By Robert Eshelman-Håkansson

Slaughterhouses, along with nursing homes and prisons, have emerged as major epicenters for the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 in the United States. The Co-op’s long-standing connections with meat and poultry producers, however, means anyone shopping at the store has access to suppliers that ensure better conditions not just for the animals that you consume but also for the people that work in the facilities that process meat and poultry.

Among the Co-op’s suppliers is Shenandoah Valley Organic (SVO), which produces the Farmer Focus brand of whole chickens and chicken parts. The company, founded in 2012 as a small farm with 300 chickens, emphasizes its organic process and humane handling of its birds. Today, the company works with hundreds of people, including those on dozens of family-owned farms in Virginia and West Virginia and employees in its production facility in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where, back in November, SVO employees reached two million consecutive hours without a lost workday injury.

SVO says its aim is to develop safer working conditions and sustainable methods, highlight the work ethic and lifestyle of farmers, and promote a non-competitive system that levels the playing field among producers—one that might entice young farmers to “join the game.”

Farmer Focus products are found in the Co-op’s freezer section. Bone-in thighs are $4.40/lb; legs are $3.76/lb

Check out this month’s recipe for an easy—and delicious—version of savory spiced chicken to stay sated and to support producers like SVO.