Chipotle Mexican Grill has launched a digital initiative backed by Shopify to create the Chipotle Virtual Farmer's Market. It will allow farmers in the restaurant company's supply chain to launch enhanced versions of their own e-commerce sites.

The initiative will help these farmers sell meat, dairy, grain products and other items directly to consumers across the U.S. Chipotle will help the farmers develop the sites by covering the cost of hosting fees on Shopify for two years and support the design and development of the digital storefronts.

The initiative comes as the COVID-19 pandemic has led to massive disruptions in the nation's food supply chain, forcing farmers nationwide to destroy fresh produce and in some cases livestock due to decreased food demand from schools, restaurants and hotels.

"It can be intimidating for many family farms to change the way they do business, so we're giving our suppliers the right tools and resources to successfully launch improved e-commerce platforms," Chris Brandt, chief marketing officer at Chipotle, said in a company release.

To launch the program, four Chipotle suppliers will sell through their own digital storefronts: Niman Ranch, which sells pork for carnitas and beef for steak and barbacoa; Petaluma Creamery, which sells Monterey Jack for shredded cheese; Meister Cheese, which sells Monterey Jack for shredded cheese and Queso Blanco and McKaskle Family Farm, which sells organic brown and white rice.

Partnering with Grubhub

Chipotle said Monday that had created a partnership with Grubhub to expand its delivery footprint in the U.S. market. Chipotle customers can now make digital food orders through the Grubhub mobile app.

Chipotle has become increasingly dependent on mobile delivery and pickup orders amid government mandated stay-at-home orders during the pandemic, as digital orders surged 81%.