(submitted photo/Brenda's Blue Ribbon Beef Facebook page)

By Ronald Quaroni

Birch Hills beef vendor adapting to COVID-19 demands

Apr 20, 2020 | 3:10 PM

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, some local farmers and producers are busy trying to get food from the farm to plate.

Increased output

Brenda Kernaleguen is the founder of Brenda’s Blue Ribbon Beef, a perennial vendor at the Prince Albert Farmer’s Market. At the very beginning of the pandemic she reached out to customers letting them know she was still available to fill orders.

“That resulted in a huge influx in orders. Now that we have packing plants closing in Alberta, we’re getting even more orders,” Kernaleguen told paNOW. “Our business has certainly picked up. We are thankful for the extra orders, but we are really feeling for the people that are finding it hard to get a hold of food at this particular time.”

While an increase in customer base is welcomed, being able to meet the demand and handling an increase of cattle in the corrals could be an issue.

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Kernaleguen explained they would annually send two semi-trucks of cows to processing plants in Alberta. Now customers using processing plants may not be able to send animals until late summer or fall according to Kernaleguen.

For now she’s relying on two area butcher shops in St. Brieux and Resource to help keep up with the boost of supply and demand.

Kernaleguen noted there seems to be a trend right now to source food locally and she hopes once COVID-19 passes people will continue to support local growers and producers.

“I know I’m biased but I think we have got a really good product. As a result of what’s happening, there are a lot more people finding out what our beef tastes like,” she said.

Her customer base has expanded from the Birch Hills and Prince Albert areas to also include Saskatoon and even Calgary, Alta.

Farmers Market

Local residents may have to wait longer than usual to get their hands on local goods.

According to President Bob Gill, the Prince Albert Farmers’ Market is not allowed to open until they receive confirmation from the Government of Saskatchewan.

“We’re in talks with the provincial government right now [for] when we can open. That’s the biggest thing, because our vendors have to know if they can still plant the same amounts of vegetables and produce the same things,” Gill told paNOW. “Until we know how much, are hands are tied. We’re at a standstill.”

Gill asked customers and vendors to be patient as the situation unfolds.

“It’s probably too early for [the provincial government] to make decisions because everything is day-to-day, week-to-week. We’ll just be winging it until they know what’s going on and then we’ll know,” Gill explained.

When opened, Gill predicts the Farmers’ Market will likely plan to implement new policies. These could include; social distancing, no touching policies, products being bagged as well as sanitation available to customers.

Until the market opens Brenda Kernaleguen hopes to continue to serve her customers directly through her Facebook page and ensure people have access to the food they need to feed their families.

“It’s going to get worse in the stores. With the packing plants shutting down, that is going to directly affect the amount of stuff that directly gets put out to the stores and retail vendors,” Kernaleguen said.

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Ron.quaroni@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @RonaldQuaroni