The decision by Governor Andrew Cuomo to shutter sleepaway camps in the State will not impact sales of kosher food this summer, according to kosher food experts.
Several of the camps have shifted their locations to such states as Pennsylvania and New Hampshire where sleepaway camps are permitted while others will function as day camps (with campers going home in the evenings) with some serving all three meals.
“Irrespective of how campers spend their days, they still will have to be fed,” was the reaction of one camp director.
While some distributors will be shipping less to the camps, the experts say, there will likely be more food sold at supermarkets and other kosher groceries to make up for the many campers who will be sleeping at home.
The industry is also looking at a sharply retracted travel season. “To the extent that there will be any travel, it will mostly be local with some destinations like Orlando being a favorite, “travel experts say.
What Covid-19 has done is to realign the kosher food industry this summer in many respects. Online sales are said to have increased by nearly 100% with curbside pickups and home delivery soaring. Social distancing has kept many away from stores.
Business was booming early in the Catskills with stores like Landau’s in South Fallsburg opening early this year and crowded even in the dace of the pandemic. Such is what the summer of 2020 is shaping up to be.
