The latest recipients of harvested produce from Homestead fields? More than 87,000 inmates in the Florida Department of Corrections.

Nearly 200 tons of locally grown squash, green beans, cucumbers and lettuce from Sam Accursio & Sons Farm of Homestead and TKM Bengard Farms of Belle Glade will be handled and distributed by 5 Brothers Produce Company of Florida City directly to FDC. This collaborative effort will serve as a future model as more producers work together and come up with new solutions to address supply chain disruptions during the pandemic.

Florida producers estimate that at least 10 million tomatoes are going unpicked this year, while hundreds of thousands have already gone unused or plowed back into the soil. Many ranchers are also unable to break even on their livestock and are looking for alternative markets.

Tyra Phillips, executive director of Dade County Farm Bureau, is looking forward to more public-private partnerships emerging as producers seek opportunities to update their supply chains for resiliency.

State agriculture commissioner Nikki Fried has advised that all producers interested in competing for public contracts to register with the State’s eProcurement platform “ MyFloridaMarketPlace.”