A midcoast farmer who relies on the honor system for his stand is rethinking his strategy.
Ian Jerolmack, the owner of Stonecipher Farm in Bowdoinham, said someone is stealing money from his farm stand. And he’s not alone, with other area farms getting targeted as well.
Jerolmack, who started the stand during the pandemic, uses a bucket for cash and checks, and there’s a cash box for customers to make change when the stand is unattended.
The honor system works most of the time, and Jerolmack won’t let one bad apple ruin it for everyone else.
“It’s not out by the road, you’re here with us and we liked being able to keep showing that we feel as if this is almost a club or something. The support of the community has been great, and it so far outweighs the theft, that the theft is kind of inconsequential, honestly. And I almost hate to get any attention for it,” Jerolmack said.
He now checks the bucket and cash box more often to get the bigger bills out of it.
Jerolmack also is building a larger farm store to replace the stand, which will have something more like a cash register inside.
