C. Oregon farmers struggle to adapt, plan for future amid restaurant closures

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Shannon Sbarra owns Volcano Veggies in Bend, which not only grows its own greens, but also works with other local farms to distribute locally grown food throughout Central Oregon.

Sbarra said Thursday that restaurant closures have had a major impact on the local lettuce market, as restaurants are a big buyer of the plant.

In fact, she said, sales dropped by 90 percent as eateries closed.

"You know, a lot of the farms never really recovered, in particular for lettuce sales this summers -- we're all just swimming in lettuce," Sharra said.

She said her business has partnered with other local farmers to sell direct to consumers, through a program that delivers local produce to homes.

And while the program has been largely successful in keeping local produce growers afloat, Sbarra said farmers are trying to determine how to plan for the future, as small farmers keeps an eye on the restaurant industry.

"If we're growing for restaurants, we're growing different things then a direct-to-consumer product," she said.

She said she hopes consumers will continue to buy direct as well, pointing out the role local farmers played during the pandemic.

"Any disruption in the food supply -- you know, our community still needs to eat, and local farms, we were here for everyone when the shelves were empty this spring," Sbarra said. "And we want to continue to be here for the community."

That's a sentiment agreed with by others in the local industry, like Jeremy Allen, who owns Five Kingdoms Farm.

"Local farming is a win-win for everybody," Allen said. "It keeps money in our local economy. It keeps us resilient to any food changes -- this whole pandemic has really shown us that there is no stability in the bigger system."