I love metrics… to a fault. As someone who regularly checks that the speedometer is accurate by timing myself between mile markers, it can be healthy for me to take a step back and ask why we measure certain things and which measurements are most important. There’s one metric around Fresh Harvest that far outweighs any others. If it’s not working, neither are we. And that is dollars spent on local produce. Our farmers were the inspiration behind the creation of Fresh Harvest, and supporting them is what allows us to deliver baskets all over Atlanta.
Our goal for 2018 is to spend $1 million on local food.
Every dollar that leaves our door to pay farmers means more of their beautiful produce at your dinner table. It means they can spend more time focusing on farming and less time thinking about how to sell their produce. It means more opportunity to grow their infrastructure and experiment with new crops and techniques. It means stability for their families, year-round. When we told Michael Wall of Georgia Organics our 2018 goal for dollars spent on local produce, here’s what he had to say to Fresh Harvest customers:
“The first thing I would say is literally double what you are buying. You are participating in a revolutionary food system that is separate and distinct from a larger one that has a lot of problems with it. It is the beginning of our next, more long term, truly sustainable food system that has the potential to right a lot of wrongs in terms of environmental and economic disparity. When you are transparent and working on putting money into a family operation on a more grassroots scale you are righting several wrongs. Y’all have started the needle but it’s up to you, the customer, to expand it. It’s going to take the whole village.
At the end of the day you’re fixing a broken system and you’re having fun doing it. That’s a pretty cool way to fight climate change, to address the economic disparity in rural Georgia, and to confront this power disparity that farmers are up against – by ending the day on a delicious meal with your family. Cook it up and enjoy it over laughter and love.”
It’s been such a joy to see your notes of encouragement coming in for our farmers this week. Every local item you add to your cart is a vote for the long term health of our State. It’s a vote for farms and the people who are aiming to grow food in a way that’s sustainable for the planet and for their family.
It is only by many small choices that we will see impactful change. We can reach this million dollar goal together. Follow along on our homepage to see how we’re tracking throughout the year!
