Georgia Organics

THE FARMER FUND - A COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO COVID-19 

For GAGives day, Georgia Organics is asking the community to support small farmers across the state by donating to The Farmer Fund.

The Farmer Fund  was created to support farmers in need. While the initial purpose was specific to natural disasters in  the traditional sense, a pandemic like COVID-19 is its own natural disaster -- and is certainly an emergency.       

Our farmers need support as they strive to continue growing healthy, local food for our children, families, seniors,  first-responders, and food-insecure communities in this uncertain time. A coalition of Georgia's local food  organizations mobilized quickly to identify challenges and opportunities in a rapidly changing food and public health  landscape. Current identified areas of need include:     

LOCAL FARMERS  

• Support for farmers pivoting to direct online sales to meet consumer demand and fill the void left by  restaurant and farmers market closures.   
• On-farm needs, including labor, seedlings, compost and tools to enhance spring food production to ensure a  robust local food supply in the coming months.    
• Upgraded food safety and public health best practices for farmers, farms, farmers markets, and public  distribution points.    
• New food distribution partners to reach communities most in need.  
•  Advocacy for farmers markets to be treated like grocers and as “essential businesses” with restrictive public  health measures in place.  
• Healthcare for farmers, many of whom have no health insurance and are in greater contact with the public.  
• Partnerships with restaurants and caterers to prepare farm fresh meals to first responders, healthcare  workers and vulnerable communities.      

LOCAL COMMUNITIES  

• Resources to the public on how to purchase from farmers directly through open and available farmers  markets and online ordering and delivery options.
• Advocacy for increased SNAP benefits and flexible use at new and emerging food access points.   
• Support for spring food production at community gardens, school gardens and home gardens.  
• Online learning on gardening, cooking and meal preparation for families at home.  
• Public messaging on the important role farmers and local food plans and policies have in creating community  resilience for the future.      

Healthy food is essential during a global pandemic and local farmers are the backbone as providers of nutritious,  immune-building sustenance. With strong support, local farmers can be adaptive and solution-oriented to best meet  the needs of their own communities in metro Atlanta and across the State of Georgia. 

Your support is a crucial lifeline in this unprecedented time of change. Please help recovery efforts by contributing to  The Farmer Fund today. Your investment will ensure that we can support as many local farmers in Georgia as possible  to feed our local communities now.  

Donate today!