Growing Sustainable Growers

Supply is the most critical issue facing the sustainable food and farm movement. Georgia Organics has placed significant focus on providing continuing education opportunities, mentorship programs, and creating a multi-dimensional support system for local farmers to strengthen and expand the number of organic and sustainable farms in Georgia.

• Annual Conference - GA's largest educational event on sustainable agriculture featuring workshops, farm tours, exhibits and a Farmers Feast.
• Sustainable Agriculture Mentorship Program - Supported 50 budding farmers in our farmer-to-farmer mentorship program, with a focus on women and minorities.
• Organic growing curriculum available to educators.
• On-staff Farmer Services Coordinator
• Local Food Guide to connect farmers with consumers and businesses.
• Workshops and field days to teach farmers and gardeners sustainable growing methods.
• Collaborating with UGA and Ft. Valley State to train cooperative extension agents on sustainable production and pair agents with experienced organic farmers in their region.

Farm to School

Childhood obesity rates and nutrition-related diseases are rapidly rising and Farm to School programs are emerging as thoughtful solutions.

• On-staff Farm to School Coordinator.
• Farm to School e-Bite newsletter.
• Comprehensive Farm to School programs which include cross-curricular lessons, student gardening, hands-on cooking demonstrations, farm tours and local food procurement into school meals.
• Key partners with Atlanta Public Schools Wellness Council & City of Decatur Schools to help integrate district-wide Farm to School initiatives.
• Consults with schools on school gardens and Farm to School activities.
• Advocates for policy on the local, state and national level.
• Initiating the Georgia Farm to School Alliance to collaborate and partner with key education and policy stakeholders.
• Download the Farm to School and Educational Garden Programs Resource Guide here for free.
  Note: This is a large file, so it may take a few minutes. It is not recommended for dial-up connections.

Farm to Institution Model

Georgia Organics is collaborating with Emory University to support their goal of procuring 75% of their campus food from local and sustainable sources by 2015. Georgia Organics employs a farmer liaison to connect food service staff with sustainable farmers and develop a model for other large institutions looking to initiate similar efforts.

Community Food Projects

As cities and towns strive to become greener, Georgia Organics is working to ensure that food and agriculture is a key element of sustainability planning.

• Partner with the Atlanta Local Food Initiative to create a visionary platform, The Plan for Atlanta’s Sustainable Food Future.
• Initiated demographic research on the economic benefits of building a stronger local food and farm community.
• Beginning an urban farming mentoring program to cultivate new growers and produce good food within the city.
• Initiating Georgia Wholesome Wave project to empower food stamp recipients to double their benefits at local markets
• Presenting to community leaders, planners and elected officials at meetings and conferences throughout the year.

Public Education & Outreach

In 2008, Georgia Organics reached over 429,000 individuals through various ongoing educational outreach mechanisms.

• Distributing 60,000+ copies of our popular Local Food Guide.
• Reaching 7,000+ people with our monthly e-Dirt and 52,000+ annually through our quarterly newsletter, The Dirt.
• Receiving 6.5 million hits annually and an average of 552 daily visits to www.georgiaorganics.org

In addition, GO is currently working on:

Converting Southern Commodities - GO is working to reduce pesticide use by increasing organic production of three commodities - Vidalia onions, blueberries and peanuts. To do this, GO has helped form three working groups of researchers, educators, commodity groups and others to address challenges and opportunities in each commodity. GO will also be leading workshops and field demonstrations to educate growers and educators in the next year. (Click here to see the list of working group participants and a list of recent minutes.)

Direct Marketing - GO is helping family farmers earn more of the consumer’s food dollar through its Direct to Consumer Marketing Program. A market tool has been developed to help farmers determine the direct marketing strategies that best fit their individual situations.

Advocacy to support small, sustainable farms in Georgia - Current work includes HR 2749, the National School Lunch Protection Act, the Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization, a statewide farm to school bill, and local land use planning to incorporate agriculture sites.