How can you support all our farmers, food, wine, craft beverage producers and local travel destinations during this uncertain time? If you can’t travel locally, buy their products online! They rely on your business to keep food on their tables just like we rely on their businesses to literally keep food on OUR tables. Crowds are low, prices are right, the air is fresh and spirits are high! So take a drive, pick up curbside from a farm store or tasting room, and shop shop shop online! Take sound precautions, wash your hands, stay home if you’re ill and check the Centers For Disease Control (CDC) website for latest updates.
We will be highlighting specific ways and businesses you can support weekly right here at the EscapeMaker Blog. Check out below for a few simple ways to help the local gems we’ve all come to love so much…and check back next week for more ideas. In the meantime, follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for real-time updates and ideas to help support local businesses around us. We’re all in this together… support agritourism!
Shop Local: Supporting our local farmers and food system is more important than ever! Support the Callicoon Farmers Market, Catskills Food Hub and the Barryville Farmers Market in Sullivan Catskills. Eat Local. Shop Local. P.S. you can order this fantastic Market Tote from The Farmhouse Project.
Alpacas: For some fresh air and a smile, social distance with alpacas at Central New Jersey’s Hidden Spring Lavender in Montgomery, NJ.⠀
Sip Cider: Keep calm and cider on! Check out the new Nine Pine Cider Currant Hopped. Now available for a limited time only, this cider is fermented with red and black currants and citra hops. Cans of Currant Hopped are available for pick up (11-5pm), free delivery (518-449-9999), and free online shipping across NYS – check out Nine Pine’s Instagram for the latest updates.⠀
Eat Bread: Bread has long been a symbol of perseverance and generosity––not to mention essential nutrition (and joy!) for many of us. Thankfully Cafe D’Avignon at Essex Market in Manhattan is still getting daily deliveries of fresh loaves and pastries. Open Monday – Saturday from 8AM–2PM and Sunday from 10AM–3PM. Get yourself and your loved ones some of this comforting goodness!
Support a Farmer: When in doubt…eat well, shop fresh and support local farmers! Right now during this trying time, it is vitally important for markets to support their local farmers and producers by continuing to stay open, while keeping both their own personal health and the health of their communities in mind. Visit Fulton Stall Market for produce, pantry items, prepared food and more. Indoor store hours are Monday-Saturday 11:30-4:00pm. Social distancing protocols in place. ⠀
Make Future Travel Plans: With the travel restrictions on us, we can understand the disappointed wanderlust of having a long-awaited vacation postponed. Once you get the green light to travel again, we thought we’d give you a few ideas for local spots that have the international flavor or similar terrain. Believe it or not, the northeast region is full of hidden gems that elicit comparisons of Tuscan wine country, Swiss mountains, Dutch canals and more! Check out EscapeMaker’s “Top 5 Local Escape Swaps for your International Vacation When You Can Travel Again” to find a way to get your travel fix without having to go more than a few hours from New York City.
Cook: We can’t think of a better time for comforting and delicious homemade matzo ball soup! Whether you’ve been celebrating Passover, Easter or just the coming of spring, cooking and eating homemade food is simply good for the soul. Follow along at Bon Appetit Magazine while Adam Rapoport and Molly Baz make BA’s Best Matzo Ball Soup.⠀
Wine & Cheese: Need a few moments of respite from the global health crisis? Consider ordering local wine and cheese delivered to your home from New York’s Backyard Garden—the rolling vineyards and farms of Discover Central New Jersey, just an hour’s drive, or overnight delivery, from your doorstep. Check out guest post on EscapeMaker’s blog, “Central Jersey Wine & Cheese Delivered to your Doorstep,” for a list of ways to eat local, drink local and support local.
Prep Your Business: Hey, have you heard the news? No one is traveling. And we don’t know when they will get a green light to do so in the future. So what’s a local tourism promotion agency or chamber of commerce tasked with increasing visits and revenue to their travel partners within a specific geographic area to do? First, I would say, “don’t panic,” but you’ve tried that. Next, I would say, “stay positive,” but you’ve tried that too. Check out EscapeMaker’s “9 Ideas for Promoting Your Local Destination During Covid-19.” Your partners are counting on you! Show them some love!
Sunny Side Up: Check out North Wind Farms in Tivoli, NY (and at the Kingston Farmers Market) for fresh, free range eggs to kick off spring and fill your kitchens with delicious, home-cooked breakfasts. Their egg-laying chickens are totally free range, running around the farm doing whatever they want instead of being pasture raised. They hand collect eggs 2-3 times a day. After they are hand washed, they are boxed with all different sorts of color combos that everyone loves. The arucanas like to lay later in the day while the golden comets like to lay early morning.
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