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From Farm to Table: A Continuum of Agricultural Evolution and Community

Supported Agriculture

Farm Academy, Farmers Markets, Community Markets, Farm School, Meals Ready to Go!

Dana York, Green Earth Connection,

Bob Ensor, Howard SCD

The Need for Community Awareness Leading to Support of Ag

• Minimizing Agricultural-Residential Conflicts

• Situation: The more recent new residents of rural western Howard County are highly educated but uninformed and functionally agriculturally illiterate. confrontations, misunderstandings and community division that tear at the rural fabric of the area.

• Bikers vs Wagons and Diesels

• Saturday morning sleepers vs Farm work

• Organic vs Conventional, GMO, Pesticide, animal welfare misinformation

The Farm Academy Birth• Objective is to provide an opportunities for rural

residents to:

• Interact with local farmers,

• Learn about the basics of the farming businessand the agricultural decisions

• Educate local residents about the business and environmental regulations that a farming enterprise must deal with.

Method to the Madness!• Proposal: A basic curriculum:

• Forums/seminars are offered on Saturday mornings at farms for 2-3 hours throughout the entire year.

• Experience an entire cycle of farming from preparation through planting, harvesting and marketing crops as well as livestock operations, dairy farms, vegetable and specialty crops.

• Specialists in various areas are utilized

Well Informed, Knowledgeable Neighbors = Great Customers

“The more you know and understand, the less concerned and intimidated you are.”

This results in support for agriculture, a willingness to talk to someone with a different lifestyle and background and community support for farming neighbors.

Endorsed by County Executive

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Farm Bureau Supported

Lesson Plans with Objectives, Methodology, expected Outcomes and Metrics of Success

Right to Farm Overview:State LawCounty OrdinancesSmells/Traffic/NoiseAg Preservation Programs, how they work

Production/Farm Areas:DairyDaily/Milking/Animal CareBreeding/Calving/Milking/Drying offCrop involvementEquipmentManure Management

Corn/Soybeans/Wheat (Operation that has all on one location at once)Planning/PrepPlanting: Equipment/Fertilizing/NMP/BMPsMidseason Mgmt: Sidedressing/NM; Scouting/PMHarvesting: Equipment; Marketing/Sale

ProducePlanning/PrepPlanting: Equipment/Fertilizing/NMP/BMPsMidseason Mgmt: NM; Scouting/PMHarvesting: Equipment; Marketing/ Farmers Market

EquineDaily Schedule/Animal CareManure Management

BeefDaily Schedule/Animal CareBreeding/Calving/Weaning/Growing/Finishing/ButcherMarketing/SaleManure Management

Farm Academy Tours Farm Academy Tours

• Lots of interaction and questions for the farmers!

Farm Academy Tours Farm Academy Tours

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Farm Academy Tours

A

local food

story

Jonesborough Locally Grown Goals…

• To tell about Jonesborough’s local food story

• To explain why local food matters

• To encourage you to shop local

• To inspire you to become members of a local food movement!

Farmer Heather Halsey

Neighbor Curtis Buchanan

It began with a farmers market…

Jonesborough Farmers Market Founders

2008

Year 1: We opened with 10 vendors

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2009We moved to Courthouse Square. We have had as

many as 37 vendors at a time (average is 28)2010-Now

Uniqueness…

• Our farmers sell only what they grow &/or raise themselves

• No reselling is allowed

• We complete farm inspections every other year to assure this and provide technical assistance.

Shopping local allows you to

know your farmer!

At a Producer-only Market You Can:

• Learn methods used by your growers, understand challenges faced.

• Learn about special varieties/heirlooms

• Learn what it takes to grow your food

It is More Fresh!

• Minutes or hours to table, not weeks.

• Average food item travels 1,500 miles to table in the United States…at our market is it less than 50, or less than 100 at the store.

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Economic & Environmental Impact

• Economic impact of buying local - 3 X’s that of big box purchases.

• Real improvement for farmers: Retain 80-100 cents of each food dollar vs. 7 cents!

• Keeps farmland in farm use

• Small farm runoff far less than large farm

What Else Makes Us Unique?

• Community spirit within the market:

• Mostly volunteer run. Volunteer board, Vendors help each other set up & break down. Only introduced paid managers in 2013.

• Community Volunteers: help with set-up and break-down, staff information booth, organize music each week.

• Community Support: Town, Main Street Café & Catering

Because of All This Help…We Make a Little Go a Long Way.

• Weekly live music• Cooking demonstrations• Weekly kids feature• EBT/Debit/Credit• Weekly prize drawings• Mural• T-shirts• Farm to Table Dinner• Online Market• School garden

Local musicians add to the ambiance!

2014: $12,000 ---- $2000 EBT---- $500/vendor

EBT/Food Stamps/Tokens

Kids learn about chiles &

turn the roaster at

Chapo’s Chile Patch

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South Side School Garden 2012 Farm to Table

Dinner

The Inspiration… “Outstanding in the Field” The first dinner… August 27th, 2011

Beautiful…

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The farm fresh spread…

In 2015, served 216 guests

Raised $9,000 for Jonesborough Locally Grown

and purchased $2,000 of local food from our farmers.

More about the dinner and ticket waiting list at:

jonesboroughfarmtotable.blogspot.com

Volunteer Serving Staff

An Aerial View down Main Street JonesboroughOnline Market 2009-2014 Leads

to Boone Street

Market

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Online Sales HistoryYear Weeks

OpenTotal Sales Avg. Sales

Per Week

Aug-Dec 2009

21 $3,894 $185

Winter 2010-11

21 $2,630 $125

2011-12 25 $13,785 $551

2012-13 25 $30,280 $1211

2013-14 23 $34,840 $1514

The growth in online sales is what convinced us the year-round market was strong for local food.

These sales are to folks who can order online and pick up in an one-hour window once a week, so we projected demand would be at least 2-3 times bigger if available all week long.

We set our sights on the old “Bob’s Exxon”station…

to become Boone Street Market

Why A Local Grocery?

• Demonstrated growth in local food interest

• Farmers need opportunities outside of the farmers market to expand sales

• A great opportunity in a highly visible location

• Town partnership - help with grants ($50,000) and labor for construction

• We felt we could raise $$ locally ($90k)

• Success stories elsewhere – Wild Ramp in Huntington, WV

• Why not?

1st Stop:

Photos from our visit to‘The Wild Ramp’, Huntington, WV

- Opened July 2012

New Building!

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Huntington, WV Johnson City, TN

City population 49,000 65,000

County population 140,000 123,000

Metro area population 364,101 200,000/500,000 Open Monday – Saturday!

Before…

After…

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A place for farmers to bring produce and for consumers to shop…

year round! A lot of fresh, local,

whole foods!

Then…

Now!

Boone Street Market Store – November 2014 Photo by Montanti

Boone Street Market Statistics• Vendors at Startup: 42 (October 27th 2014)

• Currently: Total of 94 different vendors

• 48 Wholesale Food Producers

- Most are value added food producers

- Three are wholesalers of farm products

- Under wholesale 21 farms supported

• 46 Consignment vendors

- 36 farms

- 6 bakers

- 4 value added suppliers (jellies, pickles, sauces, granolas, coffee)

• 226 customer members and 52 vendor members. Members pay $50 for the year and receive a 5% discount on all purchases.

Online Sales History + BSMYear Weeks

OpenTotal Sales Avg. Sales

Per WeekAug-Dec 2009 21 $3,894 $185

Winter 2010-11

21 $2,630 $125

2011-12 25 $13,785 $551

2012-13 25 $30,280 $1,211

2013-14 23 $34,840 $1,514Store opening thru

Sept 17, 201546 $225,935 $4,911

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Wild Ramp avg. monthly sales during their 1st year, Dec-Feb: $20,405/month

Boone Street Market: $21,915/month

Memberships!

• Annual members support locally grown with a $50 donation.

• In return, members receive a 5% discount at store, and credit card fees are waived at farmers market.

• Helps balance cash flow for store.

• $750 lifetime memberships also available

• Donations of any size gratefully accepted!

• We HAVE our 501c3 status as of June 2016!!

TDA Certified Community Kitchen

• Rents at $10.00 an hour

• Anyone can use it and sell product at BSM or outside of BSM

• May need to seek other licenses/certifications depending on product

• Currently, we are focusing on ready to heat/to-go meals – of coarse locally sourced!

100 Mile Dinners

100 Mile Dinners

• Monthly Fundraiser

• Held at BSM

• Ticket price - $30-$40

• Prepared by a volunteer guest cook

• All food is sourced from within 100 miles

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The Beginning Farmer Field

School of EastTennessee

Appalachian RC&D, Jonesborough Locally Grown and Green Earth Connection designed a

Field School for those who wanted to take their passion for farming to the next level!!

Field School Objectives: SPONSORS

We Asked for Local Support:

• BECOME A SPONSOR: $200-$500

• SPONSOR A Meal

• SPONSOR A Farmer

• SPONSOR Educational Materials

• PROVIDE SOME LAND FOR A BEGINNING FARMER- LAND LINK

• BE A PRESENTOR at a COURSE

• BECOME A MENTOR

• PROMOTE the FIELD SCHOOL

Classroom and Field Sessions had a mix of Agricultural Experts and Farmers who can give real

life examples of how to be successful.

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Field School

Schedule

One day a month for 9 months!

Dinner was Provided by:

Example Agenda for Marketing Class

• 6:15-7:10 --Aubrey Depelteau, E.D. of the ETSU Innovation Lab –

• Visioning your Marketing Approach - hands on exercise

• 7:10- 8:15-- "Experiences in Marketing Our Farm Products" Panel:

• Adam and Abby Borden- Sunset View Farm• Chris Wilson- Clover Creek Farm• Aubrey and Linda Raper- Rogue Harbor Farm,

• 8:15-8:50-- Class Participation and Discussion- "What is your biggest Marketing Challenge?”

• 8:50-9:00-- Class Homework - Developing a One Page Business Plan for a Future Venture...this is what will be presented at our August 18th "Graduation" Party at Dana York's farm.

Aubrey and Linda Raper- Rogue Harbor Farm, Produce and Christmas Wreaths

Jimmy McAlister, Greenville,

TN

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Tony SlaughterFarms

Matt DobsonPRESERVATION FARMS

Field TripsFirst Graduating Class!

Roving Radish Mobile MarketWhat is the Roving Radish?

The Roving Radish is a Howard County program dedicated to promoting healthy farm to table eating habits to our community, while creating sustainable markets for our local and regional farms. We achieve this by selling healthy meal kits, sourced from local and regional farms, to our community. The meal kits are made available to all Howard County residents, and are offered at a discounted price to those in need.

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Roving Radish Crew

What does a meal kit include:Standard meal kit includes ingredients to make two dinners for a family of four.

Premium meal kit is offered at different times through out the year and includes one dinner for a family of four.

Local farms provide all ingredients whenever possible.

Meal kits include a recipe card. Roving Radish recipes have no more than 750 calories, less than 30% of calories coming from fat and no more than 1050 mg of sodium.

How much does a meal kit cost:

Standard Meal Price - $28.00 for a meal kit with two meals for a family of four.

Premium Meal Kit Price - $28.00 for a meal kit with one meal for a family of four.

Subsidized Price* - $12.00 for standard or premium meal kit.

*To qualify for the subsidized price you must have participated in any of the following programs in the last 12 months: Food Stamps/Food Supplement Program (FSP) or SNAP, Women, Infants and Children (WIC), Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA), Medical Assistance – Medicaid or Maryland Children’s Health Program (MCHP), School breakfast or lunch program. Social Security Disability Income (SSDI). This is not the same program as Social Security Income.

How does it work?• May 30, 2016 to November 23, 2016.

• All orders are taken through our website.

• Ordering is simple, select the week you would like to pick up a meal kit for, choose the meal kit you would like, specify if you are paying regular price or subsidized price, select the location you want to pick up your meal kit from and check out.

• At checkout, you can either pay online with your credit card or pay at pick-up (cash, credit or EBT only).

• All orders for the coming week, must be placed by 11:59 p.m., Thursday, the week before.

• Meal kits are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Roving Radish Pick Up Locations

Monday:3:30 pm - 5:00 pm, Old Bushy Park Elementary School, 2670 Roxbury Mills Rd. (Rt.97), Glenwood, MD 217974:00 pm - 5:30 pm, George Howard Building, 3430 Old Court House Dr., Ellicott City, MD 210435:30 pm - 7:00 pm, Howard County General Hospital, 5755 Cedar Lane, Columbia, MD 21044

Tuesday:12:00 pm - 1:30 pm, The Bain Center, 5470 Ruth Keeton Way, Columbia, MD 210443:30 pm - 5:00 pm, Grace Episcopal Church, 6725 Montgomery Rd., Elkridge, MD 210754:00 pm - 5:00 pm, Ascend One Building, 8930 Stanford Blvd., Columbia, MD 210456:00 pm - 7:30 pm, Bridgeway Community Church, 9189 Red Branch, Columbia, MD 21045

Wednesday:3:30 pm - 5:00 pm, Savage Branch Library, 9525 Durness Lane, Savage, MD 207236:30 pm - 8:00 pm, Dancel Family Center Y, 4331 Montgomery Rd., Ellicott City, MD 21043

The Roving Radish has a lot of volunteer opportunities.

We need volunteers to work in our kitchen Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. On Sunday we need four to six volunteers from 11 am - 3 pm. On Mondays, Tuesday and Wednesday we need two to three volunteers for our two shifts which are from 8 am - 12 noon and 12 noon - 4 pm. We also have other volunteer opportunities occasionally for marketing and special events for the Roving Radish.

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We are proud of the farms we buy from, check them out below:

Breezy Willow Farm, Sykesville MD

Clark Never Sell The Farm, Ellicott City MD

Gravel Springs Farm, Union Bridge, MD

Larriland Farm, Woodbine, MD

Lewis Orchard, Cavetown, MD

Love Dove Farm, Woodbine, MD

Nutting Acres, Westminster, MD

Papa's Produce, Woodbine, MD

Richardson Farm, Whitemarsh, MD

Schillinger Farm, Severn MD

Sharp's at Waterford Farm, Woodbine, MD

TLV Farm, Glenelg, MD

Weber's Cider Mill Farm, Parkville, MD

Wheeler Farm, Sykesville, MD

Turkey Chipotle Soft Tacos & Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis

Roasted Vegetable And Ricotto Pizza & Sesame-Chili Chicken With Gingered Watermelon Salsa

Chicken Puttanesca With Patty Pan Squash & Italian Sausage Hoagies With Green Beans

Arroz Con Pollo Chicken & Penne Rigate With Spicy Sausage And Zucchini In Tomato Cream

Sauce WEEKLY MEAL CHOICES

Week 1: Ravioli Lasagna & Adobo Chicken With KaleWeek 2: Pesto-Crusted Pork Chops With Sweet And Sour Collards & Enchilada CasseroleWeek 3: Oven Fried Parmesan Crusted Chicken & Thai Beef Cabbage CupsWeek 4: Turkey Sausage And White Beans & Honey-Sesame Chicken CutletsWeek 5: Mushroom Beef Sloppy Joes With Kale & Chicken And Basil Calzones

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For Information Contact:

Dana York- Green Earth Connection-dyork818@yahoo.com, 410-708-6794

Robert Ensor- HSCD- District Manager-bobensor49@gmail.com, 410-313-0680