recharge, and put my head on straight-ish.

The CSA. What’s up? In terms of weekly boxes, it's more than doubled. And most of that was within that first five days before we decided to make a waitlist.

How are customers? I feel like we’ve had a similar journey. Those first weeks, understandably, it was really frantic and urgent calls and emails… people trying to figure out what we do, and can they sign up. All of the normal questions we get when someone signs up, but at a way more rapid pace.

Yeah, I hadn't really thought about the fact that it’s not only that we have so many new customers, but that the rate at which they’re signing up was so quick. It’s not like you’re just answering a few inquiries a day about the program, but you’re literally answering hundreds a day. Yeah, it’s a lot of orienting people and setting expectations for people. And then, in that first period, it was like - Okay, all of these pickup locations of ours have closed overnight. Okay. Where are we going to deliver the boxes now? And then communicating that to members, moving their accounts, or putting their shares on hold.. So all these little logistics for almost each customer, each member. And...what was the question? I don’t know.

Generally people are just asking the question, “How can I get produce.” And then I’m having to explain the options, and what they can and can not do, how we’re changing our operations with what was going on. And like everyone else, I was just trying to figure out what actually was going on, or what is going on, and then being able to communicate a clear answer. And still trying to be friendly when I know I have 40 voicemails to listen to.

When the whole country was shutting down and you realized you were essential and had to go to work everyday, what did that feel like? For me, it was like, I have this job to do. And I feel very grateful that I still had something where I could go in and do something that was helping everybody at a time when a lot of people were looking for anything. So, it didn’t really register that I was essential. It was like, I gotta go in at this time, do this much work, then go home, and I’m not going to do anything. I’m not going to go anywhere. I’m going to go back to the office. I’m going to do the work. I didn't really have time for the essential part to set it.

How did social distancing in the office go? Well, where my desk is, I don’t have to get close to anyone. A lot more hand sanitizer for sure... thanks to Zilker brewing.. They were cooking up batches.

How have the barn vibes been? Have they changed? Yeah, definitely. Everyone was very concerned. And everyone is taking all the precautions in their private life to keep everyone safe here. And just respecting the fact that what they do outside of work affects the whole operation. So yeah, everyone has been holding each other accountable and abiding by the rules.

I would imagine there was just a lot of general anxiety. Yeah, I mean, just because we were all working doesn’t mean we were immune to the anxiety that everyone around the country was feeling, but maybe even more because we were actually having to go to work and be around people.

Are there any new customer stories that stick out? I know we have a lot of newbies. There are so many people who have emailed or called in telling us their stories or situations, and talking about how our boxes are helping them. Especially elderly and immunocompromised folks. On the other hand, we heard from a lot of people who lost their jobs and needed to suspend their accounts.

How are all our delivery drivers? The stressful part about that is that all the routes have gotten longer and more intense. I am checking with everyone everyday about how they feel physically, and no one has expressed any concern in that regard... but I do worry about how long our drivers can keep working at this rate. But the extra drivers we have right now do help with that, and help spread the workload.

Do we have enough vehicles? We had to buy two, in addition to the ones we already had.

What did we buy? I’m just curious. Kinda just like our other vans, but they have backup cameras. Oh, wow!!! So, I think that was exciting for the drivers. Now everyone gets here early to make sure they get one of the new vans. Working radios? Oh yeah. They’re just a couple years old, 20k miles. Shiny. Those have gotta be painted some day. Some day. Oh yeah, related to painting the trucks- not having volunteers at the farm has been hard.

Anything else? The customers have been very understanding and very kind, which makes my job easier.

You have been doing such a good job at your job. It's been so amazing to see from afar to see how crazily y'all are adapting and changing and accommodating to all the new members. The new membership is hard to believe. It is.

When I was talking to Dusty, he said that mostly everyone has been nice, but then of course there are some folks frustrated with all the new processes. Yeah, it’s been interesting, I’m not sure if you want to include this, but there have been several customers who I've been talking to on the phone who just break down. And that also sorta helps me step out of the stress of  all the work I have to do. Like, that is someone...not that I don’t think of them as real.. but sometimes it can become just the next call… and then it’s like I can really be patient right now, and help this person. And then they usually email or call me back and apologize for breaking down. When you say breaking down, do you mean crying or getting mad? Oh yeah, like emotional crying. Full-on. That’s so sad. I know. I know. It’s intense. And they’re really apologetic. And I’m like, “It’s okay. It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize at all.” What are they breaking down about? Just random things about their CSA subscription? Yeah, usually, and that’s why the call and apologize because really it has nothing to do with their CSA, like ,maybe something is late, or they didn't’ get the veggie they were expecting, but usually when I hear back from them they’re just like “I’m sorry, I was having an incredibly difficult day or week and I just lost it… And I’m like, “I’ve been there! I know!”  Wow. Yeah, I hadn't really thought about that: you're on the phone all day with people who otherwise have been very isolated suddenly they’re like, “I’m talking to another human!” Well, yeah, I guess that’s the essential part. We’re providing this thing that people need and people have to have. It’s not like their delivery of new tennis shoes is late. They have to eat.

Well thanks Faith, geez, you’re really killin’ it. Just doing my job. Yeah, but your job is nuts right now. I used to work a bunch of film festivals, and actually, there is a part of me that kinda likes the urgency… to a point. Surprisingly everything here is running smoothly. But it’s just busy. The website is working, the vehicles are working. Knock on wood.

Andrew: CSA Packing Manager

Andrew is one of two CSA Packing Managers to ever work at JBG, and his heartfelt dedication to our Community Supported Agriculture program has never been more apparent than through this pandemic. Andrew is responsible for planning, packing, and running QC for our entire CSA Program. His physically and mentally taxing day starts before the sun rises, when he gathers the necessary harvest for the day’s CSA boxes. When hundreds of new customers came knocking on our door, our farm was only able to accept these new CSA Members because of Andrew’s “yes”. He has adapted his crew, the way they work, and his schedule to accommodate this increased demand, and we’re oh-so-thankful for it.



How are ya? How was your day? It was good. We’re all hanging in there. I got my stimulus check today, so that was pretty good. You know, Nikki isn’t able to do her job as a photographer right now, so it was definitely good to get that check.

I’m going to jump in. I wanted to touch base and see how your job has changed in the past couple of months. I know your job has changed a lot. Yeah, it’s been a trip. It’s been kinda a blur. One day Krishna just brought us all these letters that stated that we’re essential workers and you need to carry this in your car. But yeah, in terms of the CSA, we’ve more than doubled in size. And we had to make a lot of decisions on how we were going to accommodate that - so we had to make the decision to forego the veggie swapping feature right now just so we could provide veggies for as many people in the community as possible. We actually had to cap the signups, which will slowly open up again soon. It’s changed how we pack in the barn, obviously, It’s still a three person crew who packs all those boxes, it’s myself, Alexander, and Nick. Instead of coming in at 7, we come in at 5 in the morning now. Basically, we don’t stop packing until all the boxes are done so we can get the drivers out, because not only are our days really hectic now, but the driers all have like 10 hour routes and they need to get out as soon as possible. So, we’re coming in early.. That’s the only thing we can do.



How have you been adjusting to those earlier days? Well, you know, I always came in an hour earlier than the crew, so for me it’s just an hour earlier than when I usually got there at 6. But you know, the first week was really rough. But now, it’s normal. Getting off at 1 pm having done a full 8 hours is weird. There are parts of me that like it. It’s also just good for the quality of the boxes - we’re moving so much produce right now and we’re moving into the hottest part of the year, so it does nothing but help the whole operation. Are y’all packing boxes before it’s light outside? Oh yeah. Now we fold and sanitize the boxes the day before. Yeah, now, any boxes that are returned we now have to let them sit a week, and then we sanitize them, and then they’re used again. Good and Covid free. And then, like always, we bleach and sanitize the whole (CSA) line and all the tools. We’re usually packing the first by 530.

What’s your heaviest pack day now? This Friday we’re packing 650, and Tuesday it was about the same. That is so many boxes. I remember when it was a stressful day when we would have to pack over 300 boxes. Was there ever a moment when you were just like, “I don’t think we can do this.” Um, you know, we have so many great people. Like Tracy, for example, and I know that he always has my back… and if I ever expressed to him that I needed some more bodies in at 5 tomorrow morning, I know he would be right there, along with whoever else we needed to pitch in. Right now we’re just hitting our capacity in terms of vehicles and length of driver routes, but I think we can get the packing done. Unfortunately we aren’t allowing customers to do substitutions right now, and I know that’s a draw for some people, but we had to make that decision. You know, we’re in a pandemic right now. My focus is just on getting people the best veggies we can, and hopefully we’ll get the swaps back soon. But yeah, I would love to be able to pack a box for anyone who wants one, because I know there are still a lot of people who still are unsure of going to the grocery store, and we have an option to get them food in a potentially safer way.

Your attitude is amazing, Andrew, because I know how long your days have gotten these past couple of months. Well, I like the fact that as a business, we can just be here for people and maybe take a little stress off of people’s plate. But also, we didn’t want to just open the floodgates of people signing up because we didn’t know what we were capable of. We didn’t want to accept all the new members, and then end up hurting those people by not being able to deliver the product. We wanted to make sure that 1) we were able to hit our new numbers… which were always like dream numbers for us. Numbers that we hoped to hit in a few years. And we were forced to figure it out in a matter of like, two weeks. We’re working through our waitlist now. And have even talked about building a second CSA line. We gotta get those swaps back!

Weeks ago when the country shut down and everyone was asked to stay home, what did it feel like to realize you still had to go to work? Well, when the virus was really picking up and getting serious and the first Covid cases in Austin popped, we all did a lot of talking. You know, everyone in the barn is a small crew, and the vibes were kinda weird so we all had one really big meeting about how we were going to move forward safely. We knew the community was going to lose a lot of jobs, so there was a moment when we were all asking, “We’re okay, right?” And Krishna gave us the answer to that, but it’s a trip. To like, come home from work in the middle of the day and literally see no one else.

Has the pandemic changed how you’ve thought about working at JBG? I mean, when I started 6 years ago, it’s always been a source of pride where I work. I know for everyone who has worked here for a long time, we’re all proud of JBG. I hope it changes the community's habits, overall. I try to be conscious of where I spend my money, what businesses I support, and how they support the local community. It does feel good to know that I’m able to help especially in such a time of need. There are so many uncertain things, but it’s great that a local farm in Austin can provide this many people meals throughout the week. That’s rewarding in itself. It makes it worth it.

I agree. And you know, I’ve had those moments throughout the years. Like, when we work with AISD for their Farm Fridays, or when we help pack bags of produce over the summer for kids’ who can’t get food at school, there have always been those moments that make it worth it. And this is just another one of those moments, and why I think so many communities need to get in touch with their local agricultural sector.

Anything else you wanna say about what it’s been like to be working during this pandemic? I just wanna give a nod to all the people that I work with in the barn. We’re all so close knit there, and I just appreciate how aware everyone has been to do their part. You know, when we’re not at work, we’re at home. And we’re all making sure we’re following all the new safety procedures. Everyone has been doing such a good job of keeping morale high. Tunes are still playing loud.  I just wanna thank all the barn crew.. And the community, as well.

I’ve been wondering about vibes in the barn, wondering if everyone has been super stressed. In the beginning, it was really uncertain and there wasn’t that much information out there. We were all just worried. I was worried about not being able to see my family in Indiana. If I went to see my mom, would I have to lay low for three weeks? But I think that initial anxiety brought us together and made us stronger because we were all going through the same thing. And we were also able to get to work, get outside, and see each others' faces... have that community and communication with each other. And a lot of people don’t have that right now. So after the initial anxiety of what was happening simmered down, the circumstances brought us all together and we were like, “Okay, we’re in this. How can we do this? How can we make this giant shift?” And we just put our heads down and started gettin’ to it.

Mike Mo:

Mike has run the JBG Restaurant Sales department for 8 years, and throughout his tenure at the farm he’s seen a lot - massive crop failures, 1,000 pounds of rejected tomatoes, 500 cases of squash that need to be sold...yesterday… but of course, nothing could prepare him for the complete transformation of his entire customer base: Austin Restaurants.



How has your job changed since the pandemic? Well, obviously, being the person with the restaurant portion of the business.. that changed dramatically. In the matter of one press conference, which I happened to be watching live.

Did your heart drop when you saw the press conference and realized almost all of your customers were going to have to close their doors?. It did. But then I knew things were going to just change. People weren’t going to quit eating.. Just eating out. It took some days to figure out how it was going to change, exactly. But there was some initial shock with the news. Everything has worked out fine for the farm, but there was definitely some shock in those first days when we were just trying to get a grip on how things would change.

Restaurant business has obviously slowed. What about the grocery store accounts that you help with? At this point, grocery store sales have evened out a bit. At the beginning, it was pretty hectic trying to get them resupplied after everyone went panic shopping. Even though I’m the restaurant sales manager, I actually sell to other types of businesses too: catering companies, meal prep companies, and all of their business started to increase, so it has all started even out a bit.

I’ve been so inspired about how all the food businesses and restaurants are adapting. They’ve really done an incredible job. Almost immediately, or within a few days of when this all got started, I started to get emails from companies who realized “hey, people are still going to eat, how can we help with that?” And then just adapting their facilities, skill sets, and abilities to figure out how to feed people in a new way. A lot of them went to meal delivery, meal pickups. Emmer and Rye, for example, moved their businesses out of Fairgrounds to their other restaurants and started to offer lunch services from there. Places like Sifted have been doing lots of cool stuff, too. You know, Jason (of Yonder Way Farms out of Smithville) just had a crazy amount of demand. His business is outta control. I think he started a household delivery model through all of this. Our veggies are getting distributed through his meat delivery, too. So yeah, lots of places like that just upped their game to accommodate for people wanting to avoid grocery stores. Good Apple was kinda just getting started and they got a grant from the city to distribute to low income households, so they came to us to see if they could use our veggies. Catering companies, too, jumped on all this fast with meal kits and home delivery- they had a lot of infrastructure like delivery vehicles already in place.

What were things like in the office during all this? Well, I’m already pretty socially distanced in my little corner of the office. So, honestly, things didn’t change too much there. Everyone has been very conscious of their health and where they go (or don’t go) out of the office. We’re out in the open air, which is great.

How did it make you feel when you realized that your job was considered essential? For me, it reinforced something that’s always in the back of your mind. I mean, our mission is to feed people, and that didn’t change at all. The way we did it changed a bit, but the mission didn’t. To me, it was a good feeling. I don’t mean that to sound conceited, but it was nice to get some recognition of sorts that our job actually is essential. Totally, I feel the exact same way. Like, farms everywhere are finally getting a bit of recognition for the work they’re doing every day, forever. Pride is kinda a weird feeling to have when I know that people are suffering, hurting, and losing jobs, and even dying, but there has definitely been some feelings of pride in what I do mixed into all of this. I’ve always considered what we do essential, so it was just a nice reinforcement. I know. I’ve never been more proud to work for JBG. Certain parts of the food system are crumbling around us, but our model is still intact, and this all reinforces the fact that a direct farm to consumer model might be a better way to feed everyone. We’re still just chugging along. Yeah, and hats off to everyone that works here. We never really faltered too much. It was just like, “oh hey, we can’t do that” and then - boom, we solved that problem. We can’t deliver to that many houses? Okay, let’s get a new van. We just made it happen. It’s not quite business as usual in terms of distribution, but out in the fields - we’re still just focused on growing food, and we’re all just going to keep on truckin’. Yeah, crops are still in the field, people still need to eat. Let’s figure out how to do this. All in all, I’m proud of the farm. Really, really proud of the farm. And proud to be a part of the food system in Austin.

I feel the same way, Mike. It reminds me of all the feelings I had when I first started working in agriculture and was so idealistic, and all the reasons I chose to work in agriculture, and then over the years it can sometimes feel like a grind. And then, moments like this, reaffirms my initial decision to work in ag and the food system.I certainly don’t want to dismiss a global pandemic, but when you can adjust and adjust quickly and pretty much continue to do what you do in a pandemic, I find that pretty remarkable.

Any veggies you’re looking forward to? Oh we’re about to get to the time of year when you can just walk into the cooler and make a huge farm salad. It's awesome. You don’t need anything else - chop up some tomatoes, some cucumbers, some peppers, salt and pepper and olive oil. One of my favorite things to do during the summers.

I miss working in the office and having such easy access to all the veggies all the time. Yeah, I mean, that’s one personal thing that I realized during all this - with people all over the country panicking about losing their jobs, losing their insurance, and everyone is panicking about food, and I realized that I didn’t have that worry - the worry about not having food. I work at a farm, and there is so much food here. I’m grateful that it’s a worry that I didn’t have to have.

Lucas:

Lucas has been a delivery driver at JBG for over 6 years, and knows every Austin alley interstate turn-around. He wields our largest, 24 foot refrigerated truck, which he drives to the HEB Distribution Center in San Antonio. On other days, he sticks to local CSA deliveries, sometimes done in one of our hand-painted box trucks, and sometimes done in a periwinkle minivan. Like Dusty, our Farmers’ Market Manager, Lucas holds one of the few customer-facing positions at our job. He is delivering produce directly to grocery stores and homes alike, and the pandemic has definitely changed the way he operates.



Hey Lucas! What’s up? I miss ya. What are you doing? Waiting for our slot at distribution in San Antonio.

Classic! I’ve got some questions for the blog this week if you have a moment. I’m curious how your job has since the pandemic. Has your job changed at all since COVID? Yeah, it has.

How so? Well, HEB, for example, was sorta shut down for a few weeks. And you know, we all have to wear masks, and when in the warehouses we have to practice social distancing, not going into areas of the (HEB & Whole Foods) distribution warehouse that we’re used to going in. And a lot of the restaurants that I usually deliver to are closed. Most of the restaurants that are taking deliveries have a table setup outside and I can’t just walk into the cooler to deliver the veggies like I’m used to. So, I’m not really walking into the restaurants at all any more. Everything is going to different areas, at every space.

You know, just being on the road all day, I’m wearing gloves, keeping a huge bottle of sanitizer around and am sanitizing my hands all day, because I’m going to so many places.

When this first got started, was there any part of you that was scared or anxious about having to make deliveries all over town? Well, I don’t know. Not particularly. When it escalated really quickly, I just made sure to be doing what I needed to do and the best I can to keep everything and myself clean and sanitized. When this first started, at first I wasn’t sure how serious it was, but then of course it escalated really quickly. I try to be smart about it, but not paranoid. It has been frustrating about people’s perception that it’s just the elderly that need to be concerned, because I do know someone personally who was young and healthy who actually passed away.

Lucas and I eventually got back on track….

Yeah, I guess… it’s hard to find bathrooms. That’s kinda a funny thing. You know, when I’m driving around all day and out for 8 or 10 hours and am used to relying on gas stations or fast food stations for a quick bathroom break but now everything is locked down. I mean, it’s not a big deal, but it’s just a funny thing. Now I have to plan my route around what bathrooms I know are available.

Are you seeing less people on your routes, in general? Well, at restaurants, yeah. They’re all working on skeleton crews. But at the grocery stores, it seems like they’re hiring. Central Market and Wheatsville, there are always people there.

What about Traffic? Oh, that’s been great. No traffic. That’s pretty cool.

Is it starting to pick back up? Yeah, I’ve already noticed a few more cars on the road. Restaurants starting to open up, the CSA is off the chain.

Are you working more or less than usual? It’s probably going to balance out. The CSA days are pretty huge, but my wholesale days are pretty light. I’m doing a home delivery route on Friday now that is very long. We had to split the Friday route into four routes, and they’re all pretty long.

When the country was shutting down and everyone was being asked to say home and you realized your job was essential, what did that feel like? Well, I felt pretty fortunate that I was still working. My girlfriend works at a restaurant here, and lots of people’s hours got cut… her hours stayed the same, but some of the people whose hours got cut actually ended up making more money than her overall when considering the unemployment they were getting. So, there was a period where that was kinda a frustrating feeling for my girlfriend..and for me. The idea of having a stay-cation and having a break from work seemed kinda nice for a minute. But then, of course, we thought about it, and you know, it’s not just free money and it’s so nice to have job security. Who knows if some of these places are going to be able to reopen. So, I know it’s better this way. I feel fortunate.

Seeing the farm as an essential business, has this changed how you view your job at all? Well, I’ve always felt pretty good about working for the farm. Like it means something, you know? A lot of people in my family work similar jobs - truck drivers and work on ranches, and now is no different.

It’s wild how many people want our vegetables these days. Yeah, the customers have been super supportive and appreciative. When I’m doing the home delivery route and I leave the veggies on the porch, sometimes there is a little thank you note waiting for me. It’s cool being essential. It’s good to be loved.