Georgia Farmers Innovate New Models for Selling Sustainably Produced Food
It’s never been as easy, or as fun, to buy fresh, delicious food straight from a sustainable farm in Georgia.
Farmer’s markets are in full swing across the state, and there are more today than ever. In fact, there are 600 percent more farmer’s markets than there were five y ears ago. But there’s more than just buying and selling going on at the markets.
At the farmer’s market, you shake the hands that have sown, raised, cared for, and harvested your food. There, you greet old friends and make new ones. They are the best places to connect with the core of the sustainable agriculture community. 
Accessing local food at markets has also expanded. Wholesome Wave Georgia enables WIC beneficiaries get $2 worth of local food for each dollar they spend at these farmer’s markets.
The most important growth happening in the good food and farms community is occurring in the Community Supported Agriculture programs, commonly called CSAs. CSAs over the years have grown to the be so abundant, and diverse, that they’re now a vital portion of farm income , which was not the case five years ago.
CSAs offer direct farm to table transactions by allowing you to sign up for a weekly delivery of fresh, local produce, and meats. CSAs allow farmers to receive payment in advance, so they'll know how much they need to cultivate, and can budget much more effectively. Subscribers get a farm box of seasonal food fresh from the field, and are usually picked up at drop off points.
For 2010, there are more than 76,000 CSA farm boxes available – more than any other year – and they almost always sell out.
But the thing is, CSA’s don’t all operate the same way. In fact few of them do. Because they are set up and operated by each farm or co-op of farms, they each function differently, offering consumers more flexibility and ease.
Some of them last an entire year. Some of them are month by month, and a few allow you to only order when you want and what you want – through an online market place, no less.
And don’t forget that more local food is also making its way into grocery stores these days. Whole Foods, and Publix are such groceries. Be sure to ask your local grocery store manager if he or she carries any local produce or meats. At the least, you’ll communicate to the manager that there’s interest in local food.
You’ll find a list of farmer’s markets at www.geogiaorganics.org; click on the Georgia Organics Food Guide. The CSAs are listed by county and drop site here.
Farmers, if your CSA isn’t listed, email stephanie@georgiaorganics.org.