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In Rural Virginia, Silver Linings to the COVID Cloud

RADIO IQ

The COVID pandemic is taking a toll on the nation’s economy.  Even small, rural communities have lost jobs and revenue as states imposed restrictions designed to keep the virus from spreading.  Until recently, Bath County, Virginia had no cases of coronavirus but reported the highest unemployment rate in the state – over 20%. Still locals are hopeful, and a creative spirit is spreading as they find ways to survive the economic downturn.

Cornelia and Will Hodges moved to Bath County seven years ago to take over his grandparents’ farm.  They raise sheep, chickens, pigs and apples for their cidery.  Like other farmers in the area, they were supplying local hotels and restaurants when the pandemic hit, so they decided to change course – to work with four other farms that would sell directly to customers.

“Basically it’s an online marketplace that we launched in May," says Cornelia. "A consumer can go online and order from five different farms: pork, chicken, eggs, produce, maple syrup and cider, and then they pick-up here every Friday.”

It might have taken years for the business they call Foodlore Provisions to evolve.

“We hit the ground running, and it felt good, because we just felt like we had an opportunity that we should take advantage of,”  Will explains.

“The way the world was going," Cornelia adds, "we just said, ‘Let’s just get it started and we’ll figure it out as we go!'"

And that momentum sparked another idea.

“We’ve got a beautiful spread out field, so we’re launching Foodlore Fridays.  We’ll have a market so you can buy things on site, and then we’ll have a bar set up where we’re pouring cider by the glass, and we’re giving the opportunity for a local chef to cook up some food and serve that here in an outdoor setting,” Cornelia says.

Until now, she notes, some locals would drive 50 miles to Staunton for groceries, but Foodlore provides high quality local food to Bath County.

Credit RadioIQ
Danny Cardwell and a team of volunteers provided important local news updates when COVID hit Bath County's economy.

Also seizing the day, WCHG , a group of stations serving this region with hyper-local news and music as diverse as the volunteers who keep this place on the air.

“I always say if you don’t like what’s playing just wait a minute,” says Cardwell, one of only two paid employees at the station in Warm Springs.

“For some people in our listening area it’s the sole sources of daily news and information," he continues. "There's no high-speed Internet service, no cell service, and so radio is sort of the frontier for localized information.”

The pandemic hit Virginia during this year’s spring fund drive, but the radio station stepped up with extensive coverage of social services available to a community in need, and listener donations were higher than ever. 

“It was amazing,” Cardwell recalls. “It was humbling to say the least.”

Likewise, subscriptions were up at the local newspaper – the Recorder, and farmer Cornelia Hodges says  a new energy came to Bath, as more young people fled New York, D.C. and other big city lockdowns.

“We’ve seen an influx of young people who are able to work remotely in Bath County, because their companies are not requiring them to come to their offices in big cities, so they’re here, and they’re starting to realize the beauty of a rural life – to be able to balance a career and living where maybe they want to live -- realizing that they can live this life and can make a difference.”

And there’s one other hopeful sign – a new business called  Speyside Bourbon Cooperage – a company making parts for whiskey barrels.  County Administrator Ashton Harrison says it’s going strong.

“They have added a second shift and they are still looking for employees.”

This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.

Sandy Hausman is Radio IQ's Charlottesville Bureau Chief
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