The huddles this week focused on updates for the PPP loans status, good news for farmers as USDA assistance is finally here, and innovative business pivoting ideas.

Talking Points

• PPP: Ran out of money but a bill is being worked on to increase small business funding by an additional $300B
  • Encouraged to go through a smaller bank, as their websites are up and have the processes in place better than big banks.
    • Amount going through smaller banks has been higher than the big banks. Big banks have had logistical issues and are not performing well. They also prioritized their large customers at the expense of small ones and are facing significant backlash as a result.
    • New stimulous bill adds funds to PPP and allocated funds for CDFI’s andFarm Credit institutions to participate.
• USDA Farm Assistance: $19 billion Coronavirus Farm Assistance Program | Full Details
  • USDA Purchase and Distribution – $3B:
    • USDA announced it is exercising authority under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to purchase and distribute up to $3 billion of agricultural products to those in need.
    • USDA will partner with regional and local distributors, whose workforce has been significantly impacted by the closure of many restaurants, hotels, and other food service entities, to purchase $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy, and meat products.
      • The grain gap here is being actively addressed by organizations like Artisan Grain Collaborative and Renewing the Countryside
    • USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will procure an estimated$100 million per month in fresh fruits and vegetables, $100 million per month in a variety of dairy products and $100 million per month in meat products to provide a pre-approved box of fresh produce, dairy, and meat products to food banks and other non-profits serving Americans in need.
    • USDA will issue a solicitation in the next two weeks to invite proposals from offerors to supply commodity boxes to non-profit organizations, identified by the offeror, on a mutually agreeable, recurringschedule. Wallace Center is leading webinar for Food Hubs on this program.
  • Direct Support to Farmers and Ranchers – $!6B:
    • Where pricing and market supply chains have been impacted
    • Assist with added adjustment and marketing costs
      • Single payment at $125K per commodity, maximum is $250K per individual or entity for losses this year through April 15 and 30% of expected for next two quarters
  • No guidance yet but check back during the 4.27.2020 Huddle for more info
• We discussed the best practices that the FDA has identified for food processing facilities to follow during Covid. Meat facilities seem particularly vulnerable, but other smaller food processing facilities have similar risk factors. See FDA best practice guide for Retail Food Services, Restaurants, and Food Pick-Up/Delivery | Fact Sheet

Trends

• Curbside Pickup: Talk of closing grocery stores to the public and only offering pick- up/delivery. If this were to happen, it wouldn’t be as big of a leap for people to just order from a farmer for pickup/home delivery. Especially since grocers don’t have enough people to pick grocery orders for 100% curbside pickup, which will create bottlenecks such as long wait times.
• Brands: Anything not considered essential is not being sold, not being restocked (also stores don’t have enough help to restock all products), and distributors are not prioritizing them in their shipments.
• Hoarding is slowing down! Finally, people have enough toilet paper.
  • Are new habits going to come out of this? Less shopping trips per week and instead big shops less frequently? Too soon to tell…
• Examples of successful business pivoting
  • Interest in Online Wine and Liquor Auctions is Booming. Created an experiential event. Not getting rid of the online model post-COVID. Find your business’s opportunity to do this!
  • High-end products should not be deterred from being innovative! High dollar meals are going out for delivery and curbside pickup. People want to get out of the bunker mentality and start eating good food again. Here is an extreme example!
• Think Ahead in Your Supply Chain: It is important to continually audit your supply chain, identify vulnerable points, and respond to them.
  • Meat Processing: Big plants are continuing to close due to coronavirus. Smithfield closed 3 plants (SD first, then WI & MS) Tyson closed one plant in IA and is urged to close another. Encourage meat processors to incorporate redundancy in their slaughter chain and to work with multiple processors.
  • Dry ice: We have a massive decrease in the ability to make it. CO2 comes from the ethanol fuel industry and there is a supply disruption here. This will force food companies and farms that are shipping products that need to stay cold to find other shipping solutions, which won’t be easy or obvious….

Tips

• Listen to these Edible-Alpha® podcasts:
  • How the Fair Food Fund’s Patient Capital Yields Great Impact
  • Livingston Food Resource Center model on Transforming A Food Pantry Into an Engine for Rural Prosperity
• Create your 13 week rolling cash flow to get a handle on your cash. We have a template and a free on-demand course to help you do this.
• New England Food System Resilience Fund – This may be a useful reference as stakeholders in other regions communicate with funders re: response strategyImmediate Next Steps
• Read the FDA best practice guide for Retail Food Services, Restaurants, and Food Pick- Up/Delivery
• Watch FFI’s webinar and use our template to complete a 13-week rolling cash flow
• Incorporate redundancy in meat processing slaughter chain
• Meat producers start working with multiple processors
• Farmers, apply for PPP now
• Bring news and resources to the next meeting to share