For a few years now, we’ve been publishing the amount of money that goes out our door to pay local food producers: farmers & artisans alike. We know it’s a bit unusual to be so up front with this type of number. However, we are under no illusions as to the challenges set before you in eating good food. As Alice Rolls, CEO of Georgia Organics puts it, “To eat well in America is an act of resistance.”
And she’s right. There are about a thousand ways to get your food delivered to your home, and in most cases, it’s impossible to know where it came from and what’s in it. To know the source of your food is to go against the grain of convenience and ease. So we’ve chosen to be mega transparent about a metric that speaks to the amount of good food being delivered to Atlantans.
We have over 20 farm partners and over 50 artisan partners that are a part of this number. These are food producers who care about doing things the right way. They choose more difficult and expensive practices in order to employ restorative and regenerative farming. They fight the bugs and the weeds in the heat of summer so that they can enrich their soil and their communities. They go out of their way to buy non-gmo feed for their chickens because it’s the right thing to do. They buy our farmers’ ingredients for their hand pies because eating organic, whole foods matters.
We believe supporting these amazing local, organic food producers is the healthiest measure of this ethical food hub we’re building together. In fact, our team has recently been through a cycle of not only annual planning, but long term goal setting and vision casting. We took a step back to envision Atlanta’s food community in five years, and both our farmers’ success and our customers’ engagement is at the heart of what we see. And we know that means more dollars in the pockets of those hard working ladies and gents. So that means the one metric we’ve set a goal for so far in 2025 is… you guessed it, dollars spent on local food.
So with that said, this month is a month to celebrate.
We spent $1,374,183 this year on local food! That’s 23% more than last year. We are extremely proud of that and grateful for each of you who made that happen. You are the reason that we get to write these checks. You, the incredibly supportive customers are the way we get there. Every time you share the word. Every basket that arrives at your door. Every radish, bunch of spinach, container of hummus, wheel of cheese and bottle of kombucha. It all contributes to keeping this ethical food hub going round.
As a celebration of this community and your achievements, we’re offering for the month of January a special friend referral bonus. For every person you refer to Fresh Harvest in January, you’ll receive $30 credit and your friends will receive $15. I couldn’t conclude these thoughts better than Michael Wall of Georgia Organics, “Local organic farmers need every customer they can get and then 20 more. 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.”
