Yes, Fall is in the air. Many farmers markets are wrapping up their season soon. If your market is wrapping up the selling season, then that means planning for next year will be right around the corner.
COVID has given a new meaning to contactless at farmers markets. This season more than ever in the history of farmers’ markets challenges and changes have bombarded you. Rules for handling and managing farmers markets vary by each different state, different county, differences in so many aspects, farmers markets have had to adapt or face extinction! How frustrating since farmers markets delivery what is literally critical necessity at these times, locally grown healthy nutritious food. Many markets have adapted, but during this adaptation the “as we know it” of delivery at farmers markets has forever changed. Many markets are pre-selling online in order to make sure nothing is wasted at the contactless delivery point.
However, people are a creature of habit. We love our farmers markets, the selection, the smells, the freshness of the produce but mostly the human interactions. It’s hard to fathom never getting back to what it was before. But as with the changes in our seasons (weather), there are also changes in our seasons of life and business. We have learned things during this time. We have learned how to adapt, how to be creative and think outside the box (my favorite saying). We have seen farmers, markets and businesses in general become diverse in ways that they did not embrace before. We are a strong and resilient. We come together for the greater good of others to make old ways of doing things, new creative ways of moving forward. No one wanted this COVID. None of us asked for it.
Normally I don’t make our business blog post personal, but hey, this year has been personal for all of us. We too as a company have been thinking outside the box for 27 years, but never in my wildest imagination did I anticipate that when we were to launch a new company and product, that it would have such a great and timely impact for our farmers markets.
Healthy Ways® has been born. In many ways just as the pandemic has caused markets to have a rebirth, so have we.
What is Healthy Ways®?
The Healthy Ways app is designed to work with Android and iOS mobile phones, tablets and other devices with internet connectivity, and proprietary point of sale devices for managing and processing incentive card data, tracking data and generating reports on card transactions.
Healthy Ways program was designed to offer a secure, trackable, real-time, sustainable delivery method for matching SNAP (EBT Food Stamp) programs and other funded or government assistance programs that provide additional food assistance program to those in need. Examples of grant funding programs such as FINI, matching SNAP funds, HIP, or food prescription.
Prepping for 2021 season will be different. I encourage you all to stand strong. To know you have made a difference in your communities. To know that there are companies, such as MerchantSource® and Healthy Ways® that are continuing to think outside of the box to embrace changes that help us continue to “Deliver Service…Beyond Expectation®” for many years to come.
Best Wishes,
Sincerely,
Kim Lyons, President
MerchantSource®