Warm summer months are our cue to fire up the grill. The pandemic illuminated harsh working conditions that too many workers face in the conventional meat processing and packing industry. In response, co-op shoppers can support Community Foods producers like Kadejan and Blooming Prairie, while also trying new and emerging ones like Tree Range Farm. Purchases from these producers keeps money circulating in the local economy and strengthens local, small-scale businesses that support, rather than exploit human and natural resources. At Seward Co-op, you can learn more about producers who raise local livestock.

The pandemic has shocked the meat industry on a global scale. Hundreds of thousands of livestock were euthanized when many of the country’s largest processors and packers shut down without a place to take animals for processing. Those closures exposed the terrible working conditions in conventional meat plants and put pressure on small-scale, local meat processors to fill the gaps. Not only were workers subject to high noise levels, dangerous equipment, and wet floors; these facilities were set up for efficiency rather than social distancing. This, compounded with a CDC-recommended personal protective equipment shortage, led to significant labor and supply disruptions.

In rural communities across the country, momentum is growing to open more small-scale processors and to train butchers. Blue Ox Farm, outside of Wheeler, Wis., shared that the pandemic highlighted a need to rebuild local infrastructure in the upper Midwest to support a more resilient model. Farmer Lauren Langworthy said,

“We’d rather see a decentralized community-based model. We’re currently working with a small-scale processor, organizing with other farmers to help expand these businesses and grow new ones. Without consumers on the other end, these products and infrastructure go away. As we’ve seen, this is a lot more resilient than large scale structures.”

Seward Co-op staff also heard from local beef and pork farm Peterson Craftsman Meats. Farmer Andy Peterson shared how the pandemic highlighted the importance of our relationship. “The supply chain backed up and orders from restaurants stopped overnight. Seward Co-op allowed Peterson’s to keep going.”

Though a consolidated conventional meat industry may have made processing more efficient and meat cheap at conventional grocery stores, the pandemic underscored its brittle nature. Throughout the summer fill your Seward Co-op grocery cart with fresh, locally grown, and raised items from Community Foods producers.