Georgia Food Oasis Awards “Mobilizing Food Funds” Mini-Grants to Coalitions across the State

By Caroline Croland

Georgia Food Oasis seeks to convene and engage local leaders to address their community’s food access issues.

Now more than ever, these local markets and good food organizations are providing essential access points to food insecure communities across Georgia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABOUT THE GEORGIA FOOD OASIS

The Georgia Food Oasis (GFO) is a growing network of towns and cities that recognize food is a powerful tool for driving positive change in their communities. GFO is a designation that seeks to recognize local food coalitions who are working to improve access, supply, and consumption of healthy local food.

In May, the program awarded $22,700 in mini-grants to 10 recipients dedicated to serving the rapidly shifting needs of their communities bought on by the COVID-19 pandemic by mobilizing the distribution of locally-farmed food. 

Suzanne Girdner, Georgia Organics Community Outreach Manager, leads the program and says of the Mobilizing Food Funds Mini-Grant funding:

“What I am still processing about this latest grant round is just the tremendous amount of need that the communities were seeing firsthand and trying to figure out how to respond as best we could. The level of gratitude and care that they have taken for their neighbors and residents — it really impresses me.

These organizations from across Georgia provide innovative solutions to food scarcity caused by the pandemic. In doing so, they have made it a priority to actively shift the emergency food relief paradigm away from providing only shelf stable, prepackaged food towards fresh, nutrient dense fruits and vegetables sourced from local farms.

It is incredible to be able to work alongside somebody and say ‘I recognize how hard you're working, and we want to support you,’ and we can do that in a material way.”

Georgia Food Oasis began in 2016. One of the fiscal goals of the program is to provide small grants for coalitions and residents within communities. These non-traditional funds allow residents to respond in real time to community needs without being over burdened by a tedious application process.

The Mobilizing Food Funds Mini-Grant Awardees are listed below, where you can learn more and connect with the amazing work they’re doing within their communities.

To learn more about the Georgia Food Oasis, visit gfo.georgiaorganics.org/.

MOBILIZING FOOD FUNDS AWARDEES

SAVANNAH ($5,000)

1. The Farm Truck 912, Forsyth Farmers Market is a mobile market that brings locally sourced produce to Chatham County’s low income, low food access neighborhoods. Funds will also assist in piloting a new home delivery service for elders and differently-abled individuals, who are among the most food insecure members of the community.  A portion of the funds will help with increased personnel hours, materials, and sourcing from 25 whole food vendors.     

2. Fresh Food Express, The YMCA of Coastal Georgia is part of Healthy Savannah’s CDC REACH strategy YMCA and hosts a bi-monthly produce donation market which has nearly doubled participants since the pandemic. Funds will be used to assist with sourcing fresh food from regional growers for 600 residents in a newly adapted drive-thru market. 

The Farm Truck 912, Forsyth Farmers Market.

Fresh Food Express, The YMCA of Coastal Georgia

WAYCROSS ($2,500)

WayGreen, Inc. in Waycross

WayGreen, Inc. provides healthy locally produced food to people living in the region of Southeast Georgia. The market has transitioned to a weekly online market with participating farmers from 6 surrounding counties. Funds will go towards supporting transportation needed to source from a larger more rural region between Nashville and Brunswick, GA.  Plans include retrofitting a trailer for cold storage transport and safe storage at market. A portion of the funds will also assist with the additional personnel hours in coordinating weekly logistics with 18+ regional farmers.

AUGUSTA ($4,900)

1. Augusta Locally Grown is an online market that supports small farmers by making locally grown produce available for sale to the surrounding Augusta community. The online market has nearly quadrupled in sales and pick up locations are having to adapt to handle the influx of orders. These funds will be used to help open new pick-up site at Ft. Gordon, and new markets in Columbia and Warren counties, and will increase sales of the 40 farmers that the ALG market supports.

2. The Veggie Park Farmers Market serves a low income, low food access neighborhood, Harrisburg in downtown Augusta.  After a postponed opening the market is reopening with advanced precaution due to a higher elderly and at-risk population in the neighborhood.  Funds will assist with adapting the market, piloting home delivery, and offsetting additional personnel hours needed to safely serve the neighborhood. This market directly supports 15+ farmers.

COLUMBUS ($2,500)

MercyMed Farm is an urban farm at MercyMed in the North Highland neighborhood of Columbus. The farm has been giving away all of their farm-grown produce to neighbors who are experiencing food insecurity and transportation issues, exacerbated by the pandemic. Previously the farm ran weekly markets and a farm stand but shifted to donation due to resident needs. These funds will be used to offset loss of some income assist with providing fresh fruits and vegetables to community members in need during this time.

MercyMed Farm

ROME ($5,300)

1. Between the Rivers Farmers Market is organizing a drive-thru and/or contactless market for its community in Rome. These funds will specifically help the market improve visibility in the community with additional signage.

2. The South Meadow Farm at the Davies Shelter will start supplementing donation food boxes of non-perishable items with 5 lbs of produce beginning in June. Funds will assist in providing produce to 400 boxes.

The South Meadow Farm at the Davies Shelter

The Farm Bus at Davies Shelter

3.  The Farm Bus at Davies Shelter was originally intended to serve the surrounding neighborhood of the Shelter as a mobile market, it has expanded since the pandemic to serve five additional neighborhoods and clients for partners Salvation Army and The Community Kitchen. Funds will be used to assist with additional operational and logistical expenses. 

WALTON COUNTY ($2,500)

The Mobile Farmacy Market, Walton Wellness is a free member-based market for financially-burdened families in Walton County. Due to the pandemic, they are 100% dependent on their garden, community garden donations and a local farm where they purchase eggs. These funds will go towards sourcing from local farms to provide produce to the community through the Mobile Farmacy.

The Mobile Farmacy Market, Walton Wellness

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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.

Georgia Organics Kicks Off First of Its Kind Farmer Accelerator Program

Tianna Neal of Starlit Roots Farm (Photo courtesy of National Young Farmers Coalition).

By Porter Mitchell

Beginning farmers come in our doors eager to learn and to make a career from agriculture. They want to feed their neighbors, continue a family tradition of farming, steward the land, and care for their rural communities. We’ve seen many of these farmers succeed, but we’ve seen hundreds begin farming only to quit after a few years. Why?  

Farmers reach a point in which they need real investment to move their business from day-to-day survival mode to true sustainability. They need personalized services, investment in infrastructure, personalized education to develop a business or marketing plan, and training to access new markets—not the one-size-fits-all approach that is the current norm. 

Sed Rowe of Rowe Organic Farm (Photo Credit Southern Styles and Steeds)

Jenny of Jenny Jack Farm harvests onions (photo courtesy of Jenny Jack Farm)

These critical services are out of reach for many smaller growers. They may not qualify for FSA loans, they may not have the credit to access a small business loan, they may not have family or personal wealth or property to use as collateral. Black growers specifically face an uphill battle due to decades of discrimination from banks and the USDA. Or many beginning farmers, often already saddled with student loan debt, may simply not want to take on debt in a profession not known to be particularly lucrative.

The Georgia Organics Farmer Accelerator Program is the first of its kind to fill these resource gaps. Ten farmers enter a yearlong cohort and each receives nearly $10,000 in on-farm infrastructure investment and labor stipends, plus an additional $3,000 in professional consulting from experts. Farmers also receive coaching on food safety and organic certification from the Farmer Services team.

“We’ve got the best coaches in the country for this program,” says Farmer Services Director Michael Wall who has spent the past year securing these consultants. “By going deep with these coaches, these farmers can really strengthen their operations.”

About sixty farmers applied for the ten spots available. Choosing which farmers would receive support and which ones wouldn’t was incredibly difficult. Kayla Williams, Farmer Services Coordinator at Georgia Organics, led efforts to build a complex application scoring system. 

“When deciding how to choose Accelerator cohort members, we wanted to recognize the fact that race and place are two very real factors that can and do affect a farmers’ ability to succeed. By giving extra points to and prioritizing our farmers of color and rural farmers, it holds us accountable to our mission of ‘Good Food for All’” she explains. At least five of the Accelerator spots are reserved for BIPOC farmers and at least five spots are reserved for rural farmers

 After lengthy inner dialogue and presenting the list of finalists to a panel of farmers and outside experts, the Farmer Services team chose ten farmers from across the state. They range from fourteen years of farming experience to three, from large scale row crop and commodity production to small market vegetable farms, from chicken and cattle to flowers and fruit, from several hundred acres to three acres. In other words, the 2020 class of Accelerator farmers represent the diversity of Georgia’s agriculture. The inaugural Accelerator class is:

• Deep Grass Graziers, Fitzgerald (www.deepgrassgraziers.com/) – Beef cattle

• Hearts of Harvest Farm, Arnoldsville (www.heartsofharvestfarm.com) - Mixed fruit and vegetables, flowers

• Four Bellies Farm, Bowdon (http://fourbelliesfarm.com/) - Beef, rabbit, chicken, lamb

• Jenny Jack Farm, Pine Mountain (https://www.jennyjackfarm.com/) - Mixed fruit, vegetables

• Narrow Way Farm, McDonough (https://narrowwayfarm.com/) – Vegetables, berries, fruit

  New Eden Ecosystems, West Point (www.facebook.com/westgeorgiafarmerscooperative/) - Fruit, vegetables, livestock

• Rag and Frass Farm (Jeffersonville) - Mixed fruit and vegetables, flowers https://www.ragandfrassfarm.com/ 

• Rolling Branch Farm, Naylor (www.rollingbranchfarms.com/) - Pecans flowers

• Rowe Organic Farm, Albany (ga.foodmarketmaker.com/business/4914917-rowe-organic-farm) - Peanuts, sunflowers, melons

• Starlit Roots Farm, Keysville ( www.Instagram.com/starlitroots) - Vegetables

After an intense intake process that gathered extensive data on the farm and farmer, the Farmer Services team collectively drafted plans for each farmer for coaching and infrastructure spending. These plans were based on priorities listed by the farmer, a SWOT analysis (strengths, weakness, opportunities, threats), a formal business analysis, and lengthy conversations with the farmers. Each plan is wholly unlike the other ones, just as each farmer is different. For the next nine months, the farmers will work closely with a Farmer Services staff member as their case manager. “The success of our Accelerator farmers is our number one priority,” explains Michael Wall. 

Dan Glenn of Deep Grass Graziers (Courtesy of Deep Grass Graziers)

Eric Simpson of New Eden Ecosystems (Courtesy of Black Farmers Network)

Georgia Organics hopes that this program will not only help these farmers grow and strengthen their businesses and their skillsets but can also be used as a model to replicate across the country. 

Interested in learning more about these farmers and keeping up with their progress? Keep checking in for extended profiles and interviews on The Dirt!

Check out where our Accelerator farmers are on the map!

Sign for updates from Georgia Organics.

Click to view Accelerator Program farms around the state.

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Porter Mitchell, Farmer Services 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.

Georgia Organics Farm to Restaurant “Farmer Cohort” Program Supports Farmers in Pandemic Restaurant Economy with New Opportunities

By Mary Elizabeth Kidd and Lauren Cox

Over the past decade, the number of restaurants sourcing directly from farms or through small-scale aggregators has been consistently increasing. Georgia Organics believes this restaurant market, beyond the “farm to table” moniker, holds huge potential for Georgia farms, and the Farmer Services team aims to foster these important, nuanced relationships between chefs and farmers.

With this in mind, in 2019, the Farm to Restaurant program, led by Lauren Cox, Georgia Organics Organic Procurement Coordinator, launched the Farmer Cohort program to assist small-scale, local, and organic farms in better planning and operations for the restaurant market. Through this program, Georgia Organics aims to help diversify participating farms’ revenue streams and, ultimately, increase their sustainability and viability, while establishing transparency in the restaurant sourcing process.

About the Farm to Restaurant Farmer Cohort

The Farm to Restaurant team supports the Farmer Cohort on an annual basis (sometimes up to two years) by providing consulting on business management, on-farm systems, crop production, and post-harvest handling, as well as record-keeping tools that enable them to become restaurant-ready. The team also provides assistance in fine-tuning their growing practices for the restaurant market, connection with Georgia chefs, and overall help increasing and strengthening farmers’ restaurant partnerships. The aim is that these learnings help farmers across the state build better businesses and increased revenue streams.

Farm to Restaurant Farmer Cohort members deliver to Farmer Champion restaurants with signature Georgia Organics boxes. Photo credit: Bailey Garrot.

The Farmer Cohort application process begins each year in January, with new members selected and announced in March. Cohort members are chosen based on their potential for growth in restaurant sales by a committee comprised of farm partners, chef partners, and members of the Georgia Organics Farmer Services team.

Farm to Restaurant Farmer Cohort applicants are Georgia Organics Farmer Members who agree to participate in program offerings such as one-day workshop, data surveys, networking opportunities, and feedback discussions.

Deciding to be a member of the Farm to Restaurant Farmer Cohort means participating farmers are committed to selling to restaurants consistently whenever possible and creating space to intentionally increase their farm's restaurant sales. They are also encouraged to be realistic about the program and the long-term nature of building lasting restaurant relationships.

Farm to Restaurant Farmer Cohort members have access to:

• Farm to Restaurant intensive consultation

• One-on-one support in pricing, variety and crop rotation, on-farm efficiency, availability list creation, packing and harvesting techniques, and logistics strategies

• Help with direct restaurant and chef “matchmaking” opportunities

• Two networking events during your Farmer Cohort year

• One year of QuickBooks, paid for by Georgia Organics

• One farm visit and Farm to Restaurant sales assessment

• One FSMA training course and certification (if desired)

• Organic Certification assistance (if desired)

• QuickBooks training

• 300 free Georgia Organics Farmer Champion boxes (3/4 bushel) for restaurant delivery use

• Featured placement on Georgia Organics Farm to Restaurant website

• Featured placements on Georgia Organics website, emails, and social media channels

• Inclusion in the Farmer Champion chef sourcing packet for restaurants and priority consideration in chef sourcing inquires

Pre-pandemic farmer and chef catch-ups at Farmer Champion restaurant Root Baking Co. Photo credit Bailey Garrot.

The Farmer Cohort “Class of 2020”

In February 2020, four farms from around the state were accepted into the Farm to Restaurant program. 2020 Farm to Restaurant Cohort Farms include:

• Buffalo Creek Berry Farm in Lexington, GA

• Ellijay Mushrooms in Ellijay, GA

• Atlanta Harvest and Local Lands in Jonesboro and Dublin, GA

• Row By Rowe in Luthersville, GA

From mushrooms to berries to diversified veggie producers, these farms were all positioned to grow their businesses into the restaurant market before COVID-19 hit. Although resourcefulness and the ability to pivot are inherent characteristics of a wise farmer and entrepreneur, 2020 has proved an unprecedented market in almost every way.

Making the Most of a Pandemic Food Economy

With a quick and dramatic decline in restaurant orders due to COVID-19-related closures and the state-mandated shelter in place, the farm-to-restaurant pipeline in 2020 has­—and remains— significantly decreased for many farmers around the state and across the country.

With a brand new batch of Farmer Cohort ready to learn and grow, Lauren Cox and other members of the Georgia Organics team got right to work finding and creating new avenues for income, tied to the restaurant sector, yet inherently different to fill the new needs of customers as well as industry workers affected by the pandemic.

Mid-Week Pop-Up Market order, ready for safe pick-up, from Atlanta Harvest and Local Lands.

One such solution was to launch the Mid-Week Pop-up Market at Wrecking Bar Brewpub, a restaurant participant in the Farm to Restaurant’s Farmer Champion campaign and longtime supporter of Georgia farmers. This market connects shoppers to the Farmer Cohort farms via online ordering from the Farm to Restaurant website for weekly socially-distanced pick-up. The goal has not only been to provide shoppers with a convenient way to support local food and have weekly farm-fresh groceries, it also encourages those shoppers to support Wrecking Bar Brewpub, which offers takeout ordering and a menu that often features the produce, proteins, and more from Farmer Cohort farms.

In another effort to create revenue streams and stay engaged with the restaurant community during this time of crisis, Cox and Georgia Organics team members also worked with Farmer Champion Root Baking Co. and founding funders Jamestown Charitable Foundation and Ponce City Market to establish Food Fight Georgia. Through this program, Georgia Organics coordinates the sourcing, purchasing, and packaging of weekly farm boxes for out-of-work restaurant workers at participating restaurants. This has served a dual purpose of serving the restaurant community (often rightly referred to as family), while putting dollars in the pockets of farmers, further filling the gap from pre-pandemic restaurant orders.

Food Fight GA weekly orders being packaged for unemployed restaurant workers. Photo credit: Kate Blohm.

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; 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. With this dual-service approach, the aim of the campaign is Championing Our Farmers & Feeding Our Restaurant Family.

In addition to these new selling opportunities, the farmers of all four Farmers Cohort member farms are carving out time to attend a five-session QuickBooks training to brush up on and refine their accounting skills. The first session took place in early June via Zoom and was also attended by some 2019 Farm to Restaurant Farmer Cohort members as well as one farm that is part of the 2020 Farmer Services Accelerator program. These sessions cover topics from setting up a chart of accounts and preferences to invoicing, creating sales reports, and running a profit and loss report to understand if what farmers are growing truly align with their business and overall goals. Georgia Organics is offering to sponsor a year of QuickBooks for farms new to the platform to understand if it fits their business prior to buying the platform for themselves.

“One of the most exciting things about being a part of the Farm to Restaurant Cohort program is that it’s helping us focus on streamlining the business side of our farm by way of offerings like QuickBooks training and learning how to better do business with chefs. There always room for room for improvement in figuring out what folks like to eat and how to grow, which this program also helps with. As you know, it’s been a tough spring, so having more of a community to share the ups and downs with helps, not to mention just having another set of eyes on our farm!”

Jessica Plymale, Row by Rowe Organic Farm (Luthersville, GA)

Josh and Jessica Plymale of Row by Rowe Organic Farm. Courtesy of Row by Rowe.

Ellijay Mushrooms is a participant in the Mid-Week Pop-Up Market and has been a participant in Food Fight Georgia program from the very start.

“When I was selected to join [the Farm to Restaurant Farmer Cohort], I was so excited based on what I’d heard from past farmers. Then COVID hit…and I was naïve to think it was a bad year to have been selected.

I quickly realized that it was actually the best year to become a Cohort farmer because of initiatives like Food Fight Georgia and the extra length that Georgia Organics has gone out of your way to do more for the farmers. So it’s been a weird mix emotions, but wow, it’s been amazing and so good for the farm. We’ve made great new relationships with the restaurants and with the leads you’re helping out with, we’ve been blown away.”

Howard Berk of Ellijay Mushrooms (Ellijay, GA)

Howard Berk of Ellijay Mushrooms. Courtesy of Ellijay Mushrooms.

Upcoming events for the 2020 Farm to Restaurant Farmer Cohort include online daylong workshops on topics such as diversified revenue streams, farm efficiency, and choosing your markets, as well as one-on-one farm visits with Lauren Cox, the Organic Procurement Coordinator, to talk farm-specific on-farm systems.

The highlights thus far of this year’s Farmer Cohort group are strong. This is a group of diversified producers (vegetables, perennial fruit, mushrooms, and more). There is also a wide range of experience levels in selling to restaurants. Some have more experience, such as Ellijay Mushrooms, and some are newer to the market, such as Buffalo Creek. Others, like Local Lands and Atlanta Harvest and Row by Rowe, have experience selling to restaurants, but have the potential to expand that side of their business.

“We’re being challenged to look at how we can maintain relationships with restaurants in the time of COVID and where both the farmers and the chefs hold value. Now is the time to dig into those relationships and commit to seeing how and where they can be mutually beneficial. Another opportunity has come in the form of taking the step back from restaurants due to the government shutdown, which is giving these farmers the chance to look at their systems on the farm, in getting their products to the end user, and how best to do that.”

Lauren Cox, Georgia Organics Organic Procurement Coordinator

Stay tuned as we continue to spotlight the growth of the Farmer Cohort and the farmers in the program. In the meantime, be sure to shop the weekly Mid-Week Pop-Up Marketing at bit.ly/midweekpopup and learn more about Food Fight Georgia at www.foodfightga.com/.

To learn more about the Farmer Cohort, Farmer Champions, and other aspects of the Georgia Organics Farm to Restaurant program, visit farmtorestaurant.georgiaorganics.org/.

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Mary Elizabeth Kidd is Georgia Organics’ Communications Manager. She can be reached at maryelizabeth@georgiaorganics.org. Lauren Cox is the Organic Procurement Coordinator at Georgia Organics and can be reached at laurencox@georgiaorganics.org. To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit www.georgiaorganics.org and follow us on Instagram @GeorgiaOrganics, Twitter @GeorgiaOrganics, and at www.Facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics. 

Enrichment Services Program Supports Community with Fresh Food Partnerships

By Caroline Croland

Kelvin Thomas understands the importance of fresh food.  

“We acknowledge that income level is a deciding factor when it comes to food access, and it was incredibly important to us to ensure that our families, especially those with young children, were able to obtain fresh food during this pandemic,” said Thomas, Director of Early Childhood & Family Services and head of the Enrichment Services Program (ESP) in Columbus. 

Pre-pandemic, his program served more than 1,000 children and families across 11 sites in eight counties. Their centers would provide support by distributing food boxes, diapers, formula, and gift cards to families in need.   

Like so many other programs, ESP was forced to reexamine their approach in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since their centers closed in late March, Thomas has been working to find innovative solutions to support his community members who are dealing with the ramifications of the virus.  

One of those solutions came when Allison Setterlind, State Head Start Collaboration Director, introduced Thomas to the “Farm to Early Care and Education” initiative which connected Thomas to Georgia Organics and The Common Market Southeast.   

“When Georgia Organics reached out about the farm boxes, Kelvin saw an opportunity to help families in a new way,” Setterlind said. “He wanted to make sure that his constituents were not only receiving processed food during the pandemic. He was committed to ensuring that his families and kids had access to fresh vegetables. That is what sets him apart as an exceptional head start director- he puts energy into new collaborations that pull in new opportunities from the community.  Everyone came together and wanted it to work, it was so expedient! Working with The Common Market was completely different than working with a standard vendor--- it was never about pushing the product, there was such a sense of urgency about getting the food from the farms into the hands of the community.” 

Picking up seeds and grow guides from the ESP drive-through. Photos courtesy of Kelvin Thomas.

April 8th, ESP Head start hosted a drive-through distribution for one hundred and sixty five families across four sites. These boxes included fresh, locally grown food sourced by the Common Market.

In addition, families received essentials items including paper towels, diapers, and toilet paper as well as green bean, cucumber, squash and watermelon seeds sourced from Seed Programs International, a non-profit providing seeds and technical assistance for humanitarian organizations.

These items were accompanied by learning packets supplied by Georgia Organics.

Not only did this initiative feed over one hundred and sixty five families, it also led to $3,000 in direct sales to local farmers, sourcing produce from eight different family owned farms. The Common Market Southeast was able to offer their Food Access Discount to the Enrichment Services program which helped make this distribution possible.

The ESP team packing drive-thru supply distributions. Photo courtesy of Enrichment Services Program, Inc. Facebook.

Thomas hopes to continue to integrate programs that provide local food to the families that he serves.

“The community response was overwhelmingly positive—parents absolutely loved the boxes and the learning activities,” said Thomas.  “It is so important to plant the seeds of healthy eating early on. The planting instructions, recipes, and educational activities provided by Georgia Organics help families interact with and prepare produce that they might not otherwise have access to.” 

Creating these connections is a core aspect Georgia Organics’ Farm to School work.

Seeds and how-to-grow sheets were distributed along with the produce boxes. Photos courtesy of Kelvin Thomas.

Kimberly Della Donna, Farm to School Director at Georgia Organics, loves to see these types of partnerships being formed.  

“We admire the program that Kelvin and ESP have created to empower Columbus community members to eat and be healthy while supporting local farmers,” she said.

“We hope that they enjoy growing and nurturing their gardens while we’re all apart.” 

To learn more about Enrichment Services Program, visit enrichmentservices.org or follow them on social media at facebook.com/enrichmentservicesprogram and twitter.com/espcaa.

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Caroline 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.

EliYahu Ysrael of Atlanta Harvest, The Atlanta Foodcast

EliYahu Ysrael of Atlanta Harvest. Photo: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

In this Zoom video version of the Atlanta Foodcast, we're speaking with EliYahu Ysrael of Atlanta Harvest and Local Lands (scroll down to view). EliYahu and his family own and farm at Local Lands Organically Grown Gardens (www.locallands.net/), in Dublin, GA, as well as Atlanta Harvest in Jonesboro, GA.

We spoke with EliYahu about the selecting and founding of Local Lands, the importance of farm ownership, their growth through Atlanta Harvest and serving the Jonesboro community, their upcoming farm move, and the wealth of nourishing foods, plant starts, education, and engagement he and his family provide to Georgians.

EliYahu and Asa Ysrael at Local Lands. Photo: MSNBC.

Local Lands is a member of our Farm to Restaurant Farmer Cohort and provides some of the weekly items provided in farm boxes for unemployed restaurant workers around the city as part of our Food Fight GA initiative.

Atlanta Harvest is also a participating farm in our Mid-Week Pop-Up Market at Wrecking Bar Brewpub, allowing shoppers to order online over the weekend (orders open Friday morning-Sunday midnight) and pick up their items every Wednesday evening in Atlanta’s Inman Park neighborhood.

Lauren Cox, Georgia Organics' Organic Procurement Coordinator, who heads up our Farm to Restaurant program said of EliYahu’s dedication to his craft and their work on these Farm to Restaurant initiatives:

I am so excited to work with Local Lands this year for the Farm to Restaurant program. Whenever I talk to EliYahu, I can truly feel the passion and thought behind every decision he makes at the farm. He also possesses one of the most important traits, I think, of being a great farmer, that of being a 'forever student’ of the land, while also going the extra mile to not only provide for, but also to teach and serve his community.

Photo: MSNBC

To learn more, you can also read Atlanta Harvest in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Yahoo.com and see their recent segment featured on MSNBC!

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

• Atlanta Harvest (Facebook / Instagram)

• Local Lands (Facebook)

• Mid-Week Pop-Up Market

• Food Fight GA

Food Fight GA: Program Updates and Conversation with Founding Restaurant Partner Chris Wilkins of Root Baking Co.

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:

• Food Fight GA

• Root Baking Co.

• Root Baking Co. on Instagram

To learn more about the Georgia Organics' Farm to Restaurant Program, visit: farmtorestaurant.georgiaorganics.org/.

Good Food Champions: Connie Oliver of WayGreen, Inc. in Waycross, GA

We’re so excited to be joined by Connie Oliver of WayGreen for a Zoom video edition of the Georgia Foodcast!

Connie Oliver is leading food access initiatives to connect South Georgians with food from local farmers through WayGreen, Inc: Southeast Georgia's Local Food Coalition. She has been a long time food leader in Southeast Georgia and is leader our Georgia Food Oasis community efforts in Waycross, GA.

Connie Oliver (center) at Georgia Organics 2020 Conference & Expo surrounded by Southeast Georgia regional farmers and food leaders including Bamm Farms, Gilliard Farms, and Greenway Gardens.

Of her amazing work in the Waycross community, Georgia Organics’ Community Outreach Manager for the Georgia Food Oasis Suzanne Girdner says:

Connie Oliver is one of the fiercest community food advocates in Georgia, and over the past 5+ years has worked tirelessly with a grassroots coalition to build up a regional farmer and consumer network that feeds and heals Southeast GA communities.  You'll find Connie regularly driving 80-100 miles to pick-up produce from regional farms, leading a Glean Team, organizing seasonal markets, coordinating education series, and plotting the course for building a physical cooperative and community kitchen space.  Connie is as visionary as she is hardworking, and she's determined to realize WayGreen's vision for residents to eat, cook, and grow the healthiest, local food possible.

Click below to watch and learn more about WayGreen, Inc. and Oliver’s amazing work!

To learn more about WayGreen, visit www.waygreeninc.org, and follow them on social media:

• Facebook: facebook.com/WayxGreen

• Instagram: instagram.com/wayxgreen/

To learn more about the Georgia Food Oasis, visit gfo.georgiaorganics.org/

Volunteers with WayGreen pack orders for pandemic-safe pick-up.

Good Food Champions: Nema Etheridge of Cafe Campesino on The Georgia Foodcast

For this Zoom video edition of the Georgia Foodcast, we're talking with Nema Etheridge, Marketing Director of Cafe Campesino (www.cafecampesino.com), about her work with Georgia's first and only 100% fair trade, organic coffee company and how Cafe Campesino is continuing to serve the community and get great coffee to Georgians and beyond. Scroll down to view!

And just before the pandemic hit, we visited Cafe Campesino in beautiful Americus, GA, where host Skye Estroff spoke to Nema, as well as CEO Tripp Pomeroy, and CFO and co-founder Bill Harris for a multi-part episode of The Georgia Foodcast highlighting the incredible work and impact of Cafe Campesino.

• The Georgia Foodcast talks to Nema Etheridge

• The Georgia Foodcast talks to Tripp Pomeroy

• The Georgia Foodcast talks to Bill Harris

We’re consistently amazed by this team’s commitment to being a sustainable, caring member of the global coffee supply chain - putting people at the core of everything they do - and have been grateful for their incredible generosity in providing us with delicious coffee for our annual Georgia Organics Conference & Expo. Our team has had many a day made better by starting with a cup of their amazing coffee! To learn more about Cafe Campesino and order, visit www.cafecampesino.com/.

ABOUT CAFE CAMPESINO

Cafe Campesino was founded in 1998, becoming Georgia's first and only 100% fair trade, organic coffee company.

We are a national online retailer and wholesale roaster-distributor with our headquarters, roaster, and flagship coffee house located in Americus, Georgia, birthplace of Habitat for Humanity and about 9 miles east of Plains, home of former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn.

We supply individuals, coffee houses, markets, fundraisers, restaurants, and other organizations all over the country with some of the best artisan-roasted specialty-grade coffee available in the United States.

Cafe Campesino is a founding member of Cooperative Coffees, a green coffee importing organization committed to fair or alternative trading relationships between farmers and roasters. We are also a member of the Fair Trade Federation and Georgia Organics, as well as a certified B Corp.

Image via @CafeCampesino

While Schools Are Closed, Evans County Students Learn to Garden

Photo courtesy of Evans County Schools

By Kimberly Della Donna

UGA Extension 4-H Agent, Stephanie Myers, greeted Evans County families last Wednesday with a plethora of pandemic essentials, including big smiles, fresh food and home gardening materials. Students and their families were delighted to receive the seeds and activities during the 8th week of school closures in the area. "The timing and weather proved perfect for promoting all of the physical, mental, social, and nutritional aspects of family gardening," said Myers, who joined a group of volunteers to help Evans County School Nutrition Director Tonya Beasley-Blocker, and her School Nutrition Staff, distribute meals to over 1,000 residents in the Evans County. Each Wednesday, the staff and volunteers distribute 7 breakfasts and 7 lunches- that is over 14,000 meals dispersed each week in one day! 

Georgia Organics partnered with The UGA Extension Service to create the educational resources and share the seeds, donated by the Captain Planet Foundation after learning about Evans County’s School Nutrition Director, Tonya Beasley Blocker's efforts to promote agricultural learning and the district’s efforts to include local food in the meal distribution program.  When Georgia Organics Farm to School Director Kimberly Della Donna first reached Beasley-Blocker she was arranging to include a quart of strawberries from RJ&G Farms in each family’s weekly meal pack. She's been working to include locally grown produce in the offerings each week.

Tonya Beasley-Blocker is just one of the many Georgia school nutrition professionals on the front line of serving the community during the pandemic. We're especially impressed that during this time of crisis and rapid change, our school nutrition professionals are going the extra mile to source local, fresh food and include educational resources for students and families. We offer our sincere gratitude to our school nutrition heroes like Tonya Beasley-Blocker and our community volunteers like Stephanie Meyers who support their efforts. 

Kimberly Della Donna is the Farm to School Director for Georgia Organics. She can be contacted by email at kimberly@georgiaorganics.org.

Georgia Food Oasis: Rebecca Van Loenen of Augusta Locally Grown

For this video edition of the Georgia Foodcast, host Skye Estroff is talking with Rebecca Van Loenen, the new Executive Director of Augusta Locally Grown, about her work as part of the Georgia Food Oasis and how the Augusta community has adjusted for the COVID-19 pandemic and how they're finding new avenues to feed Georgians.

The Augusta Georgia Food Oasis was established in 2015, but the community has 10+ years of grassroots projects championed by Augusta Locally Grown, which serves as one of the Core Partners for the program.

About Augusta Locally Grown: Augusta Locally Grown promotes the development of a vibrant food-growing community. This includes recruiting new farmers to our area and connecting existing farmers to customers, restaurants, markets and media. We also help development a network of backyard growers throughout the CSRA and support for conventional farmers who are transitioning toward organic practices.

Of Van Loenen’s joining the incredible work happening in the community, Georgia Organics’ Community Outreach Manager for the Georgia Food Oasis Suzanne Girdner says:

“We're thrilled to welcome Becca as the Executive Director of Augusta Locally Grown, a local food coalition of farmers, consumers, and educators that's championed healthy food access and farmer prosperity for 12+ years in the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA).  Becca offers an extensive background in agriculture, non-profit management, and business development that includes experiences at a tech start-up, web and software development, and marketing.  We know these are the skills the good food movement needs now more than ever before.  With her leadership ALG has an opportunity to develop and advance farmers in new ways.”

Click below to watch this episode of the Georgia Foodcast and stay tuned as we continue connecting with farmers and members of our Georgia good food community!

To learn more about Augusta Locally Grown, visit: www.augusta.locallygrown.net

To learn more about Georgia Food Oasis, visit: gfo.georgiaorganics.org

Georgia Organics Events Rescheduled

The following is a list of Georgia Organics events that are being postponed out of an abundance of precaution. This list will be maintained as additional updates come in.

March 17-18 Culinary Rooted in GA – Cancelled, reschedule TBD

March 25 Farm to Early Care and Education Farmer-Buyer Mixer – Cancelled, reschedule TBD

April 1 PSA Training – Cancelled, reschedule TBD

April 5 Farmer Chef Mixer  – Cancelled, reschedule TBD

April 13 - F2S Farmer Training – Cancelled, reschedule TBD

April 30 – Farm to School Farmer Training – Cancelled, reschedule TBD

Support Farmers This Weekend!

At Georgia Organics, we love farmers.

Farmer Prosperity is at the very heart of everything we do. And now, more than ever, we’re focused on ways that we can support our farmers and, in turn, the health of our communities across the state.

In the coming weeks, we will share news, stories, and encouragement from the organic farming community and offer ways for you to engage with and support local farmers.

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This weekend, we’re asking you to prioritize your health and the health of your farmers by shopping locally, dining locally, and showing intentioned support to the farmers, chefs, and small business owners who are the lifeblood of your neighborhood.

Be safe though. It is important to do so consciously and with an abundance of care, operating out of a place of safety. If you feel sick, stay home. But, if you don’t, go eat at a restaurant that buys from farmers and go shop at a local farmer’s market.

Courtesy of Global Growers

We believe wholeheartedly that good food begets health and safety and that your local farmer is the best provider of the good food you need – food in its purest form, grown with love, and delivered in the most direct way from the ground to your (clean) hands.

This is what our farmers do and who they are.

They are caretakers of the land AND the community, and we need to rally around them and shop, eat, and engage with them from a position of hope instead of fear.

Here are some of the ways you can prepare for your weekend:

• Ensure you are following personal health precautions as advised by the CDC and local leaders.

• Follow and engage with your farmers and farmers markets on social media.

• If you feel healthy, shop at your local farmers market this weekend and observe proper food storage practices to get the most out of your purchases.

• And if you’re well, dine at your local restaurants this weekend.

If you’re not already a part of your local farmer’s CSA, connect with them about joining. We’ll be sharing updates from our Georgia Organics Farmer Members on available CSAs next week. But for now, you can simply Google CSA with the name of your community to explore your options.

Please also stay engaged with us – both by checking your inbox and following us on social media (@GeorgiaOrganics). We hope to provide a platform for hope, resources, connection, and community during this uncertain time. And most of all we will be THE place to learn how to best support the farmers that we exist to serve.

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Courtesy of Forsyth Farmers Market.

FARMERS MARKETS

Several voices are speaking up to help encourage eaters to, barring any illness, continue to shop – safely and with preparedness in mind.

We spoke to Katie Cash Hayes, Executive Director of Community Farmers Markets on why it’s critical to lean on our farmers and the organic community in times like these.

“The local food community is very resilient, but only if we use it,” she said. “It cannot be understated how much farmers rely on farmers markets.”

Community Farmers Markets offered this statement to its community members:

We have always believed in the importance of providing fresh, healthy, locally-grown food for our communities. As our food system faces new challenges, it’s especially important that we continue to provide (and match) EBT/SNAP dollars for folks at market. Additionally, we have always understood it is our responsibility to provide safe, inclusive spaces for people to access produce and products. Many of our farmers and vendors rely on the farmers markets as their primary source of income. It is important that we support our vendors so that our growers and producers can stay in business, while we remain vigilant and committed to the health and safety of our community.

We rely on the support and cooperation of everyone in our community to help our farmers and vendors to survive during these uncertain times. Our winter markets, the Grant Park Farmers Market and the Decatur Mini-Market, are open. After all, our local food ecosystem may be the saving grace during this time of mass-produced product shortages. There is no shortage of food and goods at our local markets! 

Here are some benefits of shopping at the farmers markets:

Farmers markets are largely open air gatherings, rather than contained stores.

Locally-grown produce has known sources with fewer touch points than a conventional grocery system.

Maintaining a healthy diet is more important than ever. Eat those fruits, veggies, and herbs!

The Farmers Market Coalition has also issued “Farmers Markets Respond to COVID19,” a helpful round up of information and advice from farmers markets, state associations, health departments and the Centers for Disease Control.

Farmers market operators and supporters should make the case for markets to remain open wherever possible. Farmers markets are essential to the livelihood of farmers and food access, not just a social gathering. While markets may need to close in extreme circumstances such closures could be disastrous for both farmers and the shoppers who rely on the market.

For those who are observing social distancing, online providers like Fresh Harvest are an excellent way to have food from Georgia farms delivered to you.

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SUPPORT THE CHEFS AND RESTAURANTS THAT SUPPORT FARMERS

We also spoke to several partner restaurants in our Farmer Champion campaign about what they’re doing to continue serving their guests and supporting our farmers. The chefs and restaurants who are a part of our Farm to Restaurant program are committed to sourcing from local and organic farms. We’re particularly proud to see them maintain these commitments in times like these. We highly recommend that you consult our list of Farmer Champion restaurants as you make dinner plans this week.

Courtesy of Murphy’s Restaurant.

For Joy Pugh, Operations Director at Murphy's Restaurant, it’s business as usual, but with an added emphasis on being a place of comfort and supporting the neighborhood (particularly first responders). “We’ve been here for forty years and our guests and community have always supported us, and we’re going to support them in this time.” Furthermore, she added “we’re keeping our delivery schedules going and will continue to work with our farmers such as Woodland Gardens, Tucker Farms, Native Seafood, Decimal Farms, and Enchanted Springs no matter what. We understand that we’re part of the food chain with them, and we’re here for them. More than ever now, they are important – This is food that is safe, we know where it came from.” They have also announced that they will now offer their Murphy’s Meals To-Go, dinners available for pick up that serve four, and they are also launching a boxed lunch program.

Chef & Owner Terry Koval, The Deer and The Dove. Credit: Kate Blohm.

Terry Koval, Chef and Owner of The Deer and The Dove echoed Joy’s commitment to continue sourcing from the farmers that contribute so much to his menus. When asked if he was keeping up his farmer orders coming to the restaurant, he responded without hesitation: “Oh, that’s not even a question. It’s extremely important to keep supporting our farmers. This is where all of my ingredients are coming from, and that will never change for us.

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We hope this and our forthcoming coverage will provide hope and inspiration for ways to continue your support of the good food movement and ways to stay strong, healthy, and connected with local food community. Stay tuned for more and stay in touch with us on social media. Together, we can weather the coming weeks by staying connected, hopeful, and well-fed thanks to the farmers.