Idaho reopens amid COVID fear and misconceptions

BOISE--Buying food in the time of COVID-19.

At Thomas Ferguson’s fruit stand on State Street in Boise business is booming. Despite the usual springtime shortages of produce, Ferguson’s has it all. And with partial openings in Idaho distancing and other precautions are in effect.

"We've been in this location for a couple of years, we were across the street a number of years. Its been a good summer for us, so far! Our clientele has been the neighborhood behind us off State Street. People come from Eagle and across the city. We sell to the public, a few restaurants will buy from us for a few things," said Ferguson.

Healthy, fresh produce is a lure for shoppers. Yet the Southeast Central District Health Department cautioned shoppers to wash their food, understandable but then warning shoppers to wash fruits and vegetables to get the pesticides off! That rankled farmers, Ferguson cleared up the misconception.

"Farmers don't just spray pesticides on crops for no reason. There should not be pesticides at all sitting on produce. The stuff that's in the fields is clean. Just wash 'em off, make sure you get all the dirt any soil on the produce," added Ferguson.

Fighting fear and misconceptions will be a battle for producers as Idaho finally re-opens, and now more than ever, it's time to buy local-grown food and products at places like Ferguson’s.