During these challenging times many Santa Clara County residents are working to build food security for themselves, their families, and their communities. The recent change to non-essential business rules regarding plant nurseries is strictly limiting the ability of community food growing for now and for the future.  

Up until now we backyard farmers have been ordering soils, plant nutrition, supplies and plants and picking them up at nursery gates, having no contact with the employees. Now that the nurseries will be limited to stock on hand, and only able to deliver instead of offering pickup, we cannot rely on this source much longer. Additionally, spring is the season nurseries rely on to fund their operations for the rest of the year, and may not be able to continue operations if they can’t sell to customers.

Please reconsider your policy on the operations of these *essential* plant nurseries in our county, so we don’t lose the precious source of food plants, soils and knowledge for our food gardens provided by our local nurseries.