Community Impact

March 23, 2020 | Stacey Stearns, UConn Extension

UConn Extension Offers Clearinghouse of Resources on Coronavirus Response

UConn Extension educators have assembled an online collection of resources on COVID-19 for farmers, businesses, and the general public.

A man in a woman in a farm office pause amidst empty cardboard boxes.

UConn Extension Educators are curating an online collection of resources for agriculture workers, businesses, and families. (Photo by BRANDEN EASTWOOD/AFP via Getty Images)

The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has produced unprecedented challenges in the UConn community and around the world. To provide assistance in guiding responses to the pandemic, UConn CAHNR Extension educators have curated online resources for our statewide audiences, including families, businesses, and agricultural producers.

Resources for all audiences include:

  • Food safety and cooking
  • Hand washing and sanitizers
  • Infection prevention
  • Financial perspective
  • Listings of open farms/farmers’ markets and school emergency meal distribution

Parents and families with children out of school can use the resources from our UConn 4-H program to provide new educational activities for youth. Activities available will keep youth engaged and learning and are appropriate for a variety of age groups.

A list of resources has been collected for Connecticut businesses. It is a clearinghouse of resources, and not an official site. Business owners can connect to the state resources we provide for official and legal advice.

Agricultural producers are still working on farms, in greenhouses and along the coast in Long Island Sound during the COVID-19 outbreak. Extension educators have developed resources for specific agricultural sectors, including fruit and vegetable farms, aquaculture, and nursery and landscape professionals. Links to important updates from the Connecticut Department of Agriculture also are available.

Our Extension educators are updating and adding resources regularly. Please visit http://bit.ly/COVID-19-Extension.

UConn CAHNR Extension has more than 100 years’ experience strengthening communities in Connecticut and beyond. Extension programs address the full range of issues set forth in CAHNR’s strategic initiatives:

  • Ensuring a vibrant and sustainable agricultural industry and food supply
  • Enhancing health and well-being locally, nationally, and globally
  • Designing sustainable landscapes across urban-rural interfaces
  • Advancing adaptation and resilience in a changing climate.

Programs delivered by Extension reach individuals, communities, and businesses in each of Connecticut’s 169 municipalities.