Now it’s easier than ever to eat local foods, supporting local merchants.
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Billy Smith and Chris Coates dump oysters freshly pulled from the Rappahannock river onto the sorting table on the Guinea Girl.
Finally, a way to find local seafood—fresh off the boat—without having to know a guy who knows a guy who knows an oysterman. The new Bay Direct app makes it simple to locate the freshest blue crabs, oysters, and rockfish along with local produce like sweet corn, peaches, and apples, directly from the source.
The GPS-powered app was launched after watermen and farmers saw an abrupt halt in restaurant orders during the pandemic. “Think of the Bay Direct app as a dating app,” says Lewie Lawrence, Middle Peninsula District Planning Commission’s executive director, which spearheaded the program with funding from GO Virginia, a statewide economic development initiative. It’s all about playing matchmaker between buyers and suppliers—though you might just find more than one match for your appetite. Visit BayDirectVa.com to download the app.
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Early morning at Cappahosic Oysters on the York River.
This article originally appeared in the October 2021 issue.
