Story by Corinne Kocher & Photos by Bailey Garrot of Shared Plates

When Sarah Thurman's mom visited her at the Athens Farmers Market, she shook her daughter on the shoulder and told her, "those are your people. Do not leave them."

Sarah laughs at the story, but agrees: "I flower in that environment. The people are so stinking good." 

Moving from California to Athens, Georgia, Sarah first started working at Full Moon Farm. After selling at the Athens Farmers Market (AFM) for a few seasons, Sarah "fell in love with the market", eventually becoming Market Manager in 2017.

Abigail Darwin, Community Coordinator for AFM, thinks Sarah's impact on the market has helped grow its reach. "Sarah has this willingness to meet people where they are... it helps people feel comfortable with their local farmer and their local market," she says.

As Market Manager, Sarah oversees FARM Rx, an Athens-run program that provides supplemental assistance for community members experiencing food insecurity, long considered an urgent need in the Athens community.

FARM Rx provides participants with a weekly stipend to spend on fruits and vegetables at the Athens Farmers Market ($1 per person in their family per day, and a minimum of $14 per week for an individual). FARM Rx also provides support for transportation to the market, and participants meet once a week for cooking demonstrations or general food education programs taught by SNAP-ed.

Each program cohort lasts for six months, but the effects extend long after graduation. Sarah explains, "while they are in the program, we're working on connecting them into the wider net of support within our community that exists to provide them with long-term food security."

Abigail adds that Sarah's work with the Athens Farmers Market helps make "food that is for everybody". "[FARM Rx] is not only increasing the accessibility of food, but also supporting our local farmers," says Abigail.

In 2019, Farm Rx serves anticipates serving 45 individuals and their families, which will total around 110 community members. 

"It's a vibrant, lovely program that stands to do great with proper support," Sarah says. "If I've learned anything from this program, it's that when affordability is taken off the table, people overwhelmingly choose fruits and vegetables".

At the Georgia Organics 2020 Conference in Athens, Sarah will be speaking about FARM Rx and about identifying resources within your community for program funding. Her talk will focus on helping smaller communities who are interested in developing similar community programming. And if you stop by the Athens Farmers Market during the conference, you'll most likely see Sarah's beaming face there as well, surrounded by the people she calls "so stinking good.”

Corinne Kocher and Bailey Garrot are the writer-photographer team behind Shared Plates, a blog exploring food in the world and how it gets to the table. Read all of their work at www.shared-plates.com and follow them on Instagram @sharedplatesatl.