Fruit Picking Volunteers Rescue Community Farm from Corona-Crash

The corona pandemic almost bankrupted “Quail Hill Farm”, a community-supported farm on Long Island in the state of New York (USA): Revenues dropped, workers had to be let go. But hundreds of volunteers saved the oldest community farm in New York.

The farm also supplies food for school lunches and underprivileged families. “The farm feels very held by the community right now,” says Layton Guenther, Quail Hill’s director, who estimates that by the end of the season, volunteers will have donated over 1,200 hours to keep the farm running. “Many people have come out of the woodwork and said: ‘What can I do?’”

Forsaking its long tradition of free movement – people could drop by at any time to give a hand – Quail Hill had to put in place a schedule for safety reasons. Volunteers saw this rule as an opportunity to work alongside friends, to socialize whilst donating their time and effort to save the farm. Anybody wanting to help now has to be lucky and patient: There is a waiting list for volunteer slots!