Even before daylight, the line of cars stretched for half a mile in front of Sam S. Accursio and Sons Farms’ Homestead packing house.
On hand: Crates of freshly harvested zucchini, yellow squash, red tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, green beans, ten bucks a box.
Today, they moved an estimated six tons of produce.
“We were blown away,” says Sam Accursio, the grandson of the farmer who started the business with five acres in 1948 and grew to thousands of acres over the years. “We had a steady line for four hours.” Customers found out about the sale on social media and showed up to load their SUVs and trucks with vegetables for themselves, their neighbors and friends.
The farm typically sells their produce through distributors. But the abundance of produce in the final month of the growing season in South Florida, and no wholesale customers, was a double whammy for farmers like Accursio, who have still been picking as the coronavirus crisis spread, crippling the restaurant industry and limiting the ways customers shopped for food.
“We didn’t have anywhere for it to go,” says Accursio. So they decided to invite the public to come by their packing house, getting the word out via social media last weekend.
The response was so great that they hosted another sale this past weekend. This time, in addition to vine-ripe tomatoes and other vegetables, Florida blueberries were added to the list, 12 pints for $20.
“A farmer out of Mount Dora had 30,000 flats of blueberries they sent us,” he says. “They were a big hit.”
The pandemic has sent customer demand for fresh, locally grown produce instead of imports skyrocketing.
“I think I think this has really opened up eyes how big agriculture is here, and how important it is to rely on,” says Accursio. Ever since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into effect in 1994, opening the floodgates for cheap imports, farmers have been fighting with big grocery chains over cheap prices, he says.
Now, especially during a time of crisis, Accursio asks: “Why would you want food coming in from another country?”
WANT TO BUY PRODUCE?
Sam Accursio & Sons Farm is planning to continue their sale. Check their website to confirm dates and availability.
Next sale will be Sat., April 11
1225 NW 2nd St., Homestead 33030
If there were ever a time to buy South Florida-grown fruits and vegetables, this is it. Heirloom tomatoes, salads,...
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