Square Roots’ COVID-19 New York Forward Business Reopening Safety Plan

As a distributed farming company that operates in both Michigan and New York, we are committed to meeting and exceeding all safety guidelines set by federal, state, and local governments where we work. Our policies are coordinated by a centralized Safety Team based at our HQ in Brooklyn, New York, who work in close consultation with our local farm teams. The policies are regularly reviewed and renewed to reflect any updated government guidance and/or the latest industry standards.

As New York now takes steps to safely reopen, Governor Andrew Cuomo issued the NY Forward Plan, which provides guidelines for businesses under a phased reopening framework. Under these guidelines, businesses are required to develop safety plans to protect their employees and the community. Anyone can access Square Roots’ COVID-19 New York Forward Business Reopening Safety Plan here (updated 02/09/2021).

Back in mid-March, when sustained community spread of coronavirus first became obvious, our team rapidly reconfigured operations to provide heightened levels of people safety as well as food safety. These changes were in line with New York State's “on PAUSE” executive order.

As an agriculture and food production business growing crops for human consumption, certain Square Roots employees were designated as “Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers” by the US Department of Homeland Security as well as the New York State executive order. This designation has allowed those employees to move freely in order to get to work and perform essential duties—growing food and distributing that food to people who need it.

Since then, we have been following re-engineered workflows that ensure social distancing, while implementing numerous additional precautions to protect our teams and the wider community. You can find the full list of safety measures in Square Roots’ COVID-19 New York Forward Business Reopening Safety Plan (updated 02/09/2021).

Our farms will continue to operate through this pandemic, in line with Governor Cuomo’s executive orders and NY Forward Plan, to bring as much food to as many people as possible, while ensuring food-safety and people-safety are the top priorities.

Obviously, this situation is very fluid, and we are constantly assessing information to make the best decisions in line with our mission of “bringing local, real food to people in cities around the world by empowering next-gen leaders in urban farming.” If anything changes, as the full extent of the pandemic unfolds, we will do our best to provide transparency and clarity on this blog and through our social channels. But please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions or additional thoughts. (tobias@squarerootsgrow.com)

Stay safe!

Tobias Peggs
Square Roots CEO