Many habits have changed during the pandemic, including the way people buy food. A small farmer in Orleans County spoke with Spectrum News 1 about what he's done to adapt to those changes.

It’s a typical day on the farm as they prepare vegetables for the market.

“We try to make sure we have just the right amount of greens for the market,” said Wilfred Moss Jr., operations manager at Moss Fresh Fruit and Vegetables in Albion.

The farmer says it’s one of their popular products. And it’s not just their greens - demand for his products, in general, are up.

“Because of the pandemic last year, a lot of organizations, church organizations, cooperatives have come to us or other farmers looking for a large quantity of produce to help out families, persons that are in need,” said Moss.

Data from the New York Farm Bureau gathered in 2020 during the pandemic shows 65% of respondents were negatively impacted. Thankfully, Moss Fresh Fruit and Vegetables is among fewer than 10% of farmers seeing a positive impact of the pandemic.

“It has provided a bit of uptick in business for us, which is good in several ways," said Moss. "To be able to help communities, especially people that are in need of produce, fresh produce.”

The small family farm also saw an increase in customers at the Rochester Public Market where they sell their produce.

“It’s important because mainly it gets it directly to the customers, which eliminates a lot of the overhead cost," Moss said. "So it actually helps us to keep our price down.”

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of reward too," said Carol Ciufo, a farmers market customer. "So I want to support them and all of the effort they put into it to bring the best vegetables and fruit that they can.”

“If you have farm-fresh food, you’re going to have those customers come back to you really, they want fresh stuff, they like fresh stuff," said Moss.

The farmers say customers buying directly from farmers and markets are getting more for their money and making a personal connection.

“It makes it more personal when you buy it right from the person that’s cultivating and planting, involved in getting that food to the table," Ciufo said.

Moss Fresh Fruit and Vegetables is proud of the work they do by providing fresh produce to the public.

“It’s satisfying, it’s appreciative that we can actually harvest and bring it directly to the customer,” said Moss.

Moss Fresh Fruit and Vegetables says they’re already looking ahead with planning for next season and possibly expanding operations.