2021 Barbara Petit Pollinator Award Winners: Brennan & Gwendolyn Washington of Phoenix Gardens

By Mary Elizabeth Kidd

Photos by Kayla Williams

The Barbara Petit Pollinator Award is named in honor of Barbara Petit, a remarkable community food advocate who served as Georgia Organics' past president. This award acknowledges individuals with exceptional success advancing Georgia Organics' mission of "Good Food for All" by spreading—pollinating—the movement throughout community life. 

This year's Barbara Petit Pollinator Award winners are 

Brennan and Gwendolyn Washington of Phoenix Gardens in Lawrenceville! 

Celebrate Brennan & Gwendolyn - Thursday, May 27. Tix: georgiaorganics.org/awards.

The Washingtons are successful farmers and icons of ag leadership in Georgia and the Southeast; they offer an urban agriculture education-focused property that has indeed risen from the ashes and thrives, impacting countless farmers across the Southeast. 

Listen to the Washingtons on Georgia Organics' podcast the Atlanta Foodcast!

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"We are 'accidental' farmers."

Theirs is a story of chance—fate, more likely—persistence, and resilience. And through it all, spreading and deepening the roots of sustainable farming in Georgia and beyond.

Brennan and Gwendolyn Washington are both natives of the northeast with successful technology and customer service careers, respectively. They began as avid gardeners, even before relocating to Georgia, growing food using natural methods to feed themselves. 

Soon enough, the garden began producing more than they could eat, Gwendolyn discovered the Lawrenceville Farmers Market, and the rest, as they say, is history. Well, "that, and Gwendolyn insisted that my gardening activities would have to start paying for themselves," Brennan adds. 

Today, Phoenix Gardens is a thriving 2.5-acre diversified farm growing a wide variety of vegetables, fruit, and herbs and keeping a flock of laying hens. They participate in the Norcross and Tucker Farmers Markets and offer their own online market (phoenixgardens.net/).

But growing and selling beautiful food is just the tip of the iceberg for this farming couple. In their 15+ years of farming, they have had a strong influence in guiding the security and future of sustainable agriculture and have launched countless new farms along the way.

As a "pollinator" of natural food-growing practices, Brennan's role with Southern SARE (southern.sare.org/) extends the impact of their expertise and resource sharing far beyond Georgia. At Southern SARE, Brennan serves as the 1890 Land Grant Liaison and Limited-Resource/Minority Farmer Outreach Specialist. In Georgia, Phoenix Gardens is often a training ground for HABESHA cohorts and a whole host of other prospective and current farmers.

Photos by Kayla Williams

What factors have gotten them this far in their impressive farming career? "Resiliency, Passion and Love." 

As a farming couple, they cite individual characteristics that meld to form a successful partnership: "Brennan has an easy-going, patient manner. He also likes to try new things and tinker with new ways of doing things. Gwendolyn is a natural people person. We call her our social butterfly and those qualities have made her really good with our customers."

Our conversation with Brennan and Gwendolyn about the heart of their work as farmers and mentors follows:

How did you select 'Phoenix Gardens' as your farm name?

Shortly after we moved into our home, we received a notice from Gwinnett County indicating that our property may be seized for a road project. After an almost agonizing year of waiting, we received a notification saying our property wouldn't be needed. Gwendolyn and I said we rose from the ashes like the phoenix and Phoenix Gardens was formed. Our name took on a deeper meeting when our home was destroyed by a fire in 2015.

Photos by Kayla Williams

What is your WHY in farming? What motivates you to continue doing what you do?

Well, first of all, we enjoy it. We have a passion for it and will continue to do it as long as we can physically. We are also deeply motivated to be a resource for new farmers, especially Black and Brown farmers. If the renewed interest in local foods continues, as we believe it will, we need to nurture new farmers to meet demand and build local communities.

What are some of the hurdles you've overcome in your career? 

We've had to overcome quite a few challenges over the years. Aside from the road-building issues and the fire detailed earlier, we have had to deal with some health issues that severely hampered our ability to work the farm. Brennan had to undergo some major back surgery about ten years ago that brought us to the brink of financial ruin. The farm has presented us with very few challenges. It's been the personal issues that everyone has to deal with that have presented us with our greatest challenges as they often become aggravated when you operate a farm.  

How has mentorship factored into your work, and who are some folks you have mentored who have continued to farm? 

We have been both mentees and mentors over the past 16 years. We are graduates of the Georgia Organics Mentoring Program, and Brennan also played a role in helping to mentor farmers. Among the farmers we have helped: Jamila Norman of Patchwork City farms, Andrea Ness of Aluma Farms, Keisha and Warren Cameron of High Hog Farms, and Monica Booker of Keeyah Gardens. We've also worked closely with HABESHA Works to put on training programs for their cohorts and host them at our farm. Through his work with Southern SARE, Brennan has helped countless farmers and organizations all across the Southeast and the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to help grow farmers and local food systems.

Did anyone mentor or inspire you in farming? 

Aside from the Georgia Organics Mentoring Program, we have benefitted immensely from the Southern University Small Farm Agricultural Leadership Program. This was a two-year experience that helped broaden our knowledge of agriculture in the Southeast and connected us with many invaluable people in helping us throughout our farming career. Equally valuable were the state and regional conferences such as those put on by Georgia Organics and the Sustainable Agriculture Working Group.

What do you hope your lasting impact will be? 

We hope that when people think of Phoenix Gardens and Brennan and Gwendolyn, they will say they were solid and helpful supporters. Not only did they grow healthy food, but they also encouraged and helped other farmers to do the same. We hope we leave behind a legacy of support and outreach that people found valuable and hopefully encourages them to do the same. 

What's next for the farm and y'all? 

Well, we're getting close to retirement, so our plan is to transition the farm to more of an educational model and to figure out to bring in some farmers to run the operation once we head out to pasture. 

Of course, we'll continue to work on important projects, among them helping to develop a new version of a southeastern sustainable agriculture regional conference increasing agricultural ties between farmers of color on the mainland and US territories, and continuing to ensure that farmers have access to the resources that can help them be sustainable for some time. 

What does winning this award mean to you? 

It means a lot to us. We knew and worked with Barbara Petit and appreciated her passion for local food systems. While we have done a lot of our work in the shadows, it is nice to get some recognition for the work we have done, especially Gwendolyn. We have been around as long as Truly Living Well and Metro Atlanta Urban Farm, yet we are often left out of conversations when it comes to local food system work in Atlanta and Georgia, so it's nice to have some recognition tossed our way. Winning this award means that we have helped to advance local food system work not only in Atlanta but beyond as well, and we believe that this award will help us to continue to advance this work.

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Want to help us honor Chris, Jenny, Gwendolyn, and Brennan? You can make a contribution in their name for our award honorariums.

Visit: www.georgiaorganics.org/donate

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Join us online to meet and celebrate Brennan and Gwendolyn Washington on Thursday, May 27, at 6 p.m. This event is FREE for Georgia Organics members. To learn more and register, visit georgiaorganics.org/awards. 

Listen to the Washingtons on Georgia Organics' podcast the Atlanta Foodcast!

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Mary Elizabeth Kidd is the Director of Communications at Georgia Organics. To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit www.georgiaorganics.org and follow us on Instagram @GeorgiaOrganics, Twitter @GeorgiaOrganics, and at www.Facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics.

Good Food for Thought: Spring Forward - Planning & Prepping Your Summer Garden with Joe Reynolds & Special Guests

By Caroline Croland

Caroline Croland is the Fundraising Coordinator at Georgia Organics. To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit www.georgiaorganics.org and follow us on Instagram @GeorgiaOrganics, Twitter @GeorgiaOrganics, and at www.Facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics. 

Spring is upon us, and Georgia Organics was lucky enough to ring in the season with a gardening workshop! On March 14, farmer and former Georgia Organics Board Chair Joe Reynolds and co-manager Demetrius Milling of Love is Love Farm at Gaia Gardens shared their green thumb expertise in a live virtual demonstration, demonstrating how to plan and prepare a successful spring garden. Additionally, Laura Diaz-Villaquiran, FoodCorps Service Member, shared some tips and tricks on how to get your little ones in on the gardening fun by demonstrating how to create seed tapes and transplant lavender. This event was free for Georgia Organics members; if you want access to free and discounted events, sign up as a member today!

"We are at a critical time for getting ready for gardening- the days are longer, the sun is shining brighter, the soil is beginning to warm, and our very important planning time is beginning to ebb away," said Joe.  

With that in mind, let's dig in! Here's a rundown of a few of the planning tips covered in the webinar.  

Photo of Love is Love at Gaia Gardens, courtesy of Jenna Shea Photography.

Having a Game Plan

Step one for starting a garden is creating a game plan. This plan's level of detail will vary from garden to garden, but it all boils down to tracking your planting activities. What are you planting? Where are you planting? When are you doing your planting and harvesting?  

The sophistication of your plan is up to you! You can create notes in your phone, keep a journal, a spreadsheet, or sketch it out on a legal pad- the point is to start your gardening journey off with the habit of creating a record of what you did, and ultimately, what did and did not work for you. This will ensure that you can create a more informed gardening plan in the years to come.

Where to Plant?

To ensure healthy plants, be sure to choose a space that gets 8-10 hours of sunlight. If you find yourself tethered to an area that gets less than that, you may need to make some adjustments regarding how many plants or which plants you choose to grow. Herbs, for example, are much more tolerant of low light

Another consideration is your orientation. A southern orientation is going to give you more sunlight.

Water is another essential factor. Are you putting your garden way out in your yard in a place where it will be inconvenient to water?

Once you find that perfect spot and build or mark your perimeter, take your tape measurer and divide that space into a grid divided by the square foot. This grid will help you determine the number of plants you can fit into your space. Once you map out your space, you'll be ready to start thinking about what kind of garden you will plant.

Raised Beds vs. in Ground Planting: What kind of Garden to Construct? 

Demetrius Milling demonstrating how to grid off your raised bed. Photo from Spring Forward.

One popular gardening option is to construct a raised bed. To do this, you need to place a tarp over the native soil of your yard. Next, you will create a buffer. In the webinar example, Joe and Demetruis used concrete blocks to construct their bed, but you can use a wooded boundary box, logs, or even stones. Finally, you fill your raised bed with compost.

In addition to compost, you can add peat, which assists with water retention. You could also add perlite or vermiculite to add air content into the soil.

Raised beds can be a great option because they are relatively easy to construct, and there is no need to loosen up the soil. However, there can be added cost to sourcing the materials you need to build these beds. 

In contrast, you could plant in the ground, directly into the native soil. The first step here is to mound the soil up so that you have a clear spatial distinction on where the plants go and where you can walk.

If you are in Mid-Georgia we have a lot of clay, and if you're in the south, you're going to be working with a lot of sand. This soil will have to be broken up, which you can do with a pitchfork or broad fork. 

The next step will be getting a soil test, which your local extension agent can provide. You would want to check your PH, your phosphorus levels, and your potassium levels. These tests will also give you information about your soil nutrients.

PH is the most important. Vegetables thrive in slightly acidic soil, between the 6 to 6.5 ranges on that 14 point scale. Adding live compost can also be an excellent option when planting directly into the soil, as this adds biological organisms, nutrients and increases water holding capacity.

To further increase the fertility of your soil, you can add organic fertilizer. These options include:

• Plant & animal meals to add nitrogen

• Alfalfa meal to add nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium

• Lime- will change your soil PH

• Kelp meal- adds nutrients and it will give a full range of all trace elements to their plants

If you are gardening in a residential area, be sure to get your soil tested for toxic elements such as lead.

Getting in the Weeds

Everyone needs a plan for weed remediation! Weeds not only compete for nutrients with your plants, but they also provide shelter for pests and even carry diseases.

The plan could include pulling the weeds manually with your gloved hand or hand-tools. You can set a time to weed, either once a week or each time you harvest.

Mulch can be a great option for controlling your weeds while helping your soil moisture while also helping keep dirt off your picky plants (looking your way, tomatoes.) You can use plastic or paper mulch, which is available at your local hardware store. Alternatively, you could use good old fashion wood chips or pine straw.

What to plant?

Love is Love starter plants. Photo by Caroline Croland.

The question boils down to a simple determination- what would you like to eat or provide for your neighbors and community? What are your intentions and objectives for your garden? Do you want to grow herbs or edible flowers that you can pick nightly to accentuate your meals? Are you going to be drying and preserving herbs or vegetables? Some crops can grow prolifically in a small space, so having an idea of your objectives will help inform your plan of how much to grow. 

Again, utilize your notes here to track your progress so you can adjust your planting plans each year.

Please note that spring in the Atlanta area tends to be relatively short, so some things you plant in spring won't last as long as your summer crops. However, all of these crops do have to be planted at the same time. Make a note when planning your garden that you will be turning the space where you grow spring items over more quickly than your summer crops.

Are you stumped on where to start? Here are some suggestions from Joe:

• Cherry tomatoes

• Arugula

• Radishes

• Turnips

• Bush beans

• Peppers

• Edible herbs and flowers

These can be planted directly from seed or by purchasing starter plants from your local farmer. Click here to access Love is Love's plant sale or search the Plant Sale tag on our Good Food Guide to purchase from a farmer near you!

In addition to Joe and Demetrius teaching us to plan our garden, Laura provided a demonstration on how to involve your kids in gardening. Check out this resource from Foodcorps on creating Seed Tape to replicate that activity at home.

Planning a garden can be daunting, but by taking some thoughtful planning steps, you will be well on your way to growing your food.

Happy planting, ya'll!

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Visit gfft.georgiaorganics.org/virtual-events to view upcoming GFFT events and register. 

Stay connected to Georgia Organics! If you are not yet a member, you can join at membership.georgiaorganics.org/!

Buy your starter plants from local farms by searching the “Plant Sale” tags in our Good Food Guide

Learn more about Love is Love Farm: loveislovefarm.com and check out their plant sale!

Check out Love is Love’s General Growing Guide for additional tips!

Meet Organic Ag and Farm to School Hero, Loretta “The Farmer” Adderson

By Kimberly Koogler

Kimberly Koogler is the Farm to School Coordinator at Georgia Organics. To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit www.georgiaorganics.org and follow us on Instagram @GeorgiaOrganics, Twitter @GeorgiaOrganics, and at www.Facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics. 

Photos courtesy of Loretta Adderson.

To celebrate Women’s History Month and women in agriculture, we’d like to highlight the contributions to organic agriculture and Farm to School in Georgia by a trail-blazing woman, Georgia farmer, and newly-elected Georgia Organics board member, Loretta Adderson. 

Loretta and her husband Samuel Adderson, recipients of the 2018 Georgia Organics Land Stewardship Award, are third-generation family farmers with over 70 years of growing experience. They have been farming together for 14 years in Keysville, GA, where they are pioneers in organic agriculture and have served as mentors to many other aspiring organic farmers in the area. Their farm was the first to be USDA-certified organic in the Central Savannah River Area in 2011. Loretta grew up on her family’s farm with six brothers. 

This photo of Loretta on a tractor was taken over 50 years ago on her family’s farm. She says, “At this time, I was in College and enjoying being home with my family. In the 1960s, girls weren't encouraged to become farmers, but I always loved being outdoors.” 

 After retiring in 2006 from Public School Nutrition work and working and living in Pennsylvania and Michigan, she and her husband returned to the family farm in Georgia, where they started farming together. The name of their business is Adderson’s Fresh Produce, and they grow a diverse array of vegetables, fruits, and herbs. 

I asked Mrs. Adderson a few questions to get to know her a little more and to see why she farms and what inspires her. She generously took the time to answer all my questions, even as Spring fast approaches and her work on the farm becomes more demanding.

Photos courtesy of Loretta Adderson.

 How did you learn how to grow food?

I’m convinced that it’s in my DNA and many years of working on the farm. Penn State, Michigan State, Ala A & M, UGA and FVSU Extension Services, and many other workshops. 

My husband and I lived in Carlisle, PA, State College, PA, Allison Park, PA, Warner Robins, GA, and Lake Orion, MI, before retiring back in Georgia. Everywhere we lived, I had a garden and was known as the Farmer. I'm just beginning to connect the dots to my love for farming.  

Why do you farm organically?

On our farm when I was growing up daddy never put any chemicals on the garden area. They put the manure down at the end of the year for the next planting season. It was never called organic, so I knew we had to grow without using harmful inputs. Healthy soil yields healthy food, which equals healthy body. Grow Organic for Life.

What is your ultimate mission in farming? Why do you do what you do?

My ultimate mission in farming is to provide the next generation with safe land to pursue their dreams. I envision a farm with drones and robotic tools and equipment. Indoor growing at levels we never thought of. My dad wanted the land to be here for generations to come, and I do too.

What does “farm to school” mean to you?

“Farm to School” means the Farmer/Farm working directly with the school/nutrition program to enhance their school programs.

How do you participate in your local school system’s farm to school program, and why do you?

Adderson’s Fresh Produce has sponsored tours of the fields, orchard, and hoop house for School Nutrition Employees that included lunch prepared on the farm using farm-grown, organic vegetables. We’ve participated in on-campus Field Days and enjoyed lunch with the students. We’ve sold produce to the School Nutrition Program. We assisted the School Nutrition Program with starting a Farmers Market and participated as often as possible. We do this to help the students learn more about where food comes from, to expose the students to locally grown, fresh vegetables, and see the farmer who grew those vegetables.

Do you think farm to school programs have the potential to cultivate future organic farmers like yourself?

I definitely do; I feel by 2030, we will see a drastic increase in Organic Farms and Farmers. Schools are going to add farming to their curriculum as an elective and as a requirement by 2050.

What is one thing you would like to tell young people about farming?

Learn to grow food!

What is one thing you would like to tell young girls and women about farming?

Farming is a business that connects you to nature and the soil. 

Who is a woman you have looked up to and who has inspired you?

My great-great Grandmother, Tempe Jackson, was a farm owner and was driven off during the “Trails of Tears." My great-grandpa lived with us after he was older and would tell us about her and how he worked with her on the Farm. My mom and dad named my sister, who died as an infant before I was born, "Shirley Tempe," after my great-great-grandmother.

Our mom and dad brought their own farm and raised us on it. Farming in our family goes back to the 1860s. I am proud of our heritage.

It takes true grit, resilience, fortitude, and dedication to organically produce food from the earth, especially here in the South. On top of that, to go the extra mile and actively participate in her local school system’s farm to school program is a truly generous investment in our state’s future. It is not an easy job, but Loretta Adderson knows that it is as important as it is challenging. We are truly grateful for Mrs. Adderson and the legacy she is growing as she paves the way for future generations of organic farmers in Georgia.

You can find the Addersons’ organic produce at the Laney Walker Farmers Market, the Veggie Park Farmers Market, the Augusta Locally Grown Online Market and On-Farm Popup Markets.

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Follow them on social media at facebook.com/addersonsfreshproduce.

Be sure to save the date for our 8th Georgia Farm to School and Early Care and Education Summit to be held virtually April 27- May 1! Learn more at bit.ly/2021SUMMIT

Good Food for Thought: Dish Dive into Wholesale and High-End Wholesale

By Kayla Williams 

Are you a farmer that sells to farmers’ markets or have a CSA but are ready to get into the wholesale market, either to restaurants or institutions? Luckily, we have some tips for you! On Thursday, February 26th, Lauren Cox, Organic Procurement Coordinator at Georgia Organics along with Zac Harrison, owner of Fresh Harvest, and Neil Ringer, Director of Operations of The Common Market Southeast shared knowledge on what the processes look like to enter the wholesale market in Georgia in a variety of ways. Previously, Lauren managed Woodland Gardens, an organic mixed vegetable farm in the Athens-area that sells to many restaurants in Atlanta and Athens. At Georgia Organics, Lauren works  closely with farmers to help them sell to  larger institutions and restaurants, from helping them crop plan to organizing QuickBook trainings, improving their marketing skills and more. Lauren shared her knowledge about some pros and cons of selling to restaurants and larger wholesale markets in general, as well as best practices – we’ll share some here.

Whichever way you decide to “slice your pie”, your farm will become more resilient if you have multiple revenue streams. Maybe you attend one farmers’ market on the weekend, have CSA (community supported agriculture) pick up on Tuesdays, and deliver to restaurants in your closest larger city on Wednesdays. Or maybe, you sell to one large wholesale customer on Thursdays, delivery to restaurants on Fridays and do a CSA pick up on Saturdays, skipping farmers’ markets all together! You can choose how you slice your pie, but it’s important as you scale up, to add more revenue streams so you can be flexible as needed. So how do you choose?

Restaurant Walk-In. Photo credit: Bailey Garrot.

Although restaurants can be unreliable customers due to frequent menu and staff changes, you can usually get the best wholesale price available and because you are harvesting to order, you won’t have any leftovers. If you decide to sell to a larger wholesale customer, like grocery stores or distributors, you may have to settle for the lowest price point for your goods (as compared to the retail farmers’ market price) but the transactions may be more reliable working with a larger institution, and they may come pick up the products from your farm rather than delivering to a restaurant. It’s important to remember that the type of operation you run may be a better fit for some wholesale than others – if you are small and very diversified farm, you may be a better fit for a high-priced restaurant that uses smaller quantities of many products. If you are larger and specialize in (let’s say) tomatoes, you may be a better fit for a local pizza joint that makes huge quantities of sauce daily

Quick Cleaning Turnips. Photo credit: Lauren Cox,

. No matter which revenue streams you choose, recordkeeping is essential. From knowing where things are in the field, to making sure you have a consistent inventory for your customers, to knowing the prices each item sells for through your various streams, to telling your employees where to harvest what, recordkeeping can only make your life easier and more organized. How you harvest, package and clean your products also make a difference in the world of wholesale. Minimize handling your products because the more you touch it, the more degraded it gets,  especially when wholesalers are aggregating, repackaging and redistributing. Cleanliness is key and minimizing moisture in washed greens, for example, extend the shelf life of your produce.

The Common Market, a non-profit aggregator and distributor, works with many institutions such as private schools, hospitals, universities, food service providers and municipal offices. The Common Market Southeast Headquarters are in East Point, GA but they also have a program based in Houston, TX and Philadelphia, PA. The Common Market wants to lower barriers and provide the infrastructure for local farmers to be able to sell to these institutions. The requirements for working with The Common Market Southeast are as follows: farmer must be in a 250 mile radius of their offices, must have sustainable growing practices, proof of liability insurance, be involved in a food safety program, and have a post-harvesting handling and packing system. Additionally, you must pack your products in wax boxes with your contact information on the label. During COVID-19, The Common Market Southeast received a USDA grant that allowed them to deliver over 96,440 boxes to families across the state, partnering with over 45 community organizations and purchasing over 964,000 pounds of local food purchased and distributed. Their systems and infrastructure made that work possible. A big thanks to Neil Ringer and Common Market for sharing with us and doing incredible work every day to make it easier for local producers to be involved in larger institutions!

West Georgia Farmers Coorperative Delivering to Miller Union. Photo Credit: Bailey Garrot.

Fresh Harvest, on the other hand, is solely residential. Each week, Zac Harrison texts all the farmers in the Fresh Harvest network (some big, some small, but all organic) and finds out what their availability is for the week. Based on which farmer has what products, he compiles weekly boxes that are delivered to homes around Atlanta. In addition to a weekly produce box, customers can add on other local goods, like local dairy, eggs, meat, prepared foods and more. Fresh Harvest’s offices are in Clarkston, GA and they employee many refugees that are based in Clarkston. Zac’s goal is to expand the reach and sale of the farmer, not to infringe on their other revenue streams and he wants to crop plan with farmers at the beginning of the season, so they can be guaranteed a revenue stream from Fresh Harvest.

No matter which route you decide to go down for slicing your pie, utilizing the tips from Lauren and working with folks like Neil and Zac who have the farmers’ best interest at heart, choosing to diversify your revenue streams can only make your farm more successful and resilient.

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Interested in learning more about Lauren’s work? Check out farmtorestaurant.georgiaorganics.org/, follow Georgia Organics on Instagram @georgiaorganics, and Facebook at facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics/.

Want to see if The Common Market may be a good fit for you or support their work? Check out thecommonmarket.org, follow them on Instagram at @commonmarketse and Facebook at facebook.com/thecommonmarketse.

Ready to work with Fresh Harvest or purchase a box? Visit them at freshharvestga.com/, follow them on Instagram at @freshharvest and Facebook at .facebook.com/freshharvestga.

Good Food for Thought: How We Slice Our Pie—Choosing Markets and Managing Revenue Streams

By Lauren Cox 

Lauren Cox is the Organic Procurement Coordinator at Georgia Organics

Aluma Farm’s very organized harvest board. Photo credit: Bailey Garrot.

Small farms operate much like other small entrepreneurial businesses. In addition to producing food, a farmer must also be a self-promoter, a marketer, their own research and development team, and very often juggle the wants and needs of a variety of customers. In the 6th installation of the Winter Webinar series, Farm to Restaurant’s Organic Procurement Coordinator leads a three-part webinar covering these activities: deciding on your basket of goods and services and creating a value statement, managing your weekly farm flow, and understanding how you divide up your farm based on your revenue streams.  

Whether you sell at the farmers market, to restaurants, wholesalers, or through a CSA program, you should aim to know your customer base and plan for moving product. Photo by Lauren Cox.

There are multiple ways for farmers to get food to their final customers. This ‘farmer to eater’ supply chain can include processors, wholesalers, restaurants, grocery stores, and retailers or simply go directly into the hands of an eater. Farmers can sell to each of these groups and should understand that each one of them has different wants and needs, including where they hold value and what they are looking for when buying from a farmer. 

This ‘basket of goods and services’ can also change over time depending on the farmer as well as the customer. While planning for the year ahead, ask yourself: What am I selling and why is it important to my customer? Remember, what is important to you isn’t necessarily going to be important to everyone else. Maybe your customer values being able to talk to you each week and ask questions about what they’re buying while you prioritize paying your employees fair wages and growing organically. One does not necessarily exclude the other but again, your customer’s values and where they’re prioritized might not be the same as your own. 

Thinking about a value statement or value proposition is also important. This can change with your customers and correlates to your basket of goods and services. If you can’t make money from your basket of ‘goods and services’ then don’t do it and always make sure you have a feedback loop to understand if your customer’s values are changing. Easy ways to do this include talking to your customers directly as well as conducting surveys to market-goers and CSA members. Also watching what sells quickly and what doesn’t is a non-verbal way to assess your markets. No matter what, having a feedback loop gives a farmer the advantage to help plan for growing any of their revenue streams. 

Planning for growth is important. Photo by Lauren Cox.

As you think about the year ahead and decide which customers and parts of your business will shift or grow, consider your current weekly farm schedule. Taking on more revenue streams could mean you take more time off the farm for market days. It could mean more time spent harvesting and delivering to wholesalers or restaurants. While planning, try this exercise: Make a column for each day of the week and then fill it with the general tasks you do consistently, for example, Monday’s are bookkeeping days, and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are workdays while Friday is a harvest day for Saturday market. Once this is done ask yourself, “Does my weekly flow feel well-paced? Is it packed in one part of the week and less busy in another? What if there were an emergency? Do I have enough time, in that case, to react? And finally, “Could I take on another sales channel?” Depending on your customer’s needs and values, you might be able to shift your schedule to take on new opportunities or give you that much-needed time on the farm you’ve been looking for.  

 Listing out your top sellers across your different markets can highlight your resiliency in withstands shifts in market demand. Photo by Lauren Cox.

How do we bring what we know about our customer base, our weekly bandwidth, and how we want to grow our business together to refine our systems and plan for the year ahead? First and foremost record-keeping is our biggest asset! Thinking about your ‘top sellers’ for each customer base and looking at your books to see if you’re making money on them can give you valuable insight (no pun intended) into whether or not you’re on the right track. Ideally, you should plan for growth and have multiple customers that are interested in the same thing in case one of them falls through. In addition to QuickBooks and surveys, keep a notebook with your weekly sales information. Walk around the first day of your workweek and write down what you need to sell, how much you have, and to whom you plan to sell it to (CSA, restaurants, markets, or otherwise).

This exercise will help you get better at understanding quantities of what you have to offer and how much space you are allocating on your farm for each sales outlet. As you think about the space on your farm and how it relates to your customer base ask yourself these questions: What isn’t selling to multiple customers? Are there other things I could use that farm space for? Are there other things I could sell to the same customers that also sell at other markets? Asking yourself these questions explicitly with give you a leg up in planning for growth and managing your revenue streams. 

This Good Food for Thought event was a workshop exclusive to Georgia Organics Farmer Members. Interested in becoming a farmer member for just $12 per year? Visit membership.georgiaorganics.org/farmer-membership. Join us for more Good Food for Thought by visiting gfft.georgiaorganics.org/virtual-events.

Good Food for Thought: Culture and Connections—Farmer Organizing the SAAFON Way

By Kayla Williams

Kayla Williams is a Farmer Services Coordinator at Georgia Organics.

In this series, we’re revisiting our most recent Good Food for Thought conversations. To register for Georgia Organics’ upcoming Good Food for Thought events, visit gfft.georgiaorganics.org/virtual-events.

On February 10, the Southeastern African American Organic Farmers’ Network (SAAFON) partnered with Georgia Organics for a Good Food for Thought Webinar. Dr. Jahi Chappell, the new Executive Director of SAAFON, along with Tammy Harris, the Agroecology & Education Resource Coordinator. SAAFON focuses on supporting black farmers in the southeast, with member affiliates from Maryland to the US Virgin Islands, through direct services, community building and resource sharing.

Dr. Chappell shared his background in the world of sustainable agriculture that led him to SAAFON, the organizations’ values and its history. Tammy shared the ways in which those values are implemented into SAAFON’s programmatic work and more about specific initiatives they are currently working on.

I’m not going to spend time summarizing the content of the webinar, because it would be doing Dr. Chappell and Tammy Harris a disservice to the knowledge they shared about SAAFON. Instead, you’re encouraged to watch the recorded webinar, click below!

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Want to learn more about SAAFON’s programming or become a member? Visit saafon.org, follow on Instagram @saafon_grows, and on Facebook at facebook.com/SAAFONgrows Want to support SAAFON’s work? Donate at saafon.org/donate.

Join us for upcoming Good Food for Thought sessions in our Winter Webinar series for farmers! Upcoming dates and registration links at gfft.georgiaorganics.org/virtual-events.