Coronavirus shut down Miami’s farmers markets, but here’s how to get fresh local veggies

Nobody wants to venture into a busy grocery store these days if they don’t have to. But keeping fresh produce in the house is tough when online delivery is limited and Miami’s farmers markets are mostly shut down.

But the Urban Oasis Project has found a way to keep bringing veggies to the people during the coronavirus pandemic.

The nonprofit, which operates several of Miami’s farmers markets including the ones at Legion Park, Tropical Park and Surfside Market, is upping its game with delivery service and pop-up pick-up sites around town.

In states like California and New York, farmers markets have so far been deemed “essential businesses” and allowed to stay open in the wake of coronavirus measures. That’s simply not the case in Miami, where the cancellation of temporary event permits has shut down the markets.

“There’s a real shame there’s this blanket policy of shutting them all down,” says president and co-founder Art Friedrich of Urban Oasis Project. “It’s where a lot of people go to get the majority of their food. It’s outdoors and easy to adapt social distancing and other sanitary practices. And we serve SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] customers with food stamps, and we double the benefits so people can get twice as many vegetables. It’s our mission to make local, fresh food accessible and affordable for everyone. . . . We don’t believe healthy eating is just for a certain demographic. We believe it’s for everyone.”

So in addition to adding delivery service, Urban Oasis Project has introduced pre-orders and pickups. You visit the nonprofit’s website at www.urbanoasisproject.org, click on “order online/Covid response,” place your order and pre pay with Venmo, Cash App or the service of your choice. Then you choose a delivery or pickup option.

Recent pickup locations have included Legion Park and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, where in happier times Urban Oasis Project runs a Monday night farmers market. Now you pick up your produce at the theater’s valet parking drive through. It’s also a good idea to sign up for the Urban Oasis Project newsletter on the website, which will tell you where future pickups will be scheduled (and yes, you can pick up under Miami’s shelter in place order).

April marks the end of South Florida’s prime growing season, but Friedrich says you can still order plenty of fresh vegetables, including greens (kale, collard, mustard), zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, cucumbers, green beans and cherry tomatoes. Fruits like mamey and strawberries are in good supply, and there are also fresh herbs like basil, thyme and tarragon, all from local farms.

As we inch closer to summer, expect local lychees, mangoes and jackfruit. With Florida’s growing season limited in the summer, Urban Oasis supplements its offerings with produce from small farms outside Florida. All the produce is accordingly marked.

Friedrich says he hopes the current crisis helps us think about how we eat in new ways.

“I feel like it’s important for us to look to the future,” he says. “We’re seeing so much hardship and difficulty. But people are taking a pause and cooking a lot of their meals at home. . . . What do we want to take away from this moment? To remember to focus on our health, to pay attention to our health. We need to pay attention to it after this is over.”

This story was originally published March 24, 2020 at 4:19 PM.