Source:NCDA&CS, 4/13/20
 
 Editor's Note:  The memo and notice are at the bottom of the story.

We have contacted grocery retailers in North Carolina to notify them of the attached notice and memo from Commissioner Troxler.  Please forward this communication to your farmers who could benefit from sending a farm worker to purchase groceries for many workers within the camps.  The intent of this memo is to allow them to purchase for the needs of other workers and limiting exposure during these times.  

 The farmer or farm manager should complete and sign the notice for the worker who is designated to do the shopping.  Note that it may take several days for the retail outlets to filter this information down to individual stores. However, we hope this will help to alleviate some of the issues with purchasing certain items that stores are limiting.

Please see below the email sent out to grocery retailers.

Official communication to all retail grocers in North Carolina:

“The North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services in support of our farm workers across the state, asks our retail grocery partners to be aware of our farm workers who may need to purchase products in sufficient quantities that exceed limits that are in place. The attached letters from Commission Troxler outline the situation and show the official authorization form that a farm worker will need to provide your store employee at the time of purchase. Thank you for your assistance and support of NC agriculture and our farm labor force.”

MEMO TO: NC RETAIL GROCERIES

FROM: STEVE TROXLER, COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE

RE: AGRICULTURAL WORKER BULK GROCERY PURCHASES

DATE: APRIL 9, 2020

I want to thank you for what you do every day for the citizens of North Carolina and to ask for your help. Agriculture and grocery stores of course go hand in hand. As such, I hope I can count on your collaboration as we meet head on our current challenge of serving North Carolina amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

To help facilitate the movement of groceries from the store to the workers on a farm, I would like for each farm to be able to designate one or more person(s) to do the grocery shopping for the temporary agricultural workers at that farm. This will help reduce the number of people at the store and hopefully help facilitate workers staying at home. And so, I am sending out a NOTICE OF TEMPORARY AGRICULTURAL WORKER BULK PURCHASE AUTHORIZATION that can be used by farms to allow for a more efficient movement of groceries while also aligning with the measures put in place to guard against the spread of COVID-19, such as social distancing. Having just a few designated person(s) shopping for the temporary farm worker population will prevent each worker from having to physically visit the store, thus cutting down on the potential for the spread of the virus.

The designated employee(s) will be instructed to present the authorization at the cash register at checkout in order to verify that the employee(s) is/are designated by the farm/business to purchase groceries for the other temporary agricultural workers on the farm. It will of course be necessary for this designated employee to purchase groceries in sufficient quantities given the number of individuals he/she is shopping for, which could be in excess of individual limitations put in place by a particular grocery store (example: two gallons of milk per customer).

I believe this measure will go a long way in promoting individuals to stay at home, helping slow the spread of the virus, and thus keeping our farms operational. The health of our agricultural workers is of utmost importance at a time like this in order to ensure a safe and abundant food supply. If you have any questions, please contact NCDA&CS at 919-707-3000.

NOTICE OF TEMPORARY AGRICULTURAL WORKER BULK PURCHASE AUTHORIZATION

The Commissioner of Agriculture hereby gives notice that _____________________, an employee of _______________________ (farm, business name), is an employee designated by his/her employer to purchase groceries in bulk for the temporary agricultural worker population at the farm/business. The number of temporary workers at the farm/business that this employee is shopping for is _______. As such, this employee may purchase groceries in sufficient amounts given the number of individuals this employee is shopping for regardless of any limitations set by the grocery store chain for an individual (Example: two gallons of milk per person). This Authorization promotes social distancing by allowing one individual to purchase for the temporary agricultural worker population at the farm/business.

Verification by Farm or Business: _______________________________ ______________ Title (CEO, Owner, etc.): Date For verification or inquiries regarding this designation, please contact the above representative at _________________ (Phone Number).

By his signature, the Commissioner of Agriculture hereby makes this notification on this the __9th_____day of ___April______, 2020. 

_________________________________________ Steve Troxler, NC Commissioner of Agriculture