Inside the hydroponic greenhouse at Bialecki Farms in Preston Township near Lakewood, Amy Bialecki is bagging up greens. They're one of the farms in Wayne County participating in a new pilot program where food lockers help connect people with locally sourced food.
"It allows us to reach more people who can't get to the farmers markets that we're at, and it brings more variety to the community. with us here in particular, it's very rural, so we're limited on the number of stores that we have and the options that we have," said Bialecki.
There are three lockers across Wayne County, one at the Hawley Public Library, the Lakewood Fire Department, and the Waymart Borough office. Jenny Mann with Wayne Tomorrow says the lockers were placed in areas that lack access to grocery stores. "We have farmers markets, but they are only open during certain hours, and that doesn't work with everybody's schedule, so the food lockers are a great opportunity to place your order with the farmer."
"We have little general stores, that's really all that's in the rural communities. It tends to be higher prices, and you're not getting the fresh produce that you're going to see in the grocery stores," explained Bialecki.
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