Georgia Organics Launches Farmer Champion Campaign

Gunshow Chef de Cuisine Chris McCord puts his Farmer Champion decal in place.

Gunshow Chef de Cuisine Chris McCord puts his Farmer Champion decal in place.

By Jeff Romig

“Farm to table” should be a commitment, not a marketing gimmick.

That’s why Georgia Organics launched its Farmer Champion campaign to quantify “farm to table” through food purchasing percentages, to create transparency around the marketing of “farm to table” and to recognize Georgia restaurants that consistently invest in Georgia farmers as part of their purchasing culture.

“We all tend to follow trends in this industry like, ‘Oh man, I really want to do what they’re doing’ or ‘they do this great,’” said Bruce Logue, owner and chef of Boccalupo in Inman Park. “These decals let me see that maybe I need to do a little more or realize that I want to be higher up on that list. We’re all kind of competitive, and this is an opportunity to put your money where your mouth is. If nothing else, this campaign makes you think and look at what you’re doing, and that’s a good thing.”

The Farmer Champion decals are awarded to participating restaurants that meet a minimum baseline of 5 percent of their total food budget on locally sourced foods—that is, foods that are sourced from within the state of Georgia. Tiered decals that will be distributed starting in 2020 showcase restaurants that dedicate a separate percentage to Georgia products that are Certified Organic under the USDA.

“At the Wrecking Bar Brewpub, we have always tried to source locally and organically whenever possible. First and foremost, it’s nice to see what that commitment looks like on paper and when it’s quantified compared to our peers,” says Stevenson Rosslow, owner and general manager of Wrecking Bar Brewpub and member of the campaign’s Chef Advisory Board.

The tiered decals are given out once a year, and restaurants can receive the partner decal immediately once they begin participating in the program and hit 5 percent in local sourcing.

The tiers are:

  •  Gold Tier:                       5% Certified Organic (purchased in-state) + 20% local

  • Silver Tier:                       3% Certified Organic (purchased in-state) + 20% local

  • Bronze Tier:                    1% Certified Organic (purchased in-state) + 10% local

  • Partner Tier:                   5% Local

In December 2018, Georgia Organics hired Lauren Cox, the longtime farmer at Woodland Gardens in Athens, to create a program to provide farmers with tools to access the restaurant market in Atlanta, while engaging with chefs to build a metric that would recognize the chefs and restaurants that are committed to buying from local and organic farms. The Farmer Champion campaign and the Farm to Restaurant program grew from these goals.

Chris Edwards farms at Mayflor Farms in Stockbridge and is working to move more into restaurant sales through the Farm to Restaurant program.

“To be honest, there are real barriers to accessing the restaurant market,” Edwards said. “It’s understanding the root causes that will help us to overcome them.”

“The goal of the Farm to Restaurant program and the Farmer Champion campaign is to give farmers from around the state increased access to restaurants as a market and revenue stream,” Cox said. “Restaurants have been on the forefront of a return to local purchasing and seasonal eating. They have the power to influence how people eat, whether they are dining out or cooking at home. There is a group of committed chefs in Atlanta that have worked to increase awareness of this type of eating over the years, now is the time to highlight that work and grow the movement to support Georgia farmers.”

Twenty farmers were selected for the 2019 cohort, including produce farmers, goat and rabbit producers, the first certified organic beef producer in Georgia and a certified organic grain producer. Five of these farms are involved in cooperatives, seven are USDA certified organic and many currently sell to Atlanta-area farmers markets. 

For the duration of 2019, Georgia Organics will support them with business training, field management, pricing and communication strategies, as well as organic certification cost share. As part of the campaign, Georgia Organics hosted a speed-dating style mixer at Wrecking Bar Brewpub in Little Five Points, where members of the farmer cohort mingled with chefs who are already buying local and organic or are interested in doing so.

“There are such small margins for the success and failure of a restaurant,” Cox said. “In a world that pressures you to cut costs and do it the wrong way, these people are doing it right, so we should pay attention. We want to acknowledge people who are doing what they can within their business models, because every bit counts. We’ll also be featuring people who are going above and beyond, whether it’s the chef who participated in the most community events, worked with the most organic produce or had the highest overall percentage of local purchasing that year.”

The Farmer Champion campaign recently added partner restaurants in Macon and Athens, and continues to engage potential partner restaurants across the state. To date, 14 restaurants in Georgia have joined the program as Farmer Champion partners.

The fast-growing list of Farmer Champion restaurants currently includes:

Georgia diners and consumers interested in dining at restaurants that serve locally sourced and Certified Organic foods can follow Georgia Organics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for updates on the Farmer Champion program, including new partners, success stories, and even recipes.

In case you missed it, Georgia Organics procurement coordinator Lauren Cox was featured on ATL Foodcast on Monday, Nov. 4, where she talked about all things Farmer Champion with BoccaLupo chef Bruce Logue. Click here to listen to the episode.

Jeff Romig is the Fundraising & Communications Director for Georgia Organics. He can be reached at jeff@georgiaorganics.org.