Chris Wilkins and Nicole Lewis-Wilkins of Root Baking Co., Food Fight GA founding partner restaurant. Photo courtesy of Root Baking Co.
Today we're speaking with Chris Wilkins, who co-owns Root Baking Co. at Atlanta's Ponce City Market with his wife Nicole Lewis-Wilkins. Chris is the founding chef partner behind Food Fight GA (www.foodfightga.com/) and a part of our Farm to Restaurant program’s Farmer Champion campaign.
The mission of Food Fight GA is to serve Atlanta’s restaurant family by providing weekly farm-fresh produce boxes to former staff while preserving and stabilizing Georgia’s local food system. With funding from the Jamestown Charitable Foundation and Ponce City Market, this program is going beyond providing nourishment to those now unemployed in the restaurant community.
Packing Food Fight GA pick-ups. Photo Credit: Kate Blohm
We’re thrilled that in the past several weeks, we’ve on-boarded the Rocket Farm family of restaurants and are welcoming Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours to the Food Fight GA program!
To date, we’ve served over 1,340 restaurant workers with these weekly farm boxes.
Participating restaurants and participating Georgia Organics Farmer Champion partners, include: Root Baking Co. (Ponce City Market), Staplehouse (Edgewood), Star Provisions, Bacchanalia, Floataway Cafe (Westside), Miller Union (Midtown), The Deer and the Dove (Decatur), and Boccalupo (Inman Park).
At Food Fight GA participating restaurant Staplehouse. Photo Credit: Kate Blohm
As a crucial component of the program, Food Fight GA is also supporting the Georgia farmers that have been affected by COVID-19 by ordering directly from these farms who are existing sellers to the restaurants or members of the Georgia Organics Farm to Restaurant Cohort program, to supply the produce boxes, helping to mitigate potential lost revenue due to shifts in sales outlets. To date, we have driven over $41,000 in revenue to participating farms, which has helped recoup lost restaurant revenue.
Participating farms include, but are not limited to: Ellijay Mushrooms, Hickory Hill Farm, Levity Farms, Pinewood Springs Farm, Rodgers Greens & Roots Farm, Snapfinger Farm, West Ga. Farmers Cooperative, and Woodland Gardens.
To learn more, check out our conversation below for The Atlanta Foodcast with Chris Wilkins and visit FoodFightGA.com to find out more about the Food Fight GA initiative.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
To learn more about the Georgia Organics' Farm to Restaurant Program, visit: farmtorestaurant.georgiaorganics.org/.